Friday morning at the Sterling Era Training Complex was usually loud. But today the office was quiet.

Michael Sterling sat at his desk. He was staring at a box.

It was a black box. It looked expensive. A courier had delivered it ten minutes ago and Arthur Milton was circling it like a shark circling a boat.

"Open it Boss," Arthur whispered. "It might be a bomb. Or cake. I hope it is cake."

"It is not cake Arthur," Michael said. "The courier asked for a signature. You do not sign for cake."

Michael reached out. He lifted the lid.

Inside nestled in black velvet lay a trophy.

It was heavy. It was shiny. It was the Barclays Manager of the Month award for January.

"Whoa," Arthur gasped. "It is beautiful. It is shiny enough to see my face in it. Look at my nose. It looks huge."

Michael picked it up. It felt cold and solid in his hand.

January had been a war. The draw against Liverpool. The ugly win at Newcastle. The tactical masterclass in the FA Cup. He had navigated the team through the ice and the snow and come out undefeated.

"You beat Klopp," Arthur said smiling wide. "You beat Howe. You beat Ten Hag. You are the King of January Michael."

"The team did it," Michael corrected. "I just stood on the sideline and yelled."

"You yelled very well," Arthur noted.

Michael placed the trophy on his desk. It looked out of place among the piles of scouting reports and empty coffee cups. It looked like a promise.

Suddenly he felt the familiar vibration in his pocket.

The System.

Michael pulled out his phone. The screen was glowing with a gold light.

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: RECOGNIZED BY ELITES]

[TITLE ACQUIRED: MANAGER OF THE MONTH]

[DESCRIPTION: YOUR REPUTATION HAS INCREASED. REFEREES WILL RESPECT YOU MORE. OPPOSING FANS WILL HATE YOU MORE.]

Michael smiled. He liked the idea of referees respecting him. Maybe he would finally get a penalty decision at home.

But there was more.

[BONUS REWARD GRANTED]

[ITEM: THE GOLDEN WHISTLE]

[CLASS: RARE ARTIFACT]

[EFFECT: WHEN USED IN TRAINING PLAYERS GAIN +50 PERCENT EXPERIENCE FOR 24 HOURS. CAN BE USED ONCE PER MONTH.]

Michael looked at the screen. A Golden Whistle?

He checked his pocket. There it was. A small heavy whistle made of pure gold metal. It felt warm to the touch.

"What is that?" Arthur asked pointing at the gold object. "Is that the prize? A whistle?"

"It is a special whistle," Michael said mysteriously. "Arthur tell the players to gather on the pitch. We are going to have a special session."

Ten minutes later the squad was standing on the indoor pitch.

They looked relaxed. Kai Sora was leaning against the goalpost wearing his sunglasses. Diego Nunez was trying to balance a ball on his bald head. Isaiah King was filming a video for his followers.

"Listen up!" Michael shouted.

He held up the trophy.

The players cheered.

"Manager of the Month!" Danny Fletcher shouted clapping his hands. "Congrats Boss!"

"We carried you," Diego Nunez roared laughing. "I scared the other managers so they voted for you. You owe me a steak."

"I owe you nothing Diego," Michael laughed. "But thank you."

He placed the trophy on the grass.

"This trophy is nice," Michael said. "But it is for the past. January is gone. Today is February. And tomorrow we play Aston Villa."

He held up the Golden Whistle.

"Today we train hard. I want to see speed. I want to see focus."

Isaiah King squinted. "Yo Boss is that whistle made of gold? That is serious drip. Can I wear it?"

"No," Michael said. "But you can listen to it."

Michael blew the whistle.

TWEEEEET!

The sound was not loud but it was piercing. It felt like it vibrated inside the bones of everyone in the room.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed.

Kai Sora stood up straight. He took off his sunglasses. His eyes looked sharp.

Diego Nunez stopped laughing. He cracked his knuckles.

"I feel... energetic," Kenji Sato said jumping up and down. "I feel like I can run to Japan."

"Let us work!" Michael shouted.

