The next day, Ichiro was walking through the halls of Aston Villa´s training ground. He had been an academy player for Aston Villa for two years now, and his contract was expiring soon.
When Ichiro had first come to the facilities of the club, he had felt like he was in a maze. He had even gotten lost on his way to the locker rooms one time, which had been quite embarrassing. Now though, he walked the hallways on auto pilot.
Walking through a large door, he went up a staircase, turned right, through a corridor- making sure he politely greeted the staff he walked past. After walking for some time, he reached a door adorning a sign. Coach Jimmy Shan.
Taking a deep breath, Ichiro knocked on the door.
"Come in"
Opening the door, Ichiro caught sight of the man who had been his coach for the last year. The coach sat at his desk, his head lacking any hair, except for the two-day beard he often had before shaving it off again.
Bowing slightly out of habit, Ichiro asked:
"You wanted to see me?"
The coach looked over him, scanning Ichiro´s body with his eyes before smiling warmly.
"Yes, we have some things to talk about today, don't we?"
'My contract' Ichiro immediately thought, as he nodded. Coach Shan pointed his hand to the chair, beckoning for Ichiro to take a seat.
After having taken a seat the coach said:
"So, how have these two years been Ichiro?"
Ichiro scratched the back of his head.
"Well, a bit up and down?" Taking a deep breath, he continued; "It really felt like a dream when I was signed here. I mean, everyone dreams of doing what they love… and I love football, so… yeah, it's been a dream really."
Coach Shan made eye contact with Ichiro, his warm smile still on his face:
"But?"
Ichiro took another deep breath, feeling a little shy about unfolding his feelings in front of his coach.
"But it´s also been much harder than I thought. When I came here, I felt like I would be a U-18 starter right away. But now, two years later I´ve just started coming off the bench. And although I´ve been training just as hard- maybe even harder than others, it feels like I´ve gotten worse and they´ve gotten better."
He talked for some time- telling his coach about every struggle he had experienced, how he felt homesick and everything else.
The coach looked him over, the same smile that he had worn since Ichiro had sat down still on his face.
"I see" he said, taking a breath before continuing, his smile now gone.
"Well, it seems like you´ve experienced a lot while here. And many of the struggles you´ve had are rather normal."
Ichiro nodded.
"And we agree in the sense that we have also been a bit disappointed with your development."
Nod, nod.
"And although we enjoyed the cup win yesterday because of you"
Nod, nod, nod.
"We feel like it would be in both our best interests to not extend your contract."
There it was. The axe that had been hanging over his neck came crashing down, tearing through all his bones, blood vessels and tendons. And his head rolled.
…
Walking through the same corridors he had walked every day for the last two years, Ichiro felt lost. For the first time in a long time, he didn't really know what to do. Of course, he had known that there was a chance that the club would not renew his contract. But, he had always thought it would work itself out- couldn't really comprehend how it wouldn't. Couldn't see himself not being here- in rainy Birmingham- playing football.
"Ichiro"
A voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. In front of him stood a brown haired, tall boy, oozing of confidence. As if he was Messi or Ronaldo or some god, that had decided to grace the lowly commoners living on mother earth with his presence.
Ryan- that rat.
"Hey Ryan"
Ryan looked at him, his expression full of mirth.
"Coming back from the coach's office?" he said, more like a statement than a question.
"Yeah…"
A glint flashed in Ryan´s eyes, as if he understood what had happened.
"I see…"
A moment of silence unfolded between the two teammates- former teammates. Then, laughter broke out.
A loud, obnoxious laughter- sounding like the laughter was the only thing that mattered. Like everyone and everything else was just a side-character in the laughter´s story.
Ichiro felt a rage burning in him, accompanied by shame and embarrassment which only fueled his anger more. Like boiling water threatening to escape from its confinement.
He glared silently at Ryan before he spat out:
"Shut up!"
The laughter died down. But the look in Ryan´s eyes stayed. 'Schadenfreude' Ichiro thought, savoring the bitter taste of the word.
The rat, Ryan, stared at him quietly for a second, letting Ichiro´s words marinate the corridor, which suddenly had gotten a bit more crowded. Pairs of eyes fixed on the two boy´s conversation.
Ichiro´s anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of all-consuming embarrassment. He could feel his cheeks warm up. And he gained a deep desire to run away and hide- never to be found again.
However, he didn't.
After what he had gained yesterday, he knew he could do it. He knew he could beat this rat- this rat, and all other. So instead he just smiled, his embarrassment cast away, banished, pointed at the rat in front of him and said:
"I´ll become better than you, actually"- Ichiro gestured to the people around him, "I´ll become the best in the world, so just wait and see."
Ichiro didn't wait for Ryan to answer. He continued on his way, the way Ryan had been blocking, making sure to slightly bump his shoulder against Ryan´s.
He wasn't lying. Ichiro was not a liar, so he would make sure he wouldn't become one either. He was going to be the best in the world.