Ren kept the gloves by the window all week
He did not touch them
Not once
Every morning he looked at them
But he did not train
Not even rooftop drills
It was not fear
It was something else
A wait like this demanded stillness
Riku noticed fast
"You good man? You are not moving like usual"
"I am fine" Ren said
But his brain was spinning
School felt longer than usual
Classes dragged
Even lunch tasted like nothing
Every time his phone buzzed, his heart jumped
But it was never the message
Not yet
The worst was when others started asking
"You hear anything yet?"
"Bet you already got in huh?"
"I saw your name trending in the school group chat"
He ignored them all
Until one day Coach Anzai pulled him aside after training
"Your trial was sharp. That is all I will say. They will contact you. Not me"
Ren nodded
But that only made it worse
By Thursday night he could not sleep
He stared at the ceiling again
Then got up
Grabbed the gloves
Went to the rooftop
The city lights were quiet
Air was heavy
No drills this time
He just stood there
Looking over the fence
Hands clenched
He whispered one word
"Please"
Friday morning
Cloudy skies again
Phone buzzed during math class
He did not check it
Not yet
He waited until lunch
Sat alone under the tree behind the gym
Opened the screen
One message
Subject: Musashino Keeper Trial Result
He clicked
Heart pounding
Thank you for attending the trial
We were impressed by your composure and ability under pressure
We are pleased to offer you a spot in the Musashino Academy U14 goalkeeper training squad
Report Monday after school for onboarding
Ren stared at the words
Twice
Three times
Then he smiled
Small
But real
Riku ran up from across the field like he already knew
"You got in huh? I can tell from your face"
Ren nodded once
No words
Just a light in his eyes
That night at dinner his mother said nothing at first
Just passed him a bowl of rice and smiled
"You earned this. But now the real climb begins"
He looked down at his gloves
They looked newer than before
Like they had been waiting too