Leo smiles. His son frowns. "It looks terrible, Dad."
The basement fell silent. Leo didn't look at the screen’s "press X for curl" meter. He felt it. He aimed at the top-right corner, held the button for two heartbeats, and tapped the left shoulder button to add the magical, unrealistic, perfect Winning Eleven swerve.
It was 2003. He was twelve. The world was a messy place of homework and hand-me-downs, but the virtual pitch of Winning Eleven 3: Final Evolution (as it was known in some regions, though he just called it "WE2003") was a clean, green cathedral.