Handsome position is not easy

Chapter 10 Two Straws
When he returned home after training, Yang felt very surprised. He hadn't been harassed for a whole day, and he felt peaceful, as if all the previous encounters had never happened to him.

At first, he still felt a little relaxed and happy, until the old doorbell at home struggled to ring, and when he saw Coach Garcia with bloodshot eyes standing outside, Yang's mood suddenly became extremely complicated.

"Little Rodriguez, is your father at home? I have something to do with him." Garcia tried to force a smile, he didn't want to scare the ten-year-old child in front of him.It's just that he didn't expect that most of Yang's trust in him had already dissipated since he found him watching from the sidelines last time.

"My father should be back soon, can you wait for a while?" As soon as he opened the door to let Garcia in, many bad possibilities flashed through Yang's mind, each of which was enough to make him His normal life is disrupted or completely destroyed.

After pouring the water for Garcia, Yang also squeezed out an equally ugly and forced smile, turned back to the kitchen where the lights were not turned on, and sat on the small stool he used to rest his feet while cooking, with his head hanging down without saying a word .

Garcia was sitting at the table in the living room. The cheap incandescent lamp above his head was a little dazzling, which made him a little uncomfortable after walking through the dark alley. The mild and diluted light without the lampshade made him embarrassed and sickly red. The little bit of excitement hidden in the eyeballs was all revealed.

His throat kept swallowing, but it was so dry that he didn't secrete a single bit of saliva, so he picked up the water glass and swallowed a big gulp, closing his eyes tightly and seemed to have regained his calm, but his trembling fingers were still It revealed a bit of embarrassment that was hard to fade away.

The light in the living room extends along the wall, but when it is about to rush into the quiet and dark kitchen, it loses its power. It cuts an oblique corner at the wall line and stops there. The two who gave up talking because they were trapped in a cage of thoughts, It seemed that he could just sit in silence all the time.

Yang and Garcia, a child and an adult, were both silent, out of their minds, and sitting with their heads bowed. They faced each other obliquely for only three steps, but were faintly separated by the dividing line between light and dark, as if there was a gap between them. separated by a sharp wall.

This night in August was too ordinary, with no wind, no rain, no snow. It lacked some background for sitting quietly, but there was a quietness that was absolutely helpful for thinking. There was no other sound in the room, only two slight noises. Sounds like heavy breathing.

It is a pity that there is no wind and no snow, but if there is a night to look forward to, the taste of waiting can be boiled enough.

There was the sound of a lock bolt turning at the door, and José came back.

With a soft bang, the kitchen lights came on.

……

Jose entered the door and saw an outsider sitting in the living room, he was a little surprised, beat his back and took a few breaths, and then dragged his tired body to sit at the table.

"Mr. Garcia, what's the matter so late?" The smile on his face faded, and he pointed to Yang who came out of the kitchen, "Ah, did this kid cause trouble at school?"

Garcia shook his head and said, "It's not causing trouble, but it does have a lot to do with him. Mr. Rodriguez, if possible, can you let the little guy rest first? There are some things, I hope you will decide after listening Do you want to tell him?"

Yang's expression instantly turned bitter, and Jose shrugged helplessly at Yang, indicating that there was nothing he could do, so Yang had to go back to his room and close the door.

"Mr. Rodriguez, it's an urgent matter, so I'll make a long story short. Do you know Luigi Semodo, the director of the club?"

"Uh, you don't have to be so polite, just call me Jose. I know this Director Luigi, but what does he have to do with Jan?"

"Because of his son Davral Semodo. You should know more or less that a group of uptown kids had clashed with Young several times. Paul Mensah, director of the youth training base, found me this morning and asked me to Modify the assessment results of Jan and his friend Pednio. You also know that the big exam is coming, and they will all transfer from U9 to U12. They have reached the age where they can sign a youth training contract. Mensa means very much Obviously, it was to get them out of Sporting Lisbon."

Jose only felt a bitterness welling up in his throat, and he moved his lips a few times before he asked, "You mean, this matter was ordered by... that club director?"

"If you guess right, it should be so. Without Luigi's words, Mensa would not have handed over the matter to me so blatantly. The Alcochete base also has regulations." Garcia shook his head apologetically.

As the coach of this group of children, he couldn't protect them, so he didn't want Yang to listen to it. After all, it was too cruel for a child to lose trust and hope at the same time.

Garcia felt a little relieved that he didn't wait for the expected look in his eyes.He had no choice but to pat Jose on the shoulder and said, "Jose, don't be completely desperate. For Yang, he still has a chance. Although I don't know if there is such a chance. How sure, but judging from the current situation, if you want to stay in Sporting Lisbon, you have no other choice."

