(Matt's POV)
"Here's comes the footballer" said one of the twins making everyone laugh again.
I sighed, and looked at everyone's faces, Cara's smile looked a little stiff, but clearly she was not stopping her friends.
"I'll take the bet"I said looking at Emma who was sitting beside Tom felton.
She looked confused for a second, "oh so you were eves dropping"
"That's not a good habit! I'll tell mom" exclaimed Cara.
"Do tell her, I'm sure talking behind people's back is not good either" that made her shut up.
"Look's like little Matt is angry, come here don't just stand at the gate" said a twin, other one this time.
"Are you backing out now?" I asked Emma who looked a little uncomfortable.
"I'll do it, here's the bet, you won't play a single professional game before our franchise ends" said Rupert trying to impress Emma ofcourse.
I smiled, he hasn't even seen me play.
"And what if I do?" I asked curiously.
"Then we all will apologise to you" said Dan finally speaking up.
I turned toward him, "I don't want it, do you have something of value?" I asked.
Everyone in the room got quite.
"Cara your brother is so shameless" said 'ginny'.
"Don't waste my time, you don't even have anything to bet" I said as I pretend to walk away.
"If you go pro, we'll wear your shirt to the final movie's premier, and If you loose, you'll burn all your football boots" said Emma finally speaking for herself.
I couldn't help but grin, "It's on, I can't wait" I said walking out feeling good.
'Today a lot of things happened.. let's see' I thought jumping on my bed to sleep.
(Pov end)
(Third person pov)
Time passed slowly, His already busy schedule became busier. No after training on weekends he had to attend an acting workshop.
Then came February, Matt had meeting with director and the new Dumbledore Richard Harris about the movie.
He sighed a contract worth 4 million dollars for both the movies, it was considerably less compared to the other characters who were earning in tens of millions.
In March he had to shoot few scenes, travelling from Academy to set, made Jack and Mark aware that he was doing something shadey. He hadn't told them about the movie.
( Insert Img)
On the sets Matt mostly remained to himself, he had bad impression from most of the kid's cast anyways, and he couldn't be bothered to socialize with them.
He had been given special boots to increase his height in scenes, so it was usual for them to made fun of him.
He did talked with Many senior actors, he also suggested Alan to get full body checkup every 6 months.
In May the shooting was done and movie went to post production, which made Matt sigh in relif.
In June, there was a competition between Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea academies.
They played 3 games, Matt scored 27 goals and 4 assists. The other team managers reported their clubs, and now they were keeping an eye on Matt's progress.
There was a rumer that Sir Alex Ferguson had heard about him and wanted him in United's academy.
He ignored the buzz and continued to play football with his friends.
Finally in December he took break from his regular training, his family went on a vacation to Spain, where he saw his first el classico live at Camp Nou.
Carles Puyol,Xavi, Gabriel, Luís García
Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, David Beckham, Raúl, Ronaldo.
This was his first time seeing something so splendid, Barcelona won 2-1.
After coming back, again he went on to follow the same routine until he got a call from his Academy.
[February 15 2004]
Group Stage Game 1 Israel Won 2–1 Advanced
Group Stage Game 2 Italy Drew 0–0 Advanced
Group Stage Game 3 Spain Drew 2–2 Advanced
Semifinal Portugal Drew 2–2 (lost on penalties 3–2) Lost, out of final & world qualifier
Third-Place Playoff Austria Lost 1–0 Finished 4th
"These results with the team we had is unacceptable, this season we rethink the setup from the start, So tell me why did we loose." said an old man with a beer belly wearing white shirt.
"Imbalance in the team, no coordination between players, we couldn't play the basic football. Our defence had holes, the attackers scored too few goals to defend properly" said a Man in his 30s, Adam Berkley Assistant Coach.
"Hmm, I want two strikes up front, we had scored the least goals this season, we fix that first" said John, Head coach for English U-17 team, though for how long.. even he didn't know.
"But then we would have problem at the back line and keeping possession, our main midfielders have become older, they won't be able to play" Replied Adam.
"There are few midfielders, I will send you the list have passed my eyes" said Victor Thompson, a scout to Adam.
"So, we have total eight places to be filled, we will conduct trial next Sunday, don't give any list, directly call them Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre" said John, there was no time left. They needed a squad before this month end.
"Call him too" he said to Adam, who was about to walk out of the room.
Adam didn't need any clarification he smiled a little and walked out of the room.
This was his last chance, the FA won't tolerate another failure, they needed to qualify for the U-17 fifa world cup next year, and for that they need to be atleast on top three in UEFA euros U-17.
____
"Mark! Harry! What are you doing lads, this is not PT, go faster! FASTER" Yelled Roy Massey, U-17 coach at the Arsenal Youth Academy.
Matt was sitting on the ground, his boots were wet, his shirt clung to his skin, hair stuck on forehead, breathing heavily.
