The Big Day

"Thanks for the ride, bruv," Edward says as he gets out of the taxi with a smile, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"No problem, Mister Manager," the man behind the steering wheel replies, flashing Edward a toothy smile.

This was Anthony, Edward's best and only friend at the moment. All the others had left when they learned he'd lost his job, but only Anthony stayed, helping him through this tough period.

"For a Black man, you sure do pick the weirdest ways of earning money," Anthony says playfully, taking a jab at Edward.

"And for a white man… you know what, fuck you, Anthony," Edward replies, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he fails to come up with a comeback.

"Haha, you're still the same. Good luck on your first day; hope you find some good players," Anthony says with a smile, starting the engine of his cab. "Oh, and next time, please pay for the ride. Man's gotta make some money to feed the family, innit?" And with that, Anthony disappears with a dash leaving behind a slightly smiling Edward.

"So, this is the stadium of my future club," Edward mutters, looking closely at the structure before him. The stadium has a coliseum-like design, with the team's logo boldly displayed at the front and a statue of Atlas holding a soccer ball instead of a globe positioned right at the entrance, the location of the stadium was in Wakefield. Edward had seen it in the pictures Lily sent him, but seeing it up close gave him a different feeling altogether. "Now that the day has finally arrived, I can't help but feel nervous."

[IMAGE]

Edward's phone buzzed, and looking down, he saw a message from Dylan.

Hawkeye: I'm already leaving for the training grounds.

Edward: Alright, I'll see you there. Make sure to bring your lawyer too.

Edward had invited Dylan to the mass audition, both to finalize the contract details and to help him bond with his new teammates.

"Mr. West," a feminine voice snapped Edward out of his thoughts, and he looked up from his phone to see who had called him.

Standing before him was a stunning blonde with a banging body. The glasses and office attire only added to her charm, drawing second glances from those who passed by. But Edward neither had the courtesy nor the nerve to fully appreciate her beauty, as this woman had been the one tormenting him for the past three months.

"Hello miss lily" Edward greets awkwardly stretching his hand go a handshake

Lily looks at his hands for a few seconds before shaking it "we have a lot to do so come with me"

"As I mentioned in the text I sent, we'll be doing a quick tour around the stadium and meeting various departments before heading to the training grounds to conduct the auditions."

Edward just nods as he marvels at the stadium's interior. All the equipment was state-of-the-art and in top condition, with the interior design and setup being first-rate—on par with his former club. 'Wow, they really went all out on this,' he thought his eyes moving from place to place.

"Listen, I'm about to say something important," Lily says, snapping Edward's attention back to her. "The president was able to pull some strings with the Football Association (FA) and the EFL management, and he managed to create a new cup that's only eligible for EFL clubs. Whoever wins the cup will gain direct promotion to the Premier League." Before Edward can ask a question, she cuts him off. "And yes, that means the playoff tournament between the remaining four teams after the first and second positions will be called off."

"What why so sudden?, why wasn't I informed since" Edward asks his voice conveying his Anger and annoyance

"The president doesn't have enough time for three years that's why he gave you this opportunity, he hopes you don't waste his hard work" Lily replies not paying any mind to Edward's frustration

"Bloody hell," Edward curses, putting both hands on his head, feeling completely overwhelmed. 'What I focused on was this league only; I wasn't really concerned about the FA Cup or others since I knew my team might not be ready yet. But now you're dropping a bomb like this?'

Ten seconds after his dilemma, he lets out a deep breath and follows Lily to continue the tour. Nothing I can do about it now; I can only pray to the goddess of luck that I find another player like Dylan in this audition.

After thirty minutes of touring the stadium, Lily and Edward head to the training grounds in Lily's car, accompanied by the club's lawyer, who will be finalizing the contract with Dylan.

The car ride was silent with everyone in their own, and they finally reach the training grounds in twenty minutes.

Stepping out of the car, Edward heads straight for the training grounds, eager to see how the audition will unfold.

Entering the building, Edward is greeted by a white man with a scruffy beard, wearing a navy blue suit and carrying several sheets of paper.

"Ah, you must be Mr. West. Miss Lily told me about you," the man says, extending his hand for a shake a bit of Spanish accent in his voice.

"Yes, that's right. And you are?" Edward asks, shaking the man's hand with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Alejandro, but you can just call me Alex," he replies, giving Edward a smile before pulling his hand away to show him some of the papers he's holding.

"Before you arrived, we conducted a physical test on the participants. Those who couldn't pass the benchmark would fail the test. However, since most of the people auditioning are free agents or have previous club experience, the numbers didn't decrease much. We started with 100 participants, and now there are 68 remaining," Alex explains, flipping through the papers in his hands. "We split the players into four teams, and we'll be playing in a tournament-style setting, with six substitutes for each team. Here, this is the list of players in Team A," he says, handing Edward a piece of paper from his stack. "You will be the coach of Team A, while I and two other coaches will handle the rest."

"Wow, that's a lot of information conveyed in such a short time," Edward says playfully as he looks through the list, spotting Dylan's name among the others.

"Where are the Team A members?" he asks, his confidence in his team's chances increasing.

"In that room to the left," Alex replies, pointing in the direction.

"Okay, thank you. Good luck, though; your team might need it," Edward says playfully as he heads toward his team, waving goodbye to Alex.

"We'll see about that," Alex shouts back, clearly picking up on Edward's playful tone.

"Now let's see if there are any hidden gems that need discovering" Edward mutters with a smirk plastered on his face his eyes giving a weird glint.