Second Family

I… lost?!

Omari still wasn't sure of what happened. On one hand, it felt like a dream, as if everything that happened was just a nightmare. On the other hand, he was very sure that everything that happened was reality.

There was no way that he was dreaming. The feeling of his heart thumping against his chest. The anger that welled up inside his chest, everything was real.

Everything was real, and he lost.

He looked towards the linesman that ruled out his goal with unhidden malice. He glanced at the referee, then he glanced at his teammates that also looked as disappointed and downcast as him. And finally, he glanced at… Anthony.

His eyes burned with anger as he glanced at his team's number nine and he clenched his fists. He closed his fists so hard that his hands started to vibrate.

All the chances that Anthony missed from the game flashed in his head. As all these thoughts were spinning inside his head, he didn't notice as one of the referees came to him.

"Hey man". The referee said and stretched out his hand for handshake. Omari didn't seem to hear him. It was only after the referee shoved his hand a bit that Omari snapped out of his reverie.

"Oh, hi". Omari said. He took the hand of the referee and shook it. "What can I do you for?"

"Nothing". The referee said. He handed Omari a small cylindrical trophy. "You won man of the match".

Omari smiled weakly and collected the trophy. "Thanks".

"Hey, don't fret about the loss. You all tried your best, I'm sure your manager would be proud of your second half performance". The referee said to Omari.

Omari nodded in response and looked at the man of the match trophy in his hands. All of a sudden, he didn't feel so bad anymore. The referee was right, they put in their heart and soul into that second half, and if that wasn't enough then they just had to work harder.

The fact that the referee was right about the match didn't mean he would be right about the manager's reaction. In fact, he couldn't have been any more wrong.

"Shit players!" The manager stormed into the dressing room and announced while the boys were changing out of the jerseys. "You all are a bunch of fucking shit players". He sighed and shook his head.

"Could one of you find the time to explain to me how you all come to Manchester and score three fucking goals, and we don't have a point to show for it!" The manager screamed. He walked over to Anthony. "Number fucking nine!" Anthony shuddered. "Now tell me the truth, I won't get mad. How much did they pay you?" The tone of the manager's voice dropped significantly when he asked the last question. It sounded like he was trying to goad a child into telling the truth.

"Excuse me?" Anthony muttered. A look of genuine confusion was written all over his face.

"How much did they fucking pay you to play the shitty football that you played out there?!" The manager was directly in front of Anthony at this point.

"And you!" He pointed at Tylen who just came out of the bathroom after showering. "What kind of a shit player are you. I mean we all knew you were shit but this…". The manager shook his head. "You really managed to surprise me".

He turned his attention to the goalkeeper. "You wretch! Do you really think that you can keep starting after conceding four goals. Get your ass ready to warm that bench!"

He shouted at a few more players and finally he stared at Omari. "You! Are you Brazilian?!"

"What?" Omari was confused. How come he got shouted at. He won the man of the match for crying out loud!

"Answer my question!" The manager yelled. "Are. You. Fucking. Brazilian?!"

"No". Omari muttered.

"Then why the hell are you trying to play like you're Naymar!" The coach stood directly in front of him. Omari was sitting down on a bench so the coach crouched and looked him directly in the eye. "Sure you're a winger, you could do a few tricks with the ball, but fucking cutback and pass if you can't dribble past the defender! Fancy footwork won't take you anywhere!"

Omari nearly opened his mouth to argue with the manager. He really didn't understand where the manager was coming from. He completed all his take-ons, he didn't recall himself giving possession away. He got three fucking assists! How the fuck could the manager find a flaw in his game.

Omari, like some of the other players that the manager yelled at felt wronged. And like all the players that the manager yelled at, Omari didn't have the balls to talk back. He lowered his head and nodded slightly.

"And as a punishment for your bullshit performance today, we're doing intense training throughout next week!" The manager said. He stormed out of the room. He walked back inside the room. "And we're going to Kirkby next!"

When he said his next statement, all the players that were sulking internally sucked in some air.

They knew which team they were going to play next obviously, they had been given the fixture list weeks ahead of the new season. However, the Manchester United saga made them forget that there was a equally tough opponent waiting for them… they were going to Liverpool!

"Well isn't that just great!" Omari muttered to himself. "You guys prepare yourselves. In T-minus one week, we're getting another ear full!"

His remark drew a few smiles from some of the players.

"No worries, he'll be saying Joshua why did you only stop at a hat trick against Liverpool. You should've scored five!"

Joshua's follow up brought the previously downcast boys to laughter. The reason for their laughter wasn't because of the fact that Joshua's remark was funny. It was because they knew that that was something that their coach to say.

Omari watched his team silently as they made fun of the manager, occasionally victimizing Steve. He smiled unconsciously. A team wasn't just some random bunch of people playing ball together, they were like a second family.

He'd never experienced what that was like in his previous life. He was going to do his best to make sure that it didn't happen again!