The Legacy of Avalon: The Boy, the Elder and the Sword - PREVIEW

Chapter 2: That hideous afternoon

Chapter 2

That hideous afternoon

If there was something capable of driving Aurelio to his maximum levels of concentration, it was button football.

Ironically, he only found comfort playing with the elders. His own friends had little to no aptitude for the sport. They had grown up with videogames, hence they followed another line of logic. Aurelio didn't despise videogames; however, he didn't look down on button football as the rest of his generation did. Bruno and Gabriel, his closest friends, had tried to play a number of times, maybe because Aurelio's passion was somewhat contagious, but their skills were worthless. No matter how hard Aurelio tried to teach them. As for Gwyn, she'd always turn up her nose at the game, and would throw a tantrum as soon as she learned he hadn't come to the park because of the championship. Then again, he had been wandering if there was anything Gwyn could actually like at all lately.

Playing demanded technique. Someone who didn't know the sport could dully summarize it as "move your players with your disc, trying to score by getting the tiny ball across the keeper and inside the goal." It was not that simple, though. It was a bare necessity to know how much force one ought to apply on the disc in each and every varying situation, and no one had spent as much time as Aurelio mastering this art. He knew that applying too much pressure on a button right in front of the goal or moving a piece too softly about the midfield were often mistakes whose results were a broad advantage to the adversary. In this case, the adversary was represented by the Vasco da Gama's black buttons, controlled by Ol' Luis' deft hands; the elder player was rarely defeated in the championships.

People crowded all around Garrincha, and Genaro's yard was thronging as it only did on championship days. The whole neighborhood was there, along with some visitors from some farther neighborhoods. The championships were getting famous, stirring up, among other things, the curiosity in those who longed to remember or learn the forgotten art that was button football. Miss Lidia, the seamstress, came as she always did, bringing her husband alongside. He had played a great deal back in his day and had already applied to take part in the next month's tournament. Tomas, the old man from the drugstore, came with a cousin of his. And Laerte, who worked at the haulers, arrived with two sons the same age as Aurelio. However, they didn't care to play, because of shame or disinterest or whatever reason, limiting themselves to mere bystanders.

The championship tree was fiercely disputed that day. Aurelio, who ended up opting for the green buttons from the Paulistan club Palmeiras, had already won his first match, 5-2, against his grandpa's friend Odair, a button football enthusiastic, but not really well versed in the game. Aurelio was at the semifinals now, facing the other match's victor, Ol' Luis, who was a great wall in the field, moving the black Vasco's swiftly buttons; Aurelio was keeping his fingers wishfully crossed that he wouldn't have to play the finals against Fernando, another seasoned player.

Aurelio had already reached his touch limit (12 per player), so it was Ol' Luis' turn. The ball was lying a bit further from the midfield, towards Vasco's six-yard box. In an attempt to rid him of any danger and draft a counterattack, the elder man pressed his disc against the button to take the ball away... he scowled, pressing far too hard and making his button fly against Aurelio's pieces, completely missing the ball.

"Foul!" warned grandpa Genaro, refereeing the match from the side of the table.

The rules went stated that the collision of a button against a button from the other team was a foul. Elated with his good luck, Aurelio prepared to "kick" his free kick to the goal. The games ended whenever someone scored five and so far, they were tied 2-2. Any advantage would be welcome now.