Chapter 73 – Soccer match

Once done, he returned to his classroom, just in time for the next class to start. On the following break between lessons, his two friends came to him and gave him a sandwich.

"Congrats, Ben! Sorry, we couldn't stay until the end to watch you. The atmosphere was way too crazy. Instead, we thought you might be hungry so we got you this."

"You guys are my saviors, thanks! How much do I owe you?"

"Take it as a congratulatory gift for your victory."

"That's nice, thank you!"

Benjamin began to eat the sandwich while his friends commented on the game, and other people from the class soon joined them.

"I knew you were into sports but I didn't imagine you were this good."

"Yeah. It's a shame we missed the last action. I heard you bluffed them all, ahah."

One of the girls who joined their conversation revealed.

"Right, it was amazing. He feinted to shoot, only to pass the ball for an easy score!"

"Not everyone can stay calm and think about something like this in a tense situation. You were really cool, Ben!"

"Thank you!"

The classmates continued to chat about the match until the next teacher entered the classroom. Once school was done for the day, Benjamin headed to the soccer field together with the girls from the soccer team. He changed again into his PE clothes, using the soccer top jersey which they provided to him. He exited the changing room to see many spectators already waiting all around the field, with more and more coming. His friends, knowing how this was going to end, decided to directly stay out of it this time and had already gone home, with Benjamin's complete approval. In fact, there wasn't any boy at all this time, as if they had all reached the same conclusion. The girls were all sitting on the grass or the bleachers around, each of them adorning one large piece of clothing or cloth to cover their waists and legs. He even managed to see a few female teachers here and there covered in the same way.

The girls exited their changing rooms and the same teacher as previously came to act as the referee. The match started and this time, all the other players took him seriously from the start, something he was glad for. He was probably as experienced in soccer as in basketball, the sports commonly played by teenage boys in the previous world. He had been given a forward position and he wasn't sure if that was because they trusted him or simply because that was the position they missed in the team in the first place. His style of play was the same as in basketball, prioritizing the team instead of individual actions and his teammates seemed appreciative of this. This time again the match was well balanced, with each team having opportunities to score from time to time.

The match reached halftime without any side managing to score a goal. Benjamin looked around to check the audience. He was intrigued because they had been cheering in a much tamer manner, even though the gazes on him were as intense as always. He noted that most of the girls had flushed faces and smiled in perverted ways with one or two hands disappearing under the clothes which were covering their lower body, sometimes trembling and panting. He could see very minute movements going on and whenever he locked eyes with one of them, they froze and looked away in shame, only to resume whatever they were doing when he looked somewhere else. He also found out that the teachers were no exception to this, except for the fact that they were a bit more discreet, their expressions much more neutral and their movements almost imperceptible.

He also found Nova again in the bleachers, looking between him and the students around with an annoyed and helpless expression. At least, she was one of the few spectators not doing anything suspicious, simply watching the match sitting in a straight position. He waved at her again and she returned his wave with a wry smile.

The second half of the game began and, very quickly, the opposite team created a nice opportunity for themselves and managed to use it to score a goal. They cheered happily between themselves but the audience started booing them instead. Benjamin turned toward the spectators and signaled them to be quiet, which they promptly did. Now that there was enough silence, he conveyed in a loud voice.

"Girls, it's okay if you cheer for one side or the other but it's unfair to boo them for playing well. Please don't do that."

There was a moment of silence before loud shouts resonated all around.

"Sorry, Benjamin! We won't do it anymore!"

"He is so mature!"

"You're way too nice, our angel! Love you!"

"Please be my boyfriend!"

The girls from the other team also grinned at him gratefully and the match resumed like that. Around 15 minutes later, his team was the one with a chance to score. Several girls ran to the front, taking the risk to leave the defense weaker to try to even the game points. Benjamin was running on the right side while the ball was on the left side. When the defense on the left side became too much, his teammate holding the ball passed it to him. He managed to outrun the player marking him to get ahold of it and ran to the goal. He shot with all his strength and the goalkeeper didn't manage to catch it in time, pushing his team to cheer at evening the score. He high-fived them and they congratulated each other happily.

The spectators went into a frenzy, the cheering louder than at any other time previously.

"Goaaaal!"

"That was amazing, Benjamin!"

"You can do anything! I love you!"

"How can someone so perfect exist in our school?"

"Everyone, did you like what you saw? By the way, I have this small blog of mine..."

"You again? Don't worry, I already subscribed to the feed."

"You were too hot when you scored that goal!"

"I'm... I'm... Aaahhh!"

"Marry me!"

After a minute of mixed cheering, the match resumed, but, in the end, no team managed to score anymore and the game ended in a tie. It didn't seem to matter much to both team members as they congratulated each other happily for a good game. Benjamin joined in the fun and chatted with everyone until it was time for him to go back home. He headed toward the male changing room, not before waving one last time to the spectators, causing high-pitched screams to resound one last time.