Under 23s

Amber had a smile on her face as she reminisced. After a few more minutes if recollecting memories, she went to her house and walked straight to her room.

...

Omari looked at Amber's departing figure. Part of him wanted to call her back, to tell her exactly what she wanted to hear, but he couldn't do it. More accurately, he couldn't afford to do it. If she wanted him to prioritize her over his football, then perhaps he wasn't quite ready for her yet.

He heaved a sigh and turned to his front door. He waited a few more seconds, allowing the silence to corrode his senses before opening the door.

As he opened the door, he met something that he didn't expect to see. He saw his mom and dad waiting for him. From the looks on their faces, they weren't happy about something.

"Why didn't you tell us?" His mom asked.

Omari didn't even realize what they were talking about for the first few seconds. It was only after recalling everything that happened today that Omari realized what his mom was talking about.

"I don't know" Omari said in a low voice. "I guess it kind of slipped my mind"

Omari wasn't lying with that statement. He was so excited about making his debut for the first team, focusing on grooming himself to the perfect pre match condition that he didn't remember to tell his parents the big news. It had completely slipped his mind.

Omari's parents didn't say a word, but from the looks in their eyes, Omari could deduce that they weren't exactly happy about what Omari did. Omari understood their anger. He would've been angry at himself if he were in their shoes.

"Look, I'm sorry" Omari said softly. He walked over to his parents and hugged them.

Omari's mom sighed and reciprocated Omari's action. Chris on the other hand wasn't too convinced. He hugged Omari back nevertheless.

...

Omari woke up and let out a low groan. At that moment, all the fatigue he was supposed to feel from the match he played earlier hit him at once. His legs were killing him.

Omari summoned all the will to stand up. He didn't remember how he got into his bed the previous night but one thing was certain. He didn't do his post match ritual and now his feet were making him pay.

"Fuck!" Omari muttered under his breath. He willed himself to the toilet and freshened up.

When he got to school, everyone acted extra nice to him. The definition of extra nice being that they threw away whatever invincible vendetta that they had against him. Even the teachers treated him like a normal student.

"It was about time that they begun to have some sense" Omari muttered to himself.

That day, it was communicated on the group chat that there wasn't going to be any training that day to allow all the players recover from the match. Michael and some of the coaches sent a few video clips to telling them some of the flaws in their style of play in the match and how to improve on them.

After reading the message, Omari spent a few more minutes playing with his phone and saw a new notification pop up. He had been added to another group chat... Teesside U23s.

He read some of the information on the group and realized that he would be playing with the under twenty three side any time he wasn't included in the matchday squad.

Although he would still train with the first team squad like a number of under twenty three players, he would play in the reserve league of as it was commonly called, the English League B side any time there wasn't a match.

After school, Omari immediately went home. After a short chat with his parents, he grabbed some food, ate, crashed on his bed and fell asleep.

If it were any other time, Omari would've tried to squeeze in some training. But seeing as his body was aching him and the club decided to give him the day off, who was he to decline.

...

The next day, Omari went to school in the morning. The teacher's one hundred and eighty degree turn in their attitude towards him took a turn for a few more degrees. Omari wasn't sure, but they were actually acting nice to him.

He couldn't complain about the change in attitude though, he welcomed it and breezed through the school day. 

After school, as usual he went for training. He was almost going to the academy training facilities when Ayanfe reminded him that they were in the first team now. Omari slapped his forehead and went to the first team training area.

When Omari and Ayanfe got there, they saw Michael with a frown on his face. In front if Michael were two physios treating a player who was placed on a stretcher.

"Another injury" Michael said as he looked at the two boys that walked inside. "That's the second one today, the third one if we're counting Sammy with it"

Omari sucked in some air. He had to use all the willpower that he had inside of him to stop his lips from forming a smile.

Now, Omari wasn't a bad person, he most definitely didn't wish for anyone to get injured but since they did, it was hard for him not to be happy seeing as he was likely to get more opportunities in the first team.

For any squad player, especially the young players looking to cement their spot in the first team, times like this are what they prayed for, what they wanted. Because times like this are what gave them a chance to showcase their talent.

Omari looked to his side and saw Ayanfe looking at the player on the stretcher with pity in his eyes. Seeing Ayanfe have to much empathy for the player, Omari smiled inwardly. If Ayanfe knew the effect that the injury wave will have on his career, then he'd probably be like him, using all his willpower to stop himself from smiling.

"Alright lads, go join the rest of 'em outside. They're just doing some warm training exercises. Tell the coaches that I said everyone should do some light passing drills today. We're travelling to Norwich in two days,