At precisely half-past eight, Eze and Semenyo arrived together, a pair of ghosts haunting the brightly lit reception area. They were dressed in their club tracksuits, the red and blue fabric looking stark against their pale, anxious faces.

They looked less like professional footballers and more like two kids who had been summoned to the headmaster's office, their shared fate a heavy, invisible yoke connecting them.

They sat side-by-side on the uncomfortable reception sofa, a study in nervous tension, their shoulders hunched, their hands clasped tightly in their laps, their eyes fixed on some invisible point on the floor.

The sight of their shared terror was a punch to the gut, a stark reminder of how much was riding on the next hour.

I pushed myself out of the chair in Sarah's office and walked over to them, forcing a confidence into my posture that I was a million miles from feeling, my steps echoing slightly in the quiet space. They both looked up as I approached, their eyes wide with a mixture of hope and dread.

"Morning, lads," I said, my voice deliberately light, an attempt to inject a sliver of normalcy into the suffocating atmosphere.

"How are you feeling?" The question was a foolish one, and I knew it the moment the words left my mouth. Eze, usually so composed, so sure of his own prodigious talent, just shook his head, his voice barely a whisper when he finally spoke.

"Nervous." Semenyo, younger and less adept at hiding his emotions, was even more direct. "Terrified," he admitted, and I could see the slight tremor in his hands, the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists.

My heart went out to them, to the sheer, gut-wrenching agony of waiting for someone else to decide your future. In that moment, I made a decision. I owed them more than false platitudes. I owed them the truth.

"Me too," I said, the honesty of the admission hanging in the air between us. Both of them looked up at me then, their shared surprise momentarily eclipsing their fear.

"Really?" Eze asked, his brow furrowed in disbelief.

"Really," I confirmed, meeting his gaze.

"But you've both done the work. You've both earned this. Whatever happens in there," I said, nodding towards the corridor that led to Gary's office, "you should be proud of what you've achieved. Three weeks ago, you were both on the outside looking in. Now look at you. You've improved in every single match. You've shown everyone what you can do. That's not luck. That's not a fluke. That's hard work. Trust that."

Eze nodded slowly, a flicker of his usual self-assurance returning to his eyes, the tension in his shoulders easing almost imperceptibly. Beside him, Semenyo took a long, shuddering breath, his hands finally stilling in his lap.

We sat in a heavy silence for the next twenty minutes, a strange trinity of hope and fear, the relentless ticking of the clock on the wall the only sound, each second a tiny hammer blow against my already frayed nerves.

My mind, a traitor to any sense of calm, raced through every possible scenario, every potential conversation, every permutation of success and failure. Gary keeps both. Gary keeps one.

Gary keeps neither. Each possibility was a distinct flavour of emotion, from the dizzying high of relief to the bitter, metallic taste of disappointment. I tried to prepare myself for all of them, to build a fortress around my heart, but I knew it was useless.

I was too invested, too deeply entangled in their stories, their hopes, their futures. If Gary let them go, it wouldn't just be their failure. It would be mine. At two minutes to nine, the door to the corridor opened and Gary's assistant, a woman with a permanently stressed expression, appeared. "He's ready for you."

Gary's office was exactly as I had pictured it: functional, intimidatingly tidy, and devoid of any personal touches, save for a framed photo of a younger Gary lifting a long-forgotten trophy.

A large, polished desk dominated the room, its surface covered in neat stacks of paperwork and scouting reports.

On the wall behind him, a tactical board displayed the U18s' formation, a silent testament to the business-like approach he brought to every aspect of the club. He sat behind the desk, a figure of calm authority, his hands folded neatly in front of him, his expression as unreadable as a stone.

We sat in the three chairs arranged opposite him, a trio of supplicants before a king, the air thick with unspoken hopes and fears.

The tension was a physical presence in the room, a suffocating blanket that made it hard to breathe, and I could feel my heart hammering against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the heavy silence.

Gary let the silence stretch, his gaze moving slowly from Eze to Semenyo and then to me, and I was certain he was doing it deliberately, testing our nerve, seeing how we held up under the weight of his scrutiny.

Finally, he spoke, his voice calm and measured, cutting through the tension like a knife. "Right," he said, his eyes settling on Eze. "Let's talk about your trials." The pause that followed was an eternity.

I risked a glance at Eze, who was staring at Gary with wide, unblinking eyes, his body rigid with anticipation.

Beside him, Semenyo looked like he might actually pass out, his face pale and slick with a thin sheen of sweat. Gary leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking softly.

"Eberechi. Three weeks ago, you arrived here after being released by four clubs. You were, without question, technically brilliant, one of the most naturally gifted players I have seen at this level in a very long time. But," and the word hung in the air, heavy with implication, "you were physically weak. You got pushed off the ball as if you weren't there. Your tactical understanding was limited. You didn't track back. You were, to be blunt, a luxury player, the kind of player who looks wonderful in highlight reels but can cost you matches."

Eze's face, which had been alight with hope at the initial praise, crumpled, the familiar shadow of rejection falling over him. My own stomach plummeted. This wasn't the preamble to a contract offer; it was the justification for a release.

But Gary, ever the master of suspense, wasn't finished. "But you worked," he continued, his tone shifting almost imperceptibly.

"You listened to Danny, to Rebecca in the gym, to Sarah in the analysis room. You put in the hours when no one was watching. You learned our pressing system. You adapted your game. I have watched you in three matches. Against us with Millwall, you created a goal out of nothing. Against Brighton, you created two clear chances and scored one yourself. Against a very good Inter Milan side, you assisted one and scored a ninety-second-minute winner. That, son, is progression. That is development. That is what we are looking for here."

Another pause, this one filled with a fragile, burgeoning hope. I could barely breathe. Eze was on the edge of his seat, his entire being focused on Gary, waiting for the final verdict.

"We're offering you a professional contract," Gary said, the words delivered with a quiet finality. The air rushed out of my lungs. Eze's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing silently, the shock rendering him speechless.

"Professional?" he finally managed to stammer, his voice cracking. "Not… not just a scholarship?"

"Professional," Gary confirmed with a nod. "Two years. You're a bargain, son. A player with your technical ability, who is showing a willingness to improve the other parts of his game, is a valuable asset. This is good business for us."

The dam of Eze's composure finally broke. His hands came up to cover his face as tears of relief and vindication streamed down his cheeks. "Thank you," he sobbed, his voice muffled by his hands. "Thank you so much." Gary's expression remained serious.

"Don't thank me," he said, his gaze shifting to me. "Thank Danny. He's the one who saw you playing for Millwall. He's the one who badgered me for a week to give you a trial. He's the one who developed you."

Eze lowered his hands, his tear-streaked face a mask of raw, unfiltered emotion as he turned to me.

"Thank you," he said again, the two words carrying the weight of all his shattered hopes and now, finally, his redemption. "I won't let you down." My own throat was tight, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. "You did the work, Eze," I said, my voice thick. "You earned this."

***

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