"Why do you think that you lost the bet?" Coach Wilbur questioned.
"I wasn't able to do what I imagined properly. I made mistakes and there were many unexpected situations that I couldn't adjust to properly." Noah answered.
"Noah… is today really the first time that you're playing soccer?" Anisa asked the question that was troubling a lot of them present there.
"Yes, it is. I thought that I mentioned that I have never played ball before." He frowned as he replied.
"You did… it's just that, with your performance today, a lot of us find that hard to believe." Anisa responded.
"Whether you believe or not, it doesn't change the fact that today is the first day for me." Noah bounced the ball and held it in his hands again.
"Hmph!" The captain of the team scoffed, but Noah paid him no attention.
Noah couldn't explain what he was feeling at the moment, but what he is sure of is that he wants to play some more.
This short game wasn't enough for him.
"Because you couldn't do everything you imagined you lost the bet?" Coach Wilbur repeated.
"Yeah."
"You do realize that you can be graded as a C-grade player, right?"
"Really? That's poor." Noah frowned even more. "That means that there is still a lot more about football that I know nothing of." He mumbled.
"How are the players graded, or what are the criteria?" Noah asked.
"Well, there are 7 criteria used to grade players. Ball Control and First Touch, Passing – Both Long and Short, Positioning and Spatial Awareness, Stamina and Fitness, Shooting, Dribbling the Ball While Running, Discipline and Attitude." Coach Wilbur replied.
He was a bit merry that Noah was showing some interest in football.
"Noted." Noah nodded his head as he spoke.
"Since that's all, let's all retire for the night. Goodnight every-"
"Wait, coach." Noah interrupted.
"What is it?" Coach Wilbur hates being interrupted.
"Can I join the team?" Noah asked.
"Pardon?" Coach Wilbur uttered.
"Can I join the soccer team?"
As soon as Anisa heard this, she became excited.
'This easy?' Coach Wilbur was surprised. Earlier, he was thinking of a way to get Noah under his reins, and if he showed exceptional improvement after training for a while, he was going to add him to the main team — the first 11 of the La Scala soccer team.
"You? Join the team? You made fun of football, a game that we find sacred, a game that is more than 'hitting a ball around to us.' And you expect us to accept you into our team? In your wildest dreams!"
The captain of the soccer team refuted, immediately.
Noah only took a glance at the captain before returning his attention to Coach Wilbur, waiting for his answer.
"The captain is right, not long ago, you said that football was nothing much, and now, here you are asking to be one of us… tell me why you want to join the team, and maybe I can consider your request." Coach Wilbur responded.
"Coach!"
"Be quiet Jamil." The captain of the soccer team wanted to refute but Coach Wilbur silenced him.
Jamil, the captain, did as Coach Wilbur ordered.
"Why I want to join the team? Well, because I want to play ball." Noah answered sincerely.
"Huh, you want to play ball? Did you have some kind of epiphany during the match? Why do you want to play ball all of a sudden when you seem to have thought nothing of it?"
"I don't know why I want to play ball, but I do know this. The game is interesting and thrilling to play, and most of all, it piqued my interest." Noah replied.
"So you're curious about football?" Coach Wilbur arched an eyebrow as he questioned.
"More curious than I want to be." Noah licked his lower lips and brushed his hair with his left hand.
"Being curious is not enough for you to join my team."
"Oh." Noah felt a bit dejected and disappointed.
"If I let you join the team because you're curious when you are no longer curious about the game, you will leave the team." Coach Wilbur shook his head.
"Probably." Noah agreed. The same thing happened with parkour and fighting. At one point he was curious about them and indulged in their activities until they no longer interest him.
"If you are curious, you can go to a community field and play ball there." Coach Wilbur suggested.
'That's a bit far. It might affect my studies and other things too.' Noah thought.
"Isn't there a way I can join the temporary? At the moment, I can't seem to get enough." Noah insisted.
'He is really direct and quite aggressive for what he wants.' Anisa thought.
"You fucker!! You think football is a joke to us!? What do Mean by temporarily!?" Jamil was pissed from listening to what Noah had to say.
Noah was unbothered by Jamil's attitude, he acted as if he didn't exist.
Everyone but Noah and Coach Wilbur looked at Jamil…
"Even if there's a way that you can join the team temporarily, I don't think that you would agree to it." Coach Wilbur stated.
"Coach!!!?" Many of the players around exclaimed.
"The only way you join the team temporarily is if you become a ball boy."
"Does the ball boy gets to play the ball?" Noah asked.
"Normally, no. Their job is to gather dead balls from the court and feed them to the bases after a point.
But in your case, I can make an exception."
"Coach!!?" The players cried out again.
"Retire for the night. Training begins a week after the resumption date. The training routine and timetable will be announced later on. Dismissed." Coach Wilbur said to his players.
They stayed silent for a few seconds before they started to leave the vicinity one after the other.
After a few minutes, only Noah, Coach Wilbur, Anisa, and Jamil were present on the field.
"Including you, Jamil." Coach Wilbur added.
Jamil sighed before he left the three of them there…
"If you agree to be the ball boy, then I will let you train with the team."
"What I want is to play ball, not train."
"At the moment, that's the only way you can play with us. If you follow my instructions during training, and if you're able to surprise me, you might get the chance to play against A-grade and S-grade players."
Noah was about to refuse but held his comment after he heard that he would have a chance to play against A-grade and S-grade players.
'The coach said that my performance was comparable to a C-grade performance. What would an A and S-grade players have to offer?' He thought in excitement.
"I accept."
'Seriously, that easy? This boy is weird.' Coach Wilbur concluded.
"Seriously?! An S-grade runner turned to a ball boy. You know that you would be taken seriously if you go somewhere else right?" Anisa interjected.
'Why is this girl still here?! Is she trying to sabotage me?' Coach Wilbur thought in frustration.
"If I go somewhere else, what are the chances that I'll meet S-grade players?" Noah asked.
"Well… those kinds of talents are not common, even A-grade players are not that common… Why do you want to meet such players?" Anisa probed.
"The players that played today's match, what are their grades?" Noah questioned as he bent down and proceeded to untie His shoelaces.
"Most of them were C-grade players, few were B-grade players."
"I learned a few things from C-grade ballers, imagine what I'll learn from witnessing an S-grade player play ball." Noah licked his lips before revealing an excited grin. "I want to see how far I can go with a ball, to what extent I can play. Only then would my curiosity will be satisfied."
"All this, because you're curious?" Anisa found it hard to understand.
"It's just how I am." Noah shrugged.
"Since you have agreed, you will resume training with us a week after the resumption date."
"Can I keep this ball?" Noah requested.
"Sure, you look like you would fight with anyone that tries to take from you, the way you're holding on to it." Coach Wilbur mentioned and left Noah and Anisa there.
"Hmph! He's excited to have a monster like you join his team."
"A monster?" Noah arched a brow at Anisa.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I probably come off as weird to you… acting all close and intimate with you. But I promise you, I'm not as weird as you think I am." Anisa rambled.
Noah chuckled and shook his head.
"Give me your number, after I get the cleats cleaned I will return it to you."
"You don't need to — you know what? I would like that very much. Call me when you're free. Sorry, I mean when the cleats have been cleaned."
Anisa typed her number and then called her phone.
"Well, see you later." Noah took his phone back. He wore his sneakers and made his way back to his dormitory With a ball and pair of cleats in his hands.