It's the 88th minute. Nico has been terrible all game. I'm through on goal now, and I can seal the game. "SANTI!" "Pass, I'm free." It's Nico.
True, he is free. I, on the other hand, have the entire team chasing after me, but like hell I'll pass. Nico has lost his edge; he just isn't that good anymore. A defender slides in to take the ball, but I dispatch him with a roulette.
That's it. I'm in the goal area now. I cut to the left and send another defender flying to the right, and in that sweet moment, I aim a beautiful curved shot to the right of the goal with my left foot.
My left foot does not have the strongest shot, but it is certainly the more accurate of my two feet. However, this shot is anything but accurate. I watch as the ball cruelly hits the post, only to drop perfectly to Nico, who prepares to volley it in so we can get an equalizer and send the match to extra time.
A defender comes out of nowhere and clips Nicodown. His reward is a red card, and we are awarded a penalty. I grab the ball to position it in the penalty area, but Nico calls my attention to something. It's the coach. I am being subbed off.
What? Me? Not Nico? I've carried this bum-ass team all game, and I'm the one getting axed, not Nico? How? We only got this penalty because of me. All the same, I go down and get off. Trust me, nothing prepares me for the earful I am about to get. "You're far too selfish, and you'll be warming the bench the next game." I am confused. What does he mean by saying I am too selfish? Surely, he does not expect me to pass to Nico. Nico has wasted every single pass I have given him.
I protest and tell the coach the bitter truth. Passing to Nico is the wrong choice, and I am happy I did not make that choice because if I had, we would never have gotten this penalty since Nico would have skied it, just like he has done with every chance I gave him.
The coach is one to talk; his shitty tactics led us here anyway. He benched me for this crucial game. A second goal was scored against us in the 81st minute. Then, and only then, did he decide to bring me on to save him and this team. That would have been the case if I did not have bad teammates who left it all to me.
They cannot even pass well, and Nico is the worst of the bunch. If he were even average, we would be up by two goals. "That's it, you're off the team," the coach barks at me. What? Huh? I am off the team? What does he mean I am off the team? He tells me to head into the locker room, and as I take the walk of shame, the penalty is played. Nico tries a panenka.
It is straight to the keeper. The keeper grabs the ball and kicks it to his teammates, who have now begun a counter-attack.
Their number 6 makes a long pass to their number 10, who gives a defense-splitting pass to their number 9. Unlike Nico, he does not sky the ball. He takes it down graciously, does step-overs, and floors the keeper before carefully slotting it into an empty net.
The score is now three goals to one. Helllllllll Yeeeaaahhhhhhh! I scream as my team officially crashes out of the National U-16 high school cup.
---
"I heard that you lost again. Is that true?" My father has arrived, and he is definitely going to berate me for this. "How did you manage to lose? I really want to know. That team barely made it out of their group. They were probably the weakest team in this competition. How could you put up such an abysmal performance?"
"Do you know how much I invest in you? You stupid idiot. All you know how to do is eat. You are already fifteen, and you still can't win anything in this backwater country. You sure as hell cannot do anything abroad."
With tears welling up in my eyes, I protest, "Dad, I only played for like ten minutes, and I scored a goal and won a penalty before being subbed off. It was all the coach's fault, not mine. I tried my best."
My dad slaps me and tells me it was Nico who won the penalty, not me. He slaps me again and tells me I am now a liar as well as a disgrace.
He proceeds to beat me before my elder brother steps in and takes the beating for me. My dad was once a promising footballer, but that all changed when his ACL would not stop tearing, and no one would take him.
This dream of his was forced on both I and my brother, and any time we underperformed, we were severely punished. Although, we were also rewarded when we did perform.
He beats the daylights out of my brother before punishing us for hours. As we kneel with our knees hurting, I curse him and beg God to kill him. I hate him. I wish he was not my father, but something that would change all our lives as we knew it is about to happen.
My dad tells us to get up and gives us some blackberry wine to drink.
I wonder what the occasion is for, and that's when he breaks the news: we have been selected to join Red Zone. I look at him in shock. What does he mean? How did Red Zone hear about us? No way in hell they want us. This must be a spam message.
Red Zone, located in Manchester, England, is the greatest football academy not just in the world right now, but ever.
Red Zone, an academy that has not only the best talents but also the best equipment and professionals. They produce about 50% of football's biggest superstars. The only academy that comes close is La Masih, located in Barcelona, Spain.
I look at my father, dumbfounded. Huh? What does he mean Red Zone wants us? My dad just tells us he has prepared our bags and papers, and we are leaving tomorrow. He keeps talking about how he is rich now and how Red Zone has paid a million euros for both of his sons.
I am still lost in thought. Why would Red Zone want us? None of this makes sense. My brother drags me off to our room and tells me we need to pack anything else we would need. With his bloodshot eye, he winks at me and tells me we could leave our father now and not have to come back. That really is all we have ever wanted.
I pack with my brother as my father informs us that he is going to the bar to celebrate this beautiful moment. My brother nods, and he goes his way as we continue packing. My dad returns visibly drunk, as is his routine a few hours later.
Well, at least we'll be free from him tomorrow. A few hours later, we inform our father that we are going to bed. He nods, and as we turn to leave, a couple of men break into the living room.
They have guns. "Oya lie down there," one of them continuously screams at us. We lie on our bellies as they point a gun at my father's head and ask him where the one million euros he got is.
He keeps explaining that the money has not been wired to him and that it takes a few weeks for transactions like this to take effect, but these men are not ready to listen.
They point a gun at my brother and tell my father they will kill him if he does not give them the money, but he swears the money is not with him. He also tells them to please not point the gun at my brother but instead at me, in case it goes off. As I gasp in horror, I hear a loud bang.
My brother's head splatters blood everywhere as he lies down, dead. I and my father simultaneously scream. "Where is the money?" one of them barks at my father.
One of them theorizes that my dad probably does not have the money yet and that it is almost midnight. The security men of this neighborhood will soon start patrolling, and things could get ugly.
They nod in unison, and the robbers bolt away. Those monsters, they have killed my brother. That is not all, though. The last of the robbers turns around and shoots his gun again. My father does not survive it.
I just crouch and cry until morning comes before running to our neighbor, Iya Ibeji. She sees me covered in blood and asks what happened. I tell her, and she just calls the cops. I am viciously interrogated, and they find out that my father told everyone at the bar yesterday that he had a million euros.
He bought drinks for everyone as well. My father and brother's bodies are carted off soon enough, and I am left with Iya Ibeji.
A man visits soon enough. In an English accent, he tells me he is my agent and has come to take us to the airport.
He tells me he has heard what happened to my father and that it is quite unfortunate, but I have to honor my contract now, or things will get much worse.
I just beg him to take me away from here, away from this hell. He nods and tells me he will take me to RED ZONE...…..