Passage of Time (3)

The characterless presentation had drawn to a close before Kai had even realised, but he was certainly not one to not grace the opportunity. The moment the bell rang, he was the first to be on his feet. If one has their attention on Kai, they would question whether there were any insects on his seat.

Kai treads down the stairs, progressing two steps at a time as he hurried down the stairs. He was desperate to be out of this classroom, out of mind, out of sight. '

Yet as he went halfway down the stairs, a figure blocked his path.

"Where are you going so fast?"

Kai stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly. He was prepared to be surprised by the one face that he was expecting to see, but it was apparent that this was no normal sight.

His eyes slowly drifted upwards to see Booyoung standing by his side. She had her hand on his shoulder, making a reassuring gesture that offered Kai no comfort.

"Where are you going so fast?"

Kai sighed in resignation, already knowing the answer.

"The – the club ground."

"You know. I... I don't know your name but uh, I noticed you... you know."

Booyoung made a face that hinted at her displeasure with Kai's attitude during class. "Sorry, do I even know you?"

Booyoung had her eye raised as he checked the man in front of him. There was more abhorrence in her expression than before. It was rather obvious that she hated Kai for some reason. But it was something that he had wished to spark.

Kai moved to the left as he tried to squish past Booyoung, but she was one step ahead as she used her arm to block the entire path. Kai glared at her, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest from beating so rapidly. He moved right, she moved right. Booyoung blocked every angle there was in his path of leaving the awkward atmosphere.

His heart raced, and his face reddened. Out of desperation, Kai made a breakthrough using brute force. He gritted his teeth. Uttering an apology under his breath as he darted down the stairs.

"OWW! What the.."

Booyoung was pushed aside and her leg was caught in between a metal pole and a fallen chair, bending right at its waist. Booyoung's eyes immediately widened as she looked at her knee. But her worried state didn't last long before she let out a sigh of relief. Finding that her injury wasn't as bad as she feared. But she cursed at such a rude figure. "That bastard!"

Booyoung was furious. All she did was block the way forward, and that... guy just pushed him over! The irony wasn't lost on her. Booyoung's face twisted in a frown. She kept quiet for a few minutes to allow her damaged knee to regain its strength before speaking again.

"Why the hell did he do that? I think he even got the nerve to walk away without an apology."

Booyoung limped over to her table. She sat down and took out a piece of paper. She made a groaning sound as she placed the paper on the table. Booyoung had made many sacrifices for the school, and this was probably one of them. But her stomach twisted as she thought of him. The brat that dared to hurt a woman.

~~~

Kai tracks stopped at the entrance to the Le Havre club ground. Yet before he entered, the man checked if she had the audacity of following him. But his actions were for naught, as there was not even a soul in sight. Kai sighed in relief before entering his safe heaven.

These days, other than attending mandatory lectures, he spends his time on club grounds. There wasn't a home to speak of, given he was considered nothing more than a guest in their shelter. The only location he truly felt comfortable was where the shout of passionate boys and girls devoted to refining their ability in the beautiful game. It was where he became himself.

He made his way over to his usual spot, spotting a small group of players who had been gathering to play. On the field, the boys were playing a game, all engaged with one another as they did a few dozen passes in the air. His stomach clenched up at the sight. Seeing them reminded him of Booyoung.

Just as he was about to lay a disc down, Kai felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the hard-to-miss baldy glaring at him with an evil glare. Lanier was the suspect as he revealed a pair of eyes that reminded Kai of a tiger.

"Look who decided to finally show up?"

Kai scoffed as he delivered a joking punch to Lanier's stomach. "Come on Lanny, you know I had class this morning."

"Whatever," Lanier scoffed as he rolled out of the way of Kai's action. But his eyes suddenly turned dark as he eyed as his expression dropped all hints of being witty.

"You read the news?" Kai asked in a warning tone, noticing Lanier's deadened expression.

Lanier's face turned red, sweat coming to his brow in anxiety. "Yeah," he admitted in disbelief, though his voice was still a bit shaky.

"He has gone just like that." Kai sighed as he rubbed his chin with a hand. "Good thing I'm not in a position to come under fire like that."

The sweat on Lanier's forehead started to drip. "You think?"

Kai noticed the peculiar expression developing on Lanier's face. "Of course. Why would we come under fire as Nobilo did? We are doing great with the Le Havre U-19."

"You fool. Do you have any brain? Nobilo just got dumped and the position of first-team manager just became an unfilled position. Not to mention how furious the majority of players are with him."

"And?"

"HAVE A THINK! On the day Nobilo got fired, Mr Marley was absent from the next day's training session. It doesn't take a genius to link these two things together."

There was astonishment from Kai as he finally caught up with what Lanier was trying to tell him. His brain cogs started spinning as he deduced the information critically. "MARLEY WILL BE THE FIRST TEAM MANAGER?!"

"Yes, you dimwit! For someone with so much intellect on a game revolving around 11 players kicking a damn ball, you're so fucking oblivious."

"That all?"

Lanier almost lost his temper as he still realised Kai has yet to understand his point. He calmed his raging heart as he tempered his rash personality. "Look, Kai. Great managers usually have a team of coaches that follow their manager no matter where he goes. Nobilo has at least a dozen of loyal coaches that follow him from job to job."

"Now that Nobilo got fired, not only would the first team manager be available, they now lack a lot of staff to fill in. Think Kai! Where do you think the club will find these extra coaches?"

Kai stood dumbfounded as he shook his head. "The U-19 Team?"

~~~

"NOBILO OUT! RELEGATION TIPPED LE HAVRE AC PARTED WAYS WITH FIRST TEAM MANAGER JEAN-MARC NOBILO AFTER 18 MONTHS IN CHARGE!"

The title was eye-catching as the big white font grabbed the attention of all passersby that happened to skim through the newspaper. It certainly was an attentive trick, as everyone that lived in the local area would be a passionate fan of Le Havre AC. Formatting anything regarding their local club would be a sure sale method to garner profits.

Kai held this morning's paper in hand as he read the article. He had an early morning lecture so he has yet to read today's edition of Havre Daily. But he has time to kill. The man made himself comfortable as he slouched in his office chair located in the analytic room.

"The 48-year-old has eliminated any form of working relationship with Le Havre AC as indicated by various social platforms connected to the club. Nobilo, who was appointed as Le Havre Manager in 2007, replaced his predecessor Thierry Uvenard in the Head Coach role. The Frenchman had various highs and lows in his career, most notably last season when his team dominated the Ligue 2 and earned promotion to the first division two games before the end. This achievement sparked a wild celebration from the Havre locals, and scenes of rowdy drunken men became a feature during that period. But fast forward another 6 months, and Nobilo's Le Havre is ranked bottom of the league. His comeback to the first division was difficult, and following 4 losses in their last five matches, and with Le Havre already 9 points adrift from the 19th-placed team, Nobilo received his marching orders. The club has made an official statement on social media that they have parted ways with the Frenchman."

Kai read up till there, all but certain that what Lanier has said to him earlier was true. Nobilo has indeed been fired by the club. Whether or not Marley would be chosen as the fill-in manager was never mentioned, but he decided to read further down the article.

"Whilst Nobilo's dismissal was sudden without any official statements, the same cannot be said about the next manager. Youth team coach Marley has been appointed as the club's new manager after a recommendation by the club's Management Committee."

Kai read on...

"The club's Management Committee appointed him as the new head coach for however long before the next long-term manager is appointed. It is confirmed that Marley is contracted on a short-term basis, and will be the interim manager before the next head coach is confirmed."