By Joseph Morales

It is around 6PM on Friday, July 24th, 2026 at the field on Cedar Grove Avenue a few blocks from Cedar Grove Beach on Staten Island. 12-year old Justin Russo and his brother James are walking back home after Justin finished playing soccer with their friends. The two had spent most of the day at Cedar Grove Beach with the clique before going to the field. While it was a fun day overall, James was bummed that his parents wanted him to stay at the field to watch Justin play soccer. They told him that it was because they wanted James to expose himself to some sports so that he can ultimately choose one to play. Besides wanting him to play something, his parents also wanted him to be more well-rounded and enjoy something other than academics.

James was a stereotypical nerd and was never really into anything physical. He also wasn’t too fond of trying new things. Even in the honors program at M.S 362, he always got 4s on his report card as school just came naturally for him. This comfort zone served as a compass for how and when James would socialize.

At school, the teacher would give everyone a math worksheet to work on for twenty minutes after the main lesson. James would just finish it as if he was signing the user agreement for a video game before proceeding to help a large group of kids. It was a total 180 for him at the beach and field. While the others would bodyboard, James would just stand at the shore and let the waves hit his legs. He would always say that he felt that he was relaxing “as a real man would”, but everyone knew it was bigger than that. James found a similar way to sideline himself in every other activity, while Justin would participate with everyone else.

It was about to be a slightly precarious evening for two reasons. One of which is that the Russo family was about to have their classic debate on what to have for dinner. In the New Dorp neighborhood, the eclectic New Dorp Lane offers a plethora of delicacies for people to choose from. Variety at this level is found almost nowhere else in New York City. Chicken Parmigiana from La Strada, Moussaka from Seabass Taverna and Shrimp Fajitas from Cantina Mexicana were all among the family favorites. Typical fast-food options that are less expensive in the area include Popeyes, Teriyaki One and Wendy’s. As one might expect, the family could never agree on anything.

James decided he would just face one battle at a time. After all, the food usually led to something that was at least tolerable if not a really good meal. Justin and James arrived at the house while their mom, Laura, was in the middle of doing laundry. She asked the boys, “What do you guys want for dinner today”?

“Steak Quesadillas from Cantina Mexicana”, Justin said.

“Eggplant Parmigiana from La Strada”, James said while giving Justin a side eye.

“How about a new place called Wonder?” Laura suggested.

James rolled his head while Justin calmly asked what it was. Their dad, Andrew, explained how Wonder was a newer spot where people could get food from a collection of restaurants within that one location. He felt that Wonder could help resolve the family’s constant meal fights since it would allow everyone to get what they want whilst only ordering from one place. Things were off to a great start as everyone agreed on Wonder.

“Finally, everyone is happy for a change.” Laura reacted, throwing her hands in the air.

With that being said, everyone got in the car to go to Wonder. Most people order and pick up when they get food from Wonder. However, the Russos like to go to fast food establishments to sit down and have family time without the prices and wait times of a sit down restaurant.

They got to the Wonder in Hylan Commons and the boys marveled at the fork symbol in the logo and the competing smells of various food items. The family then got up to order and picked what they would have chosen had they got their way with the original place they had in mind. Justin got his steak quesadilla from Limesalt, James got his eggplant parmigiana from Alanza, Laura got a brisket sandwich from Tejas Barbeque and Andrew got a Fried Chicken Sandwich from Streetbird. It was truly wondrous how everyone got what they wanted at one location called Wonder.

As the family is eating, that second battle James was worried about was looming. His mind was preoccupied as he was thinking of what to say when Mom or Dad asked about soccer. Before that could happen, one of the brothers’ friends named Miles walked into the restaurant. Miles walked up to James and Justin.

“What’s up, What’s up”. Miles says as he tries to quickly dap James and Justin up without disturbing the family dinner.

“Kids, we are gonna go to the car to have a private conversation.”, Laura says.

“Ok”, the boys reply.

With that, Miles decided to hang out with the boys while the parents went to have that conversation. He was waiting for some food that he needed to bring back home. Miles was one of the best soccer players in the neighborhood and was likely to be the captain of Justin’s team in the fall. As captain, he had a lot of influence as to what the team name was going to be. He wanted it to be something cool, creative and fitting for a sports team. Many of the other teams in the Staten Island Youth Soccer League were simply named for their home neighborhood or school. Miles wanted his team’s name to be something different.

