Stephen held the phone anxiously. "Barron, I will explain to the media that your statement about retiring was just something you wrote when you were drunk. Just a dumb dare with your friends."
"No, I really want to retire," said Phillip in a somber tone.
"Barron, I know that the results from your recent competitions have been a bit disappointing, but this is just temporary. I believe it will soon return to how things were," Stephen said encouragingly.
"How it used to be? Seriously? Even you don't believe that!" Phillip replied.
Stephen was silent for a few seconds. It was just as Phillip said; even he didn't believe that Phillip would be able to return to his previous peak condition.
"Barron, listen to me. Even if you aren't as good as you used to be, you don't have to choose to retire," Phillip advised.