Garcia rubbed his dry and painful eyes, and continued: "Now, you can intervene in team affairs, you can suppress Mensa and you are not afraid of the team directors. Except for Chairman Sintra, there is only one person left. Our Lisbon Head Coach - Bobby Robson!"

Before Jose's eyes lit up, they dimmed again: "Whether it's the chairman or the head coach, I, a handyman, can't get in touch with it. Besides, our family doesn't have the capital to fight against the director."

"Jose, listen to me, this opportunity is not for you, but for Xiao Yang. You also know that last season, Benfica had a better record than us, and the young players who were promoted in their team played very well. Good. This year the club is not planning to spend a lot of money on signings, and wants to pick some good seedlings from the echelon. The time of the big test is very close to the start of the new season. The team attaches great importance to it from top to bottom, especially the confrontation match of the youth training system. Do you get me?"

Jose nodded half-understood, Garcia took a sip from the water glass and said: "The opportunity I'm talking about is to let Yang try his best to play the best performance when Coach Robson's team is watching the match. .As long as they can have a deep impression on Yang, then Mensa will be easy to deal with. I made an excuse that the file might be adjusted, and this matter can be delayed."

"Of course, you don't have to worry too much. If you don't believe that Young has enough talent, I won't suggest you to do this. Jose, your son is probably really a little genius. His running and ball handling They are all very spiritual, yes, it is the kind of spirituality that we like to talk about when watching football. Not to mention his vision and overall situation are also very good. The entire coaching staff praised him for the few passes he made during training that day. .”

"As for the other child, Pedeno, although I don't want to say this, his aptitude can only be regarded as average in Alcochete. If he has any outstanding advantages, he is more diligent. In addition, he is from Madeira, I won't be able to find his family members for a while, so I can't talk to a child about this kind of thing? Anyway, I will make arrangements so that Jan and the others can play at an appropriate time for inspection. people…"

Garcia was talking about his plan vigorously, so he stood up and moved around a few times, and suddenly saw Yang standing at the end of the aisle, and he froze on the spot.

"Ga...Coach Garcia, is what you said true? Can't Pedeno...can you try it together? Can you give him a chance too?" Yang's lips trembled a little, and his eyes stared at Jia Sia didn't blink.

He thought of what Peddenio said when he talked about Garcia, and he felt extremely worthless, and his body was also a little cold, and he shuddered after thinking about it.

"Yan, that's not what I meant. I, too, want to keep both of you at the Alcochete base. If Sporting Lisbon is in my hands, I won't keep those black sheep in the team at all, but It doesn’t matter what I said, I can’t help it, I...I want to stay in Sporting Lisbon too, I’m also very scared..." Garcia covered his face while talking, seeing the child's anger and helplessness, he Finally exposed his vulnerable side.

……

When Jose sent Garcia out, he hugged him sincerely, patted Garcia on the back and said: "No one is easy in this world. I can understand you. A young man can compete in Lisbon. Work is not easy, and you should really cherish it. As for children, they are not sensible at this age, and they can't look at problems rationally. Some things can't be done just by doing them. I understand what you told Yang to avoid before The reason is not because you think you can't help Peddenho, but because you are afraid that he will lose confidence because of such a difficult thing to resist, and he will be easily depressed in the future, isn't it? It doesn't matter, just do what you want , even if you can't help the two of them, it's okay, you still have to have your own life, I will have a good talk with the little guy."

Garcia walked very slowly along the wall, and he felt that all the strength in his body was lost. After a whole day of inner torture and hard thinking, and then rushing to Rodriguez's house without stopping, his energy was completely exhausted. He had to go home, and he didn't want to take a step too far.

A little boy's angry and high-pitched voice came from the room behind him: "He is not a good person! He gave up Pedeno! He said he would help me, but he just wanted to atone for his sins, and he felt very sorry!"

"Jan! You are wrong! Coach Garcia is a good person, because only good people think about atonement when they make mistakes, and bad people never atone for their sins, because they think they didn't make mistakes at all!"

Garcia slid down slowly with his back against the wall, and squatted on the gravel and dusty ground, crying softly.He covered his mouth with his right hand, and punched himself hard with his left hand twice, only then was the sound of sobbing tightly blocked in his chest.

When tears welled up from the dry eyeballs, the pain spread from both eyes all the way to the bottom of my heart.Although Lisbon is in August, the nights are as cold as water. He only feels that the sadness comes from it and cannot be stopped.

Two straws fell in the night sky in Lisbon that day, one almost crushed a young camel named Garcia, and the other was life-saving, but was held in the hands of a child.No one knows whether the fate of the life-saving straw is to be regarded as a treasure, or to be discarded like a shoe.

(End of this chapter)