Chapter 3

 

No matter how hard he tried, Leo could not stop himself from staring fixedly at the boy called Pete.

The boy who Leo was convinced was an 11-year-old version of his Dad.

He didn’t know how. He knew it didn’t make any sense. But, somehow, he also knew it was true.

His first thought had been that he was still asleep. Still dreaming. He had subtly pinched himself a few times in different places in a bid to wake himself up. 

Yet nothing changed. 

He remained sitting in the middle of a muddy football pitch. Surrounded by a gang of oddly-dressed boys. Gazing upon the near-identical face of his father. His 11-year-old father.

Leo’s unwavering gaze was clearly making Pete feel more than a little uncomfortable.

“Why’s the new boy looking at me like that?” he asked his friends quietly, using a hand to cover his mouth.

“Probably because you look absolutely identical,” replied the curly-haired boy, in a way that implied the answer to this particular question was entirely obvious.

“I don’t look anything like him,” protested Pete. But it was a pointless protest. He did look like him. Exactly like him. They were as similar as two peas in a pod.

The curly-haired boy rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to the newcomer. “So, you play for Portland City Under 10s, do you?” he asked suspiciously.

Leo was still so focussed on studying Pete, that it took him a few seconds to realise he was being spoken to. Then a few more seconds for his brain to process the question he had been asked.

Leo’s first instinct was to tell the truth. To insist that he really did play for the Portland City Under 10s. Yet, after quickly weighing up his current situation, he changed his mind.

Although he wasn’t sure how or why, Leo was starting to believe that he had travelled through time. Back to when his Dad was a young boy. Back to a time long before Leo had been born.

He didn’t actually play for Portland City. Not yet anyway.

This realisation should have terrified the young boy. But it didn’t. Not really. Not much, anyway. He was still too confused to feel any real emotion about his current predicament.

“Erm… did I say Portland City? I meant… erm… I meant… Portland Rovers.”

“Portland Rovers,” repeated curly, disbelief dripping from his tone. “I’ve never heard of them. Have any of you?” he added, addressing his friends.

The other boys all shook their heads.

“They’re not from round here,” Leo pressed on.

“Right…” the other boy continued, clearly not believing a single word he was hearing. “So… you play for a team called Portland Rovers. A team that none of us have ever heard of. They’re called Portland Rovers. But they’re not actually based in the city of Portland. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

Leo nodded feebly. It was a poor lie. And he knew it.

Fortunately, the tall, spotty boy swiftly put a stop to the curly-haired boy’s barrage of questions.

“Blimey, Matt, give the boy a break. You sound like you’re on The Bill.” It was a remark that drew a hearty burst of laughter from the rest of the group. Including Pete. Leo smiled, too, even though he didn’t have a clue why what the lanky boy had said was funny.

The curly haired-boy – Matt – raised his palms aloft in a gesture of feigned innocence. “Okay, okay. Fair enough,” he mumbled, not sounding, or looking, particularly satisfied by the strange boy’s responses.

“Anyway, we didn’t actually get your name?” the taller boy said, offering out both his hands to help the still sitting Leo onto his feet. “I’m Jamie.”    

Allowing himself to be pulled up, Leo tentatively stood. A wave of dizziness instantly engulfed him. He swayed unsteadily. So much so, that a few of the other boys lent forward as if readying themselves to catch him. 

The feeling reminded Leo of the way he’d felt after he’d stepped off a loop-the-loop rollercoaster the last time he’d been to a theme park.

Thankfully, just like it had on that occasion, the light-headed sensation quickly passed, and he soon regained his balance.

“My name’s Leo,” he answered, once the world around him had stopped spinning. “Leo M…” he began, just about to state his surname, before stopping himself.

If Pete’s surname was also McCarthy, as he strongly suspected it was, then the other boys might start to think something was rather amiss. They had already noticed the striking familiarity between Pete and Leo. If the others were to discover they also shared the same second name, then it may be deemed a coincidence too far.

Leo didn’t know much about time travel – what, with never having done it before and all. But he was an avid Doctor Who fan. He’d seen every single episode multiple times. If Doctor Who was to be believed, and Leo could think of no reason why it shouldn’t be, then the boy knew it was essential that no-one should ever find out who he really was.

“Leo M… M… Messi,” he eventually stuttered. It was the first surname beginning with M that came to mind.

“Leo Messi,” Jamie repeated, sounding unimpressed. “Strange name. Doesn’t sound much like a footballer to me.”

Leo smiled to himself. Jamie simply had no idea how foolish that statement would one day prove to be!

 Then another thought occurred to him. What was a footballer’s name supposed to sound like? What a strange thing to say.

“So, you any good at football, then, Leo?” It was Pete who asked this question. The first time he had spoken directly to Leo.

Momentarily, Leo was at a loss for words. For a few seconds it was like he had forgotten every word in the English language.

Being spoken to by your Dad when he was your own age was just… well… weird!

“I’m… okay… I guess,” he answered, hesitantly, before nervously adding, “Pete.” Calling his Dad by his first name also felt strange. But he knew he’d have to keep doing so. Under no circumstances could he allow himself to accidentally call the boy ‘Dad’. That would be just too embarrassing. Both for him and for Pete.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” said Matt, a slightly sinister smile having suddenly appearing on his face. “We’ve only got 10 players for our match against Deansview Juniors this morning. You can be our eleventh player!”

Chapter 4 to be released on 7th August 2024

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