He had just broke his 100m sprint record. In the last year he had hot a growth spurt. Now standing at 5'3, he was finally taller than the girls of his class.
"Matt, come here" said Roy massey to the boy sitting few feets away from him.
Roy had a white letter in his hand.
He looked at the boy with pride, he believed that this boy would lead arsenal to glory.
"Here, a official letter from FA, you are being called to train with the Euros U-17 squad. Congratulations kid" he said with a laugh as he handed Matt a letter.
'Finally! I thought they would consider me for the next year!' thought Matt as he opened the letter quickly.
---
17 February 2004
To:
Academy Manager
Arsenal Football Club
Highbury House
75 Drayton Park
London N5 1BU
---
Re: England U-17 National Squad – Training Camp & UEFA European Under-17 Championship 2004
Dear Sir,
The Football Association is pleased to confirm that Matt Delevigne (Date of Birth: 14 January 1992), currently registered with Arsenal FC Academy, has been selected for the forthcoming England Under-17 squad training camp in preparation for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship – France, May 2004.
Details of Training Camp:
Venue: Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, Berkshire
Reporting Date/Time: Sunday 4 April 2004, 14:00 hrs
Camp Duration: 4–9 April 2004
Fixtures: Internal squad matches and tactical sessions; friendly vs Republic of Ireland U-17 on 8 April
Kit: All training and match kit will be provided by The FA; players to bring boots (both moulded and studs), shinpads, and personal training apparel
We request that the player report to the above venue promptly, accompanied by any medical notes from the club's physiotherapy staff.
Please note that participation in the camp is a prerequisite for final selection for the UEFA U-17 Championship to be held in France from 4–15 May 2004.
We would be grateful if you could confirm availability for the camp by 31 March 2004 to the undersigned via telephone or facsimile.
On behalf of The Football Association, I extend our congratulations to Matt on his selection and look forward to his contribution to the national side.
Yours sincerely,
[Signature]
Trevor Brooking
Director of Football Development
The Football Association
---
Matt was beyond ecstatic, he read the letter again to make sure it was ment for him.
"This Saturday bring your parents, we will need to forward your decision to the FA as soon as possible, this is huge for you Matt" said Roy with a hand on Matt's shoulder.
'It had been 3 years since a Arsenal academy player was sent one of these and this one might just do it' thought Roy.
"I will give my best gaffa" he said.
"Sure, I look forward to it, now go back to training, I want freekicks, 30 yards, clean" said Roy
Matt took the letter and placed it into his training kit bag.
"Yes coach" replied Matt as he jogged and picked few balls and put them around 30 yards distance.
"Left corner!" Yelled Roy.
Matt ran and hit the ball on command.
Everyone glanced at his shot.
The ball was too high, atleast that was what everybody saw, at the end moment ball dipped and hit the left corner perfectly.
"My word" mumbled Roy, everytime he saw Matt freekicks he questioned his life choices, the boy was beyond gifted.
'Even in prem I don't think anyone could have saved that. Monster' he thought shaking his head.
"Again! This time I want a curve on that, boys form a wall, George, Harry, if you stop this kick you can go home for today"
Both boys looked at Matt with fire, even though it was tough they wanted to go home early.
They looked at eachother and nodded.
Whistle.
This time Matt took a longer run-up, and shot wide, the ball dipped after passing the wall, creating a curve and hitting the left corner.
"Ooof" said the assistant coach shaking his hand in the air.
The physio stop what he was doing, ground assistants just whistled.
"If he hit that in a match.. the world would go wild" said one kid, while the others just nodded.
Harry and George disheartend continued their training for the day.
.
.
.
"You were fire today, what's up?" Asked Jack as we pack our bags, the training has just wrapped up.
In the last few years Jack had become his best friend, Mark was more like a comic relief, a friend nevertheless.
He only had told Jack about his film, that was when Jack noticed him missing training and the workshop he went to every weekend.
And as expected, Jack became annoying.
"My friend is a movie star"
"He does makeup before training"
"You need touchup Mattey"
"Hahaha you needed boots! Haahah"
Matt had to punch the boy to make him shut up, but Jack didn't stop, pestering him to meet Emma Watson, half of the academy wanted to meet her.
"Coach gave me this, today" said Matt handing him the FA letter.
Jack took the letter and read curiously, it didn't take long for him to put the letter done and lunge at Matt.
He hugged Matt with excitement, "Finally those geesers got it together! I swear you would cook the entire tournament! I'm so happy" Matt hugged the golden retriever back.
"Thankyou" said Matt.
"You didn't tell anyone else?" Asked Jack finally breaking the hug.
"No, you know the lot" said Matt as he pick up the letter to put it back.
"Wait Wait, I have to sign it" said Jack taking the letter off of Matt's hand.
"Wot?" , he tilted his head not understanding.
"We'll the last line require parents signature" said Jack with a smirk.