Gary allowed the emotional moment to settle, a brief island of humanity in the otherwise sterile, business-like atmosphere of the room, before his attention shifted, his gaze falling upon Semenyo.

The young winger, who had been watching the scene with a mixture of joy for Eze and terror for himself, flinched as if struck. He sat ramrod straight, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.

My stomach, which had just begun to unknot, clenched itself into a tight, painful ball once more. This was the moment I had been dreading. Semenyo was younger, rawer, far more inconsistent.

If Gary was only going to keep one of them, this was the axe-fall. "Antoine," Gary began, his voice losing the faint warmth it had held when addressing Eze, becoming once again clipped and serious.

"You have been with the club for five weeks. You came to us, a talented young player with undeniable pace and a good eye for goal. But you were not clicking with the Under-16s. Your positioning was poor. Your decision-making was weak. Your work rate was inconsistent. You were a chaos player, an individual relying on moments of instinct rather than contributing to a team structure."

Semenyo's face was a mask of pure fear, his eyes wide and pleading. He looked like he was bracing for a physical blow, and I felt a surge of protective anger.

I opened my mouth to speak, to argue his case, to remind Gary that he was only fifteen, but Gary, anticipating my interruption, held up a single, commanding hand. "Danny took you under his wing three weeks ago," he continued, his eyes still locked on Semenyo.

"He promised me he could get you to show improvement. And you did. I have watched you in three matches. Against Millwall, you had one good moment, a flash of what you could be. Against Brighton, you got an assist and, more importantly, you tracked back consistently. Against Inter Milan, you scored one and assisted another. That is clear, undeniable progression. That is development."

He paused, and the silence was deafening. I held my breath, my gaze flicking between Gary's impassive face and Semenyo's terrified one.

"But," Gary said, the word landing like a stone, "you are still only fifteen. You are still raw. You still make basic positioning mistakes. You still drift inside when your job is to hold the width. You have improved, but you are not the finished article. Not even close."

Semenyo's shoulders slumped in defeat, a silent admission that his dream was over. But Gary wasn't finished.

"We are extending your trial," he said. "Six more months." Semenyo's head snapped up, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Six months?" he repeated, his voice a stunned whisper.

"Six months," Gary confirmed. "You have shown that you can improve. You have shown that you respond to the right kind of coaching. But you need more time. More development. More consistency. Danny is going to continue working with you, one-on-one. If you continue to progress at the rate you have been, if you continue to listen and to learn, then we will discuss a full scholarship contract at the end of those six months."

Tears were now streaming down Semenyo's face, but these were tears of relief, not despair. "Thank you," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "I won't let you down. I promise."

"I know you won't," Gary said, and for the first time, a hint of a smile touched his lips. "Because Danny believes in you. And I am beginning to trust his judgment."

He looked directly at me then, his expression sharp and questioning. "You are committed to this? To continuing the one-on-one sessions with Antoine?"

"Absolutely," I said, my voice firm, leaving no room for doubt. "I will keep working with him. I will keep developing him."

Gary nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Good," he said, standing up, the meeting clearly over. "Then we are done here. Welcome to Crystal Palace, both of you."

The moment the heavy oak door of Gary's office clicked shut behind us, the fragile composure of the two young players shattered into a million pieces.

Eze and Semenyo, who had walked out of the room in a state of stunned silence, simply collapsed into each other in the middle of the corridor, a tangle of limbs and emotions. They were hugging, crying, and laughing all at once, the raw, unfiltered sounds of relief and joy echoing in the quiet hallway.

The tension of the past three weeks, the sleepless nights, the gnawing uncertainty, the crushing weight of expectation, it all poured out of them in a messy, beautiful, cathartic flood. I stood to the side, leaning against the cool wall, and just watched them, a lump forming in my throat.

A surge of pride, so fierce and so intense it was almost painful, washed over me. I did this. It wasn't just the system, not just the data. I saw them, I fought for them, I coached them, and now, because of that, they had a future.

Eze, the boy who had been told 'no' four times, now had a professional contract. Semenyo, the raw, chaotic talent no one knew what to do with, now had six more months to prove himself. It wasn't a perfect, storybook ending, but it was a beginning. It was a chance. And three weeks ago, neither of them had that.

Sarah appeared at my side as if from nowhere, her presence a quiet, grounding force. She placed a hand on my shoulder, her touch light but firm.

"You did it," she said softly, her eyes fixed on the two celebrating players, a rare, genuine smile on her face. I turned to look at her, to the woman who had been my partner in this whole crazy venture, and corrected her, the words feeling more true than anything I had ever said.

"We did it," I insisted. "I couldn't have done any of this without you. Without any of you." As if on cue, Rebecca and Michael joined us, their faces beaming with a shared sense of accomplishment.

Rebecca, who had patiently rebuilt Eze's physical foundations, and Michael, who had provided a steady stream of encouragement and goalkeeping wisdom, were as much a part of this victory as anyone.

"That's proper coaching, boss," Michael said, his grin wide. "That's development. That's what it's all about." I could only nod, the emotion of the moment threatening to choke me, rendering me speechless.

I was exhausted, a deep, bone-weary fatigue that settled into my very soul, but I was also happier, more profoundly content, than I had been in a very long time. This was it.

This was the reason I had walked away from my old life in the convenience store, the reason I had taken this insane gamble. It wasn't about the tactics, the formations, the fleeting glory of a win. It was about this. The players. The development. The quiet, immense satisfaction of helping to shape a future.

***

Thank you to nameyelus and chisum_lane for the gifts

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