The coach's decision

Right after coach Evans said that he had an announcement to make we all gathered in front of him, as always I had Alex and Nathan by my side but this time I could feel that they were feeling a little more tense than usual.

"First of all, I want to say that I'm extremely proud of all of you for today's match, I've seen everyone do their best and even if there were some unfortunate accidents in the middle of the game I was still extremely pleased to see that we had so many talented players." He said with a warm smile on his face.

Hearing the coach's words made everyone ease up a little, I could also feel my mood getting better, but that's when the coach's assistant joined the conversation. "Unfortunately as you all know, not all of you will be able to join the A team, many changes will be made for the team in order to prepare for the summer tournament which will start in exactly one month."

After hearing his words everyone's body got filled with anxiousness, I also couldn't help but start worrying a bit. I didn't even get to play a full half so I didn't know if I would get chosen, I couldn't help but think that maybe he would attribute all my goals to the fact that they lacked a player.

"Before we announce the new effective of the A team, I want to tell you all that the team and bench for the summer tournament still haven't been chosen and that we might even take players from the B team or even the reserve team if they show potential and fit with our plans." Evans said seriously.

We all understood the hidden meaning behind those words. 'Even the A team player shouldn't slack off or else their places will be stolen.'

I couldn't help but admire Evans as a coach, he made everything in order to create the best talents and results, now the A team will do their best to keep their place, and at the same time that'll motivate the B team players to improve even more and try to catch up.

"We will now be announcing the people who will be relegated to the B team..." Evans announced loudly, I knew I should try to listen to him but I couldn't help getting lost in my own thoughts after what I heard.

'It seems like this one month will be full of competition, everyone will be doing their best to get a place into the tournament.' The more I heard of it the more that tournament seemed interesting to me.

Right as that thought entered my mind I got yet another system notification. That was the second one today. But this one was very intriguing.

[Special quest: Summer Tournament!

Difficulty: ??

Description:

The Spain U15 summer tournament is about to start in a month, participate in the tournament and see how far you can go. (Reward will depend on how far the team go in the tournament.)

Reward: ?? ]

It was my first time seeing such a quest, not only the difficulty seems unknown but same goes for the reward. All the quests I had up till now had a clear reward and difficulty so now I was becoming more and more curious about what I might get out of this tournament.

Though the coach's words ended up bringing me back to reality. "Now that this is done. We will announce the 5 people who will become players of the A team."

"First of all, Pedro Pasqual. You've been an amazing captain and clearly earned your place in the A team. Now that your injury is almost fully healed we will count on you to support our defense, I'm glad to have you officially join us." Evans announced the first player to join the A team.

Pascal simply nodded while we all cheered for him and congratulated him. It was nice to see that our friend got chosen. He for sure deserved it after saving us so many times.

Now was the time for the second player. "For the second player we chose..."

"The third player will be..." Evans kept announcing the new chosen players but that only made my heart sink further down in my chest, that anxious feeling from earlier was growing more and more.

There were only 2 places left and neither me, Alex or Nathan have been chosen. That means that one of us won't be able to make it. I looked at both of them and I could see that they also realized that and tensed up.

"Our fourth player will be...Kevin dragonfly! We saw in this match that our weakest point was our offense and we hope to change that with you by our side. You still have many weaknesses you need to work on but we hope to make the best use of your speed." Evans announce the 4th player and by now I no longer could feel my legs, there was only one person place left.

I can't explain why I was feeling that way, maybe I've took it for granted that all 3 of us will stay together but now that there was only 1 place left reality came crashing onto me. 'What if none of us make it?'

"And now we will be announcing the last player to join us. The man who will become our new striker. Jude Sanchez!" Evans announced with a happy smile but that somehow ended up feeling like a stab to my stomach. I even received a system notification signalling that I succeeded in a quest but I couldn't bother even opening it.

"By simply joining the field you managed to turn the tables around and win the game. After you joined your team scored 4 goals in less than 30 minutes. You're clearly the missing piece to our offense." Even though all he said was praises, my eyes didn't leave the ground, in that moment my mind almost went blank.

'Should I be happy? Do I even deserve to feel that way? What about Alex? And Nathan? If not for Alex we would've been losing by way more. He stopped more than half of the shots thrown at him in the first half and saved us countless times.'

'And if not for Nathan supporting us and leading the offense I wouldn't of been able to do it on my own. He's the one who have become known as my duo, we're inseparable in games. So why? Why did he make such a decision??'

"That's all for today. I'll be seeing the A team members tomorrow for our next training session together, for the new players I'll be preparing your new jerseys for you so no need to worry about it. As for the B team members I hope this will encourage you to work harder."

Right after the coach said his final words everyone started leaving but I couldn't accept his decision and instead went up to talk to him. 'That must be a mistake right??'

"I'm sorry sir but I don't understand why Alex and Nathan weren't chosen! They clearly have the necessary level!" I couldn't help but feel that this was unfair. They both were amazing players, as well as rare talents who have two special weapons.

Nathan grabbed me from my arm to try to stop me but Ricardo who was next to us stopped him and asked him to not interfere. He was also curious about the coach's reasons, even if he had his own little idea. He knew the coach for far longer than we did.

"I understand that they're your friends but this isn't a game. We already have 2 great goalkeepers who have been part of the team for a long time, we can't afford to change them 1 month before such an important competition."

"All we actually needed was some new defenders and a better offense. Nathan is a very good player. But we already have Ricardo who's at the same position as well as many good midfielders who works perfectly around our team's play style." He said with a cold and serious tone.

I couldn't reply anything to that, I understood that he had the last say in this and that no matter what I said he wouldn't change his decisions. In the end I was completely powerless.

I started going back to the bench where Alex was sitting with his head down, I wanted to comfort him but right now the only thing I had in mind was frustration. It was my first time having so many negative feelings.

'The only reason they didn't accept was that they didn't fit in the team? Then I'll make sure to rip up that team from the inside.'

Unknowingly to me, ever since today, a seed started growing inside my mind. That seed signed the creation of the greatest egoist.