Its Friday, three days left before Rivermark trials begin.
A meeting was called for all the candidates to attend at the school auditorium. Coach Joe, alongside the other two higher-ups of the faculty of sports in Rivermark, were in attendance.
He discussed the trial day and the activities to expect.
"Good day, candidates. Today is a special day... today is Friday," he chuckled. The students laughed as well.
"Let's get down to business. There's three days before Rivermark trials begin.
"The trial will have two parts. Day one will test your technical ability, your stamina, and fitness. This is a very crucial part of any player... regardless of your trait or player type," he said.
He continued, "And this section of the trial will count for forty percent of the final result. A player cannot perform if he doesn't even know the fundamentals."
Sonny, thinking to himself, his eyes lit up. "Yes! This is where I can show myself. If I ace day one, day two will be a breeze."
Coach Joe continued, "Day two will test you... in-game"
Whispers flew around the hall, questions and fear spreading.
"We're playing a match?"
"Yeah, but probably against ourselves or something" another replied.
"Calm down, everyone!" Joe exclaimed.
"It's just a practice game, which we will use to evaluate your in-game IQ. Mind you... only those who pass day one will proceed into day two.
"This part of the test will determine if you can perform under pressure. If you believe you're good enough to go to an academy, or be delusional enough to think of being a future Ballon d'Or winner... this is where you show yourselves" he smirked.
He explained that after the trials were over, the results would be submitted to the Dean and would go through a vetting process to ensure validity. He then dismissed the meeting.
More whispers went around as the candidates exited the auditorium. Joe Willock saw Sonny on his way out and remembered the conversation he and Arthur had a few days prior.
"I saw something special in you that no one else did. I saw a boy who had real talent.
"You can help him out however you want"
He remembered Arthur saying this and called Sonny back.
"Sonny Hale, please wait behind. Your attention is needed" he said through the microphone.
Sonny waited and approached Coach Joe.
"Good morning, coach. You called for my attention?"
"No need to be so formal!" Joe chuckled.
He wrote something on a sheet of paper, folded it, and gave it to Sonny. "Here, have this. There's some important information in there that you need to understand. Don't open it until you get home"
"Alright, sir. I understand" Sonny responded.
Sonny was still a bit confused and thought to himself, "But why did he give this to me? What could possibly be in this paper?"
After school, Sonny went back home to read what had been given to him by Joe.
"Okay... let's see what coach was talking about"
He unfolded the paper, and his expression changed. His eyes lit up. He was amazed. The information on the paper was classified and would help Sonny out a lot in the coming days.
*****
Meanwhile, back in Rivermark, Kelly Mercer was still contemplating the evidence she had found involving Sonny and the trials. She stood at the doorstep of the Dean's office.
"He can't be given an automatic pass. Mikael Soren's case is.... understandable but being traitless is not an option" she muttered.
She went into the Dean's office, filled with courage but with a calm resolve.
"Oh, Ms. Kelly, what brings you here today? Hope your grades are doing as good as ever" he chuckled.
"I'm not here to joke around, Mr. Damocles" she responded.
She took a deep breath and continued, "I'm here to make a complaint"
"Oh... then what could be the problem?" Mr. Damocles asked.
"It's about Rivermark's upcoming trials. I have concrete evidence on Joe Willock. Apart from the fact that he's given a very select group of talented students automatic passes, he's given a traitless boy an automatic pass as well."
Mr. Damocles' eyebrow raised as though he had no knowledge of this.
Kelly Mercer explained that she couldn't stand for this or any form of cheating during the trial, as she had been a big fan of Rivermark since childhood. Her older brother, being a former student and player of the school, played a big role in her interest in football as well.
She showed the Dean the evidence she had, and the Dean thought to himself, "I told Joe this would cause an issue. Now I'm stuck in a stupid dilemma"
Kelly's pitch got higher as she continued to speak, her fist tightening before she slammed it against the table.
"Sir, if this pass goes through without him showing what he can actually do, it would be a disgrace to the legacy of Rivermark. And my grandfather won't stand for it!"
Mr. Damocles, concerned and afraid of getting fired, tried to calm her down.
"Alright, Ms. Kelly... calm down. I will see what I can do. He won't be passing this trial unless he proves he's good enough to do so"
"I hope you can keep to your word" she said in a falling tone.
She adjusted her hair, stood up, and walked out of the office.
The Dean looked at the papers Kelly had given him and exhaled, thinking to himself whether he would rather betray his friend or uphold the legacy of Rivermark.
*****
It's trial day. Sonny gets up early, takes his bath, changes into his uniform, packs his jersey into his bag, and stares at the mirror.
"It's time. You've played these games before. This is going to be a breeze" he said to himself in the mirror.
"Sonny!" his mom exclaimed.
"You're going to be late for school. Come down here and get going!"
Sonny grabs a quick snack and heads out for school, feeling optimistic about the trial.
He arrives at school. After two hours of quick classes, everyone gathers to watch as the trial process is about to begin.
The top candidates are there, Theo Harrow, Damien, Mikael Soren, Owen Kessle, and the likes of them. Kelly Mercer watches from afar with her friends, Coach Joe present aswell, his arms folded, watching on, waiting for the hayst to settle.
The field is packed with monsters blessed with absurd abilities, alongside hopelessly untalented players clinging to impossible dreams.
But Sonny is determined. He bounces on his toes, getting ready for the fight. He lands one last bounce, his eyebrows aligned, his expression determined as he looks at Damien, who is also warming up.
"This is going to be fun," he blurted.
"They'll remember the name..."
"Sonny Hale"