From cero to a hundred

Scouted

Me and Shannon had been gone from the football pitch for about 40 minutes when I got a call from my coach.

"What's up Ciara?" I said when I answered the call.

"Hey are you around or have you gone back home?" She asked me.

"I'm just 10 minutes away from the pitch with a friend." I told her looking over at Shannon

"Okay great, do you mind coming back to my office for a quick word, it's important." She told me.

"Sure, I'll be back as soon as I can." I told her, before hanging up and looking over at Shannon.

"Bro we've got to head back, coach needs me in her office for something." I told her.

"No problem, let's go then." She told me, getting up.

We walked back to the pitch discussing what coach could need me back for. "Bro imagine she tells you she wants you to play up another age group!" Shannon said.

"Nah, that's not gonna happen, I ain't all that much." I told her as we got nearer to the pitch.

"That you're not that much? You're playing with girls two years older and beating their ass." She told me, giving me a small push.

I didn't answer since we arrived at the pitch. I looked around, nobody was left. I went over to coach's office and knocked on her door.

"Jamie! Come in, I've been waiting for you." She told me, opening the door up.

"I'll be out in a bit." I told Shannon before going in.

As coach closed the door behind me I realized there was someone else in the room. He was tall and strong. Tan skin, he looked to be hispanic, he was dressed with some black sweats and an oversized blue sweatshirt.

"Sit down kid." Ciara told me as I took a chair. "So I know you haven't been here for too long, but your talent and hard work are hard to go unnoticed. Many people have come by and complemented how you play, but in today's match there was a Chelsea scout in the stands. You caught his eyes, so Jamie say hi to Mateo." She said, leaving me a bit shocked.

"Hi Mateo nice to meet you." I told him confidently as I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too Jamie, It was very nice to see you play today. I'm gonna go straight to the point I really want you to come over and trial with us. Like I haven't seen such a good player in a bit." He told me. "The trial would be in easter break, for two weeks, you'd be trilling for the U 19 team over there, with about another 21 player or so, and we will choose the finest of the bunch." He went on.

"I don't know what to tell you, like I didn't expect this." I told him.

"You'd be in a residence for those two weeks, in a bedroom for two with one of the other girls from the trial. You'd have one or two training sessions a week, with a rest day on sunday." He told me.

"I'm just trying to process it all right now." I told him scratching my neck.

"Don't worry about it, I've got your mothers contact and her email for all the information to be passed. When you do make a decision, whichever it might be I'd appreciate if you contacted me. Let your mum know I'll be calling her sooner or later." He told me before getting up. "Well I'll hopefully see you over in London. Keep up the work kid." He said shaking my hand before leaving the office.

I stood there in shock before Ciara came over to me and gave me a hug lifting me up and swinging me around. "Oh my god! You just got scouted!" She shouted in my face.

As we jumped up and down and hugged a bit more there was a knock on the door. Ciara went over and opened it. "I think someone is looking for you." She told me, opening the door.

"Hey Shannon! Uhm I'll see you around." I told coach as I walked out from the office, walking beside Shannon.

"You look happy." She teased me as we sat down in the stands of the pitch.

"That's because I am." I told her looking down at the pitch.

"What's making you so happy then?" She asked me, making me face her.

"Well I got scouted in today's match, and I'm going to have a trial with a team in England, for two weeks." I told her.

"No way! I knew the day would come. Can I know the team? Or is it top secret?" She asked me with a smirk.

"You can know it, it's a team in England, in London, uhm, Chelsea fucking scouted me!" I told her, jumping up.

"No fucking way! I'm so proud of you!" She said bringing me into a hug.

"Let's go for lunch, I'm inviting you." She told me, pulling me along with her.

We walked down the street, about 2 or 3 minutes, when we got to a restaurant called Keanes. I opened the door letting Shannon go in. We went up to the bar and asked for a table for two. The barwoman took us over to this table.

We sat down and looked through the menu discussing what looked or sounded the most appetising, before deciding what we wanted and telling the bartender.

"What's that in your phone case?" Shannon asked me as she pointed at the paper at the back of my phone case.

"Oh, it's just a paper." I told her, trying to play it off.

She looked at me with a smirk before taking my phone from beside me and opening the phone case up. I tried to take it from her but she was too far away.

She opened the paper up and read it, as her expression softened in her face. "You kept it?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I found it after shit went down. I wanted to thank you for it, but it wasn't the time for that." I told her looking down at my feet.

"I'm glad you kept it. Just know I meant everything that was on it." She said, placing the paper back in my phone case and giving it back to me.

We ate our food while we caught up with each other and what had been going on in each other's lives. Laughing and talking like old times.

"I've got to catch the bus in a bit, we should head towards the stop." Shannon said, looking at her watch.

"Sure, let's go then." I told her, before she paid and we both left.

We walked to the bus stop, which was just in front of the pitch and sat down and waited for the bus to arrive. Her bus was coming about 15 minutes before mine so when the galway bus got to the bus stop I waved at her as she got in and left.

I sat back down at the bus stop and decided to text the group chat I had with Jade and Connor.

Whores 💅👩‍👧‍👦🌈

Guess whaaat?

Jade: Please tell me you didn't
murther anybody

Noooo, I talked to Shannon
after the match.

Connor: No way! How did it go?

Jade: Yeah spill all the tea!

Well we talked and figured shit
out. We decided to stay friends
because let's be real I fucked up.

But it's totally fine, I'm glad I can
talk to her again.

Connor: I'm so happy for you,
text me when you get here,
we're meeting up.

Jade: Don't do anything to fun
I'm back here! But I'm glad you
and Shannon worked it out J.

Thanks guys, you're literally
the best. I love you!

I put my phone in my pocket as I saw the bus approach and got in it. I paid for my ticket and sat down near the front of the bus, with my earphones in, listening to mumfords and sons.

I didn't tell Jade and Connor about Chelsea, because I didn't know if my mum was even gonna let me go. And I felt like my family should know beforehand.

So that's what I was gonna do when I got home, tell my family I got scouted and asked to come for a two week trial out to london with another 21 girls, all just chasing a dream.