DROPPING WALLS (MANXMAN) ~UNDER REVIEW~

Families' Matter

"What about them? And why?" Replied Thomas dryly.

"Because you never mention them, you didn't seem very fond of talking about them during interviews and to talk about what you want to know I have to talk about my parents, so I think it's fair." Said Vizanno without taking time to breathe. Thomas started formulating questions in his head but he didn't make any of them.

He started to walk and Vizanno didn't follow him, Thomas knew he wouldn't. The boy went to the pitch and started to kick balls at the goal, Tim joined him a few minutes later.

"You look pissed." Said the other player, Thomas knew he looked angry, he didn't have the mechanism to control his facial expressions when he felt emotions.

"I am, but it's stupid." Replied Thomas to his friend.

The two tryouts' relationship had grown a lot since they started the season. They had random talks about movies and personal things like if they had ever dated anyone, but Thomas avoided to get too involved on those topics and Tim never pressed.

During one of the afternoons Thomas would spend with Peter, Thomas took Tim to go see a match from two of their rivals. They laughed a lot and enjoyed to share the annoyed looks they got from fans of the other teams, and also the attention of tryout's fans.

"Marcus wanted to bet with me that it was something about the girl gore banging," Tim said and the other boy turned to look at him.

"What? Which girl?" Thomas asked annoyed.

"He thinks it's Sky, I don't think it's her, you avoid her... a lot. I think the two of you are just friends and you don't really know how to handle friends." Said Tim and Thomas hated how correct the boy was.  

Thomas kicked the ball to Tim and the boy controlled it easily.

"I'm not banging any girl," Thomas said.

And that was it, Tim didn't make any new question, the two boys continued to practice together until the morning break was over.

When the day's practice was over Thomas felt good, he was managing to master several of the drills he had to master and that made his mood a lot better.

He was walking down a corridor going to the nearest restroom when he saw Vizanno with a couple of players.

"Hey, Vizanno... Can I talk to you?" The man looked to his friends and nodded when they left the man looked angry.

"Vizanno?" The man asked and Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I can't call you Teddy in front of them. I'm pretty sure they don't even call you that. But the things is, can we go somewhere to talk?" As soon as Thomas made the question he knew it had been a mistake, Vizanno smile was wide. "I'm talking about walking around for a while."

They couldn't go outside the training center to just "walk around", there were fans who stayed out in front of the gates waiting until the last player went home. Vizanno led to the stadium.

Thomas looked around the Pantano. That beautiful place was so big and intimidating, he loved to play there and he was ready to call it home. The two men started to walk on the tracks.

"My parents are not important to me." Said the boy, Vizanno didn't comment anything. "Since I was little they knew I could play soccer, and they tried everything they could to make sure I would succeed, but the thing is, I was a kid, who loved soccer and they started to create the most absurd rules and they were wearing me off, playing almost every day and training like crazy, I couldn't play just for fun because I could get hurt, they didn't get gifts on holidays or birthday, they got me soccer gear... It was suffocating and I almost hated soccer because of them." Thomas said, he had said all those things to Peter before, he didn't have to say a word to his grandparents because they watched as the boy fought the weakness growing inside of him.

Thomas got quiet and continue to walk, he felt the deep feeling of anxiety rising, he hated to remember how miserable and helpless he was.

"I am grateful that they put so much work on me, but I can't forgive them for only seeing me as a way to make money, or making me hate the only thing I really love," Thomas said. The boy was looking at the very dark green grass, a could breeze touching his face and making him shiver, there was warmth nearby, coming from the taller man walking by his side. "There's not much to say, I just love my grandparents, cuz they love me and not what I can do, they don't really like that I followed the same path that my grandparent did, he was a referee and got really hurt during a game once... That's it." Thomas said he didn't like to talk about his parents.

"I'm sorry. You're lucky because they supported you, but it sucks that they made you hate being good." Said Vizanno somberly.

"So, why do you have an accent?" Thomas asked and Vizanno let out a quick laughter.

"Your transition of topic is shitty, I am
Not from Buffalo."  Said Vizanno and Thomas came to a halt. He looked at the man's profile, Vizanno didn't look at him.

"You play for the national team." Said Thomas.

"Naturalized." Was the man only answer.

The boy started to think if he had ever heard about the man's true nationality, he stared at Vizanno's blank face and he didn't find anything.

"Nobody knows," Thomas said and Vizanno nodded.

"My parents and I are from Argentina. We moved to Buffalo when I was 5 years old... They wanted to go to the United States but they couldn't afford. As soon as we got here they went to a lawyer to see how they could make me a proper citizen, our laws say that we have to be living here for at least ten years before we can naturalize and we have been great members of society..." Said Vizanno.

"That's why you have an accent and know how to hide it... What about your parents..." Thomas asked.

"I don't really talk to him, most members of my family live here now, but I only speak to my aunt, she and her three kids are the only family I recognize. My issue with my parents it's literally the opposite of yours... They didn't support me, they didn't want me to play soccer, they tried to stop me many times when I was younger, they didn't say permission for to play out of the state... My father wanted me studying and working, that was the only way he could see me getting my naturalization...

"But when I turned eighteen my aunt sent my video to Unity, try contacting her and she brought me here, she spent money he didn't have to make sure I would succeed... I gave her half of the money they give to the tryouts... I went to a lawyer and I started the transition... I paid for everything, I became a proper citizen and it's all thanks to my aunt and soccer..."

"Where are your parents now?" Asked Thomas.

"They still live in the city we used to, I sent them money and they leave me alone... I know they were just trying to make sure I was going to have the best possible, but as you know, soccer it's the most important thing to me."

"I understand, you don't have to explain, I won't judge you." Said Thomas and Vizanno smiled.

"You're the only one outside my family that knows, at least I think you are, so I hope you're keeping it quiet, I don't want people thinking of me as not worthy of the national team," Vizanno said and Thomas rolled his eyes.

"One day you'll get to stop thinking about what other people think." The boy said, he started to walk again.

"One day you'll have to like people." Said Vizanno laughing.

Thomas just rolled his eyes and turned his face, he smiled.