On the Pitch: Diego's Story

Chapter 21

[3rd Person POV]

The morning sunlight slowly crept through the curtains of Diego's room, falling directly across his face as he shifted underneath the covers. He frowned slightly at the sudden brightness, turning his head away and trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep before finally accepting that the morning had already arrived.

His eyes slowly opened.

For a few seconds, Diego simply stared at the ceiling above him, still half asleep. He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a long yawn as his back pressed deeper into the mattress. His body still felt slightly heavy from the previous day, though for once there was no immediate pressure to get out of bed.

Then he looked around.

His room.

A small smile appeared on Diego's face.

After spending the last several months waking up in his apartment in Salzburg, there was something strangely comforting about opening his eyes and seeing the familiar walls of the room he had grown up in. Everything felt almost exactly as he remembered it.

Diego finally pushed himself out of bed and went through his usual morning routine. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, fixed his messy hair as much as he could, and changed into a simple training shirt and shorts. By the time he returned to his room, whatever sleepiness remained had mostly disappeared.

He picked up his phone from beside the bed, instinctively checking the notifications that had accumulated overnight.

Messages.

Social media.

Football news.

And, unsurprisingly, several notifications involving his name.

Diego stared at them for a moment before locking his phone again and tossing it onto the bed.

'Later.'

He wasn't particularly interested in reading another article about his future at Salzburg first thing in the morning.

Instead, as Diego turned around, something in the corner of his room caught his attention.

His old computer.

He stopped.

The computer had been sitting there almost forgotten, surrounded by a few old books and other things he had left behind when football slowly began taking him away from home. Diego walked over and ran his hand across the desk, noticing the thin layer of dust that had collected over it.

"Wow..." he muttered.

He pulled the chair out and sat down.

For absolutely no reason other than curiosity, Diego pressed the power button.

The computer took its sweet time.

Diego leaned back in the chair, watching the familiar loading screen appear.

"Come on..."

Another few seconds passed.

"You're not THAT old."

Eventually, the desktop appeared.

Diego smiled immediately.

The wallpaper alone brought back memories. Several old shortcuts covered the screen, some games he hadn't touched in years were still installed, and there were folders scattered everywhere with absolutely no organization whatsoever.

'How did I ever find anything on this thing?'

He moved the mouse around before opening one of the folders containing his old photographs.