He decided to talk to James and Justin about ideas. Miles usually only seemed to hang out with the sporty and more popular kids at school. However, he is also hanging out with James today because he is Justin’s brother. James is an honors student in English and knows how to use words to make points, so he is thinking intently. He decides to speak up.

“Well, we’re in New Dorp, and there’s so much diversity and many businesses. Wonder is also really popular, lets just call ourselves the New Dorp Wonder!”

“Oooh, sounds sweet”, Miles howls, giving James a hard dap in the process. Justin was smiling and giving his brother a strong nod of approval. Justin, thinking about how James used the word “ourselves”, decided to pose a question that would receive a stunning answer.

“James, considering how you said “‘ourselves’”, does that mean you’ll be on the team?” Justin asks.

“Uh, yes I guess.” James replies.

Before James can realize he just got caught in his words, Miles scowls a strong “Yes!” in a moderate volume. Having gotten approval from him, James nods with a small smile and decides at that moment to join the team he named. It felt good to feel supported by someone who never paid much mind to him. Over the years, he hasn’t tried new things not due to lack of interest, but because of what others might think of him. He always saw the kids who were better at sports being more popular and assumed it was solely because of their talent. Hence, he loved when he helped people at school with his talents and made them feel good. However, he felt that he could not do the same in most other settings, particularly athletic ones. This level of acceptance from Miles is making him feel like he might as well give it a shot.

After that was finished, the parents walked back to the table. They were both smiling and it seemed like they had good news. Andrew was a car salesman at BMW of Brooklyn just over the Verrazano Bridge in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Usually, he earned a small commission on cars sold of around $500. He would often tell the family just to show off, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case because he had a lengthy conversation with Laura. The news that broke was beyond the unexpected.

“Guys, I just sold a vehicle for $60,000 that didn’t cost the dealership so much to obtain, so I made a $10,000 commission!”

The boys, stunned, smiled widely and hugged their dad in excitement. They reacted loud enough for the moment without making everyone look at them. James and Justin recognize how much those commissions help their family financially. They also know that while the moment was exciting, it was not money their parents would spend frivolously. Andrew and Laura both believed that saving for the biggest things in life was important. Therefore, Laura told the boys the money would be split between their college savings accounts.

James and Justin were happy that the money would be going to their futures. They both thanked their dad once more for the hard work he put in. Then, Justin broke the news to his parents that he would be playing soccer in the fall. Both Andrew and Laura had pleasantly surprised looks on their faces.

Andrew reacted, “Guess there’s a lot of Wonder in New Dorp tonight.”

All the boys laughed hysterically. Andrew was looking around with a smile, not sure what the laughter was about.

“That’s literally the team name we just came up with!” Miles said.

Everyone was thrilled with what had occurred in the last 10 minutes. New Dorp’s soccer team got a great new name, Justin was finally going to try a physical sport and Andrew had scored a major financial lift. There truly was a lot of Wonder inside of Wonder on this summer night.

Less than two months later, it was fall and time for soccer season to begin. James was happy and felt more confident given how Miles told everyone about how he came up with the team name. All the players loved the team logo and jerseys they got too. It was also fitting that they were playing their home games at Miller Field, not far from the Wonder food establishment and the bustling New Dorp Lane commercial strip.

The season started off rocky for James, as he didn’t play great and the team had a 2-3 record through the first month of play. Nonetheless, he was having fun and bonding with teammates in ways he couldn’t have imagined. James would goof off with teammates during practice and go with them to Carvel on Hylan Boulevard after games. His teammates even got him to try bodyboarding at Cedar Grove Beach. Surprisingly, James became increasingly good at it and even got better at soccer. He was really happy to be enjoying himself and that his teammates always wanted to include him in stuff. This goes without mentioning how happy Laura and Andrew were that James was finally experiencing the benefits of physical activity and team sports.

One day, the boys were hanging out and James had just finished making some funny jokes. Everyone was walking off the pitch Miller Field when Miles wrapped his arm around James.

“You know, you’re a pretty cool dude.” Miles said.

“What makes you say that?” James questions.

“You’re funny and always bring good energy.” Miles replies.

James’ face lit up with a face of ecstatic wonder like it never has before.

James always thought that being cool meant being good at sports or using certain slang terms. Little did he know just how far being himself and having fun could really take him. He also learned that you didn’t need success to have friends. Rather, you just needed to be engaging in fun activities and sharing common interests with others. Even without much victory on the field, this season has truly felt like wonder in New Dorp.