Chương 2: The trip of a lifetime

It was new years already and his parents had agreed to send him to Marion but he didn't know if that was truly what he wanted for himself. He wanted to play soccer and his parents although poor supported his decision wholeheartedly, he wanted to stay and support them however he realized he could still do that if he become a pro player. That was his dream from the start and now he had another cross to carry, he would become a pro player for them and for his sake if he could get signed to a big club he could earn enough to make sure they never took out a loan again.

"Wake up sleepyhead, you leave in an hour!" His mom shouted from downstairs, she had just gotten off the phone with Cory Walker. The assistant coach to the second team and they had been talking throughout the three months in which the trip was being planned.

"Waaangghhhhhuuuuaa." He yawned as he was forcefully woken up from his rest.

Byron was as average as it got, he had curly dark hair and silver-grey eyes. He wasn't necessarily tall nor was he strong or bulky by any means, he sported the generic high school build and it wasn't irregular for someone his age.

He hummed the tune to one of his favorite songs as he walked into the bathroom. He yawned again as he picked out a toothbrush with a green handle from the pile of brushes and lathered toothpaste on it, "Hum hum muuu." He gargled water then spun around mouthwash before leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs.

He had two siblings, an elder brother and a younger sister none of which were happy to see him move almost twelve hundred miles away but they had learned it was for the best. Marion was probably as good as it got on the youth scene and if they wanted him, he might just have some talent worth nurturing.

"It's today right?" Randy, his brother asked him as he descended the stairs,

"Yep." Byron answered before getting hugged by his sister.

"Do you really have to go?" His sister Andreas said as she hugged his waist.

"Andreas!" His mother shouted, warning her about the question.

"It's okay mom," He bent down and brushed his hand through her hair. "It's something I've gotta see for myself."

"Remember if you feel like it's not right for you just call me, I'll pick you up in minutes."

He laughed then stood up and walked toward the door, "Thanks mom, but hopefully it never comes down to that."

"Going to see them?" Randy asked as he sipped coffee.

"Yep." Byron shut the door behind him.

He had learned how to kick a ball here and he also learned what one was from this same place. He walked into his school and saw his teammates training, he had told them three days ago that he would be going to Marion and he hadn't seen them since. He watched them from afar, these were the people that he grew up with and he almost shed a tear from the realization that he would be leaving them.

"Yo Byron!" A teammate called him over and he walked toward the field.

"Hey, it's Byron." They all paraded around him and when he told them it was today he was leaving their reactions dimmed.

"I had hoped you'd rescind your decision but it's what you really want huh." Tony, who played as the second striker said. "It'll pain me dearly to never receive one of your passes again but we'll see you off."

"You guys-" Byron turned away from them and cleaned his eyes with his sleeve.

They laughed and in the thirty minutes he spent with them they played soccer and had the time of their lives, each moment was precious and this gave him all the more confidence. Passes from Janseh, tackles from Kobe, and the wing runs from Cole. He would become a pro player, come back here and play ball one day. That was all he could think about as they all walked toward the train station.

His family was waiting for him, his mom, dad, Andreas and Randy. He grabbed his bags and walked onto the train as they waved him away, he waved back and this time he couldn't stop it. Tears poured down his eyes and he wanted to run off the train and stay back with them but he held his hands on the door stopping himself from doing so, he wasn't going to let his parent's sacrifice go in vain. "Bye... guys."

"Remember baby, if you ever want to come back. Just, call me." His mom cried as well as she saw him get into the train station.

"Me too, I'm always here for you. Just call if anything's wrong." Randy said while smiling.

"Me three, bring gifts as you come back." Andreas chuckled before she was picked up by her dad.

"He's going to start his career, don't send him off with tears. Do it with smiles," His dad grinned. "Good luck buddy."

"Yeah, thanks dad."

"Anytime kiddo."

He sat down and just before the train doors closed. Julie, a girl from his class ran in and kissed him on the cheek before running back out. "See you later, Byron." The train doors closed and the locomotive moved toward the city and all he could think of was the scenario that just occurred.

"My new life starts now, my soccer life."

He had fallen asleep on the train and woke up once he heard the announcer call out the name of his stop. This was a new beginning for Byron Whitaker and as he ran out of the tunnel he suddenly realized. "I have no idea where I'm going."

"I have no idea where I'm going." Another voice said with the same amount of confusion Byron had.

"Wait are you by chance going to Marion?" Byron asked.

"Yeah I'm Nagisa Aoto I play left wing, what about you?" Nagisa spoke with a flawless English accent. He had light blue hair, hazel colored eyes, a slender build and he wore the same boots the popular winger. Sam Weller wore whenever he played.

"I'm Byron Whitaker, I'm a forward." Byron tried to hold his excitement within him.

"I hope to deliver many good passes to you Byron-san."

"Just Byron is fine."

"Okay, Byron-san."

They had asked around for a while but they finally made it to the Marion dorms, after interacting with a few of the staff members they were each given their separate rooms and were told that tryout for the second team's first eleven would start tomorrow morning. This was what he was here for, the first order of business would be getting into the starting eleven and from there he would use this school as a stepping stone onto the pro scene.

The dorm building was large and so was the pitch, even though he only saw a glimpse of it at the time. White and blue marble tiles lathered the walls of the dorms and trees grew in abundance on the sides of the entrance, they weren't allowed to enter the pitch until tomorrow so they both went up to their respective rooms.

"I'm so excited I can't sleep." Byron kicked his feet on the bed as he hugged his pillow. There was no one else in the room although there was a second bed, the staff had told them that most of the students would be arriving tomorrow and his roommate was one of them.

He just couldn't wait, he was scared but at the same time there was a feeling that brewed up inside him. One he couldn't just understand the nature of. "Tomorrow." He said while counting sheep.