The training session that followed was legendary.

The Golden Whistle worked. The players were moving at double speed. The passes were crisp. The shots were rockets.

Erik Olsen the new Viking was flying down the wing. He crossed a ball to Danny Fletcher who volleyed it into the top corner.

"Yes!" Michael shouted blowing the whistle again.

The experience points were flowing. The System interface was scrolling numbers so fast Michael could barely read them.

[DANNY FLETCHER: FINISHING +1]

[ERIK OLSEN: CROSSING +1]

[DIEGO NUNEZ: TACKLING +1]

By the end of the session the players were exhausted but they were smiling. They felt stronger. They felt faster.

"That was good," Arda Guler panted lying on the grass. "I feel like I leveled up in a video game."

"You did," Michael whispered to himself.

After training Michael took the trophy to the canteen.

He placed it in the center of the table where the team ate.

"Do not touch it with greasy hands," Michael warned.

Diego Nunez sat in front of the trophy. He stared at it.

"It is shiny," Diego said. "It looks like a mirror."

Diego made a scary face at the trophy. He growled.

"Why are you scaring the trophy Diego?" Arthur asked sitting down with his salad.

"I am practicing my Fear Aura," Diego said seriously. "Boss said I have an aura. I need to train it."

"The trophy is not scared of you," Arthur said. "It is an object."

"Everything is scared of me," Diego stated.

Luigi the chef came out of the kitchen. He was carrying a giant cake.

"For the Manager!" Luigi shouted.

The cake was shaped like a football pitch. It had green icing and little plastic players.

"Luigi," Michael said touched. "You did not have to do this."

"I did not," Luigi admitted. "Diego ordered it. He said if I did not make a cake he would eat the furniture."

Michael looked at Diego. The big Uruguayan looked away whistling innocently.

"Thank you Diego," Michael said.

"It is nothing Boss," Diego grunted. "Now cut it. I want the corner piece."

Later that afternoon Michael sat in the media room for a club interview.

The media officer a young woman named Sarah set up the camera.

"Okay Michael," Sarah said. "Just hold the trophy and smile. We need a thumbnail for the YouTube video."

Michael held the trophy. He smiled.

"How does it feel?" Sarah asked.

"It feels heavy," Michael joked. "But seriously it feels like validation. When I came here people said I was too young. They said I played too much Football Manager on my computer. They said I did not know the real world."

He looked at the camera lens.

"This trophy proves that the Misfits belong here. We are not tourists in the Premier League. We are residents."

"And the prize money?" Sarah asked. "There is a charity donation included."

"Yes," Michael said. "Ten thousand pounds. I am donating it to the Barnsley Children Hospital. And..."

He paused.

"And I am matching it myself. Another ten thousand from my own pocket."

Arthur Milton who was watching from the back wiped a tear from his eye.

"He is a good boy," Arthur whispered to the wall. "A very good boy."

As Michael left the building that evening he saw Kai Sora waiting in the car park.

The Architect was sitting on the hood of his expensive sports car. He was looking at the stars.

"Kai," Michael said. "Why are you still here? Go home and recharge."

"Boss," Kai said not looking down. "That whistle."

"What about it?"

"It was weird," Kai said. "When you blew it I felt... awake. Usually I am sleepy. But today my brain was fast. Very fast."

Michael smiled. Kai was perceptive. The Genius noticed everything.

"It is a special whistle Kai," Michael said. "It only works when the team is united."

Kai looked at him. He lowered his sunglasses.

"You are a wizard aren't you Boss?" Kai asked seriously. "You have magic items. You have potions. You have a spell on Diego."

"Maybe," Michael winked. "Or maybe I just know how to motivate you."

Kai slid off the car.

"Tomorrow," Kai said. "Aston Villa. I will play fast again. I liked the feeling."

"Good," Michael said. "We need you fast."

Kai got into his car and drove away the engine purring in the cold night air.

Michael walked to his own car. The Manager of the Month trophy was in the passenger seat buckled in with the seatbelt.

He patted it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.