Chapter 407: School

"It was nothing crazy," Lukas said, letting Joanna pull away just enough to look at him. "Just a small celebration. Everyone needed it after the last two games. The mood has been heavy since Spurs and Brighton, so winning the derby like that... it felt like the whole club could breathe again."

Joanna looked down at the bag.

"Is the ball inside?"

Lukas nodded.

"Signed by everyone."

Javi’s smile widened.

"That one you keep properly."

"I will."

They sat together for a while, the television still showing highlights in silence while Lukas told them little pieces of the evening: Haaland trying to sign the match ball as a joke, Bernardo complaining about Fantasy Premier League points, Cherki filming half the dressing room, Pep pretending to be calm even though everyone knew he was delighted. Joanna laughed through most of it, though every time the screen showed one of the goals again, her eyes drifted there as if she still couldn’t believe she had seen it live.

Eventually, Javi leaned back and looked at him.

"So, no training tomorrow morning then?"

"No training tomorrow morning," Lukas said.

Joanna tilted her head. "Then you can sleep in?"

Lukas made a face.

"Not exactly."

Javi already seemed to remember before Lukas said it.

"Oh. School."

Lukas nodded with a tired little laugh.

"School. First day tomorrow."

Joanna stared at him for a second, then started laughing properly.

"You scored a hat-trick in the Manchester derby today, and tomorrow you’re going to school?"

"Grade 11 waits for no one."

Javi chuckled.

Lukas had been enrolled at St Bede’s College, a private school in Manchester that worked closely with City’s academy education structure. The arrangement was supposed to keep his life as normal as possible, or at least as normal as life could be for a footballer who had just scored three goals against Manchester United. He would not be there every day like an ordinary student, and plenty of his education would be built around training, travel and club responsibilities, but the first day still mattered. Javi had insisted on that from the beginning. Football could not be the only thing in his world.

"Do you need me to take you?" Javi asked.

Lukas shook his head.

"No, don’t worry. Aaron is taking me. I’m meeting Ryan on the way, then we’ll go together."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah, McAidoo. He’s an academy player, and trains with the first team from time to time. Really talented. It’ll be easier going in with someone who already knows the place properly."

Javi nodded.

"Good. Then get some rest."

Lukas stood, picking up his bag again.

"I’ll shower first."

Joanna rose with him, saying goodnight to Javi before following Lukas down the hallway toward the bedroom. The moment the door closed behind them, the noise from the television became distant, muffled by the wall.

Lukas placed the bag near the wardrobe and carefully took out the match ball, setting it on the desk as though it were something fragile. He looked at it for a second, still smiling faintly, then began taking off his jacket.

Joanna stood near the bed, quieter now.

"By the way," she said, "we met someone at the Etihad today."

Lukas looked over his shoulder.

The change in her voice told him before the words did. Her expression was softer, more careful, like she was deciding whether this was the right time to say something that could not be unsaid.

He paused with one hand on the zip of his hoodie.

"You met my mom?"

Joanna nodded.

Lukas exhaled slowly, then turned to face her properly.

"Did she recognize you? I mean... did you introduce yourself?"

"Yeah," Joanna said. "I introduced myself. But it wasn’t just your mom."

Lukas’ brow tightened slightly.

Joanna sat on the edge of the bed.

"I met your sister too."

The room went still.

Lukas did not answer immediately.

Joanna watched his face carefully before continuing.

"Apparently, I had already met her before. I just didn’t know she was related to you."

Lukas’ voice came quieter.

"You met Jane’s daughter?"

"Yes. Lexi." Joanna nodded again. "Do you remember when I told you about that girl who helped me when I first came to Manchester? When I had that emergency and needed sanitary products?"

Lukas blinked.

"That was her?"

"That was her. I didn’t know then. She didn’t know me either. Today she was sitting with her parents, and when I saw Jane, I recognized her because..." Joanna hesitated. "Because after you told me about your mother, I searched her up. I saw her pictures from the university. So when I saw her today, I knew."

Lukas sat down slowly on the other side of the bed.

For a moment he stared at the floor, processing too many things at once: Jane in the stadium, Lexi beside Joanna, the family he knew about but had never touched, suddenly crossing paths with the life he had built for himself.

"Does Lexi know?" he asked.

Joanna shook her head.

"I don’t think so. I don’t think she knows about your relationship yet."

Lukas nodded faintly, though his eyes stayed lowered.

Joanna moved closer and placed a hand over his.

"She seemed nice."

Lukas gave a small, complicated smile.

"I know she exists. That’s all. I’ve never met her."

"I know."

"She was wearing United shirt?"

Joanna smiled despite the heaviness of the conversation.

"Yes."

Lukas let out a quiet laugh.

"Bad day for her then."

"Terrible day," Joanna said softly. "But she still told me to congratulate you."

Lukas looked at her then.

"She did?"

"On the win and the hat-trick."

For a few seconds, he said nothing. Then he looked toward the match ball on the desk, covered in signatures from the family he had chosen in football, while somewhere across the city there was another family tied to him by blood and silence.

He breathed out slowly.

"Strange day."

Joanna squeezed his hand.

"Very strange day."

Lukas nodded, then stood again, pulling the hoodie over his head.

"I’m going to shower."

Joanna watched him walk toward the bathroom, but before he disappeared inside, he stopped and glanced back at the signed ball one more time.

The greatest day of his Manchester City career had ended with the one subject he never quite knew how to hold — his mother, sister, and the life that had moved on without him.

* * *

Lukas woke the next morning to the soft vibration of his phone against the bedside table.

For a few seconds, he did not move. His body still felt heavy from the previous day, not in the way it felt after an ordinary match, but in the deeper way that came after emotion, adrenaline and exhaustion had all passed through him at once. The room was still dim, the curtains only allowing a faint grey strip of morning light to cut across the floor. Beside him, Joanna was still asleep, turned slightly away from him with the duvet pulled up to her shoulder.

He reached for his phone carefully so he would not wake her.

7:30 a.m.

A message was waiting from Ryan McAidoo.

Ryan McAidoo: Morning bro. I’ll be waiting at the spot. Let me know when you’re close.

Lukas rubbed one hand across his face, still half-asleep, then typed back.

Lukas: Morning. I’ll be there soon.

He placed the phone on his chest for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.

School.

The thought almost made him laugh.