After teasing Sofia a little, I went back to my room and finished the homework we were given at school. In the evening, Clara came home and prepared dinner. She called both Sofia and me, and we sat down to eat together. While we were eating, I was looking for the right moment to tell Clara the news. I had a silly grin on my face the whole time.
Sofia must have been bothered by it, because she suddenly turned to Clara and said, "Mom, my brother got accepted in the trials he attended."
Then she looked at me as if she had just won a victory. Ah, that girl… she could be like that sometimes.
After hearing Sofia's words, Clara looked at me with a big smile. The pride on her face was obvious. "Well done, Ryan. Now that you've been accepted, you need to work even harder from now on," she said.
Seeing Clara happy made my determination even stronger. The reason I had been able to live a good life since coming to this world was Clara, who never stopped struggling for her children. For both myself and this family, I would become a world-class star one day.
I looked at her and said, "Mom, I promise I'll work hard. I'll become a good footballer, and one day I'll give you and my sister a great life."
Clara laughed softly. "You silly boy… don't think about things like that yet. Just do what you want and do your best," she said.
Sofia was watching the conversation with a small smile on her face. If I had said these things a few weeks ago, she probably would have looked at me like I was an idiot and thought I was talking nonsense again.
We finished dinner in a pleasant mood. After spending some time on my phone, I went to the living room. As usual, Clara and Sofia were watching their favorite TV show. I watched with them for a while, then went back to my room and lay down on my bed.
I kept turning from side to side, thinking about the message I had received today. After dying in that unfortunate accident, this was my first official step toward football in this new life. After thinking about it for a while longer, my eyes finally closed and I fell asleep.
The next day at school, I started talking with David before classes began. I told him that I had attended the trials and that I had been accepted. David looked at me in shock and said loudly, "Are you serious, Ryan? Even though Greenfield Rovers is an amateur club, getting into their academy is really difficult. Even Evan and Caleb play at clubs at that level."
Because he spoke so loudly, our classmates turned toward us and immediately started asking questions. Caleb spoke first: "Dude, why didn't you tell us you were going to the trials? Evan and I are academy players. You could've come to us for advice."
Evan continued, "If it weren't for David, who knows when we would've found out. Don't hold back this time. Ask us whatever you want to know about amateur academies. Not to brag, but Caleb and I have been in Reedmoor Town's academy for two years. We know a lot that you don't."
They were right. Asking them from the start would have made things much easier for me. This time, I decided not to hold back. "Honestly, I didn't really think I'd be accepted, so I didn't tell you. But I'd like to take you up on your offer and learn everything you know about academies," I said.
Caleb smiled. "Then after classes today, we'll explain everything in detail," he said.
Before the lesson started, my classmates asked a few more questions, but the bell rang before I could answer them all. The entire day passed with curious questions from everyone.
After school, I met David, Caleb, and Evan at a café. I asked everything I was curious about and took notes so I could review them before going to the club tomorrow. After a long conversation and some time hanging out, we said goodbye and headed home.