Chapter 403 Debut or not?
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Finally, the day of the match arrived.
Putting on his favorite jersey, he arrived at the venue alongside his parents. The stadium was buzzing with the cheers of the excited fans and the air around the stadium was electric with excitement.
As they approached the venue, Kotaâs excitement grew. The crowd was a sea of team colors, with people of all ages sporting jerseys of their favorite players.
But he was the only one dressed in a youth jersey. However, it didnât make much difference since both the jerseys for the senior team and the youth team were almost identical.
And if not for the sponsor part, one could hardly differentiate those two.
âMom, can we visit the merchandise store first?â Kota asked, pointing eagerly at a stall selling the clubâs gear.
Though he already had Hiroâs jersey, still he wanted to get his hands on those of the senior team instead of the youth team.
His mother smiled warmly and nodded, âSure, letâs go.â
Since it was a home game, the stadium was fairly crowded, though not as packed as during derby matches. Still, there were plenty of people around, creating a lively atmosphere.
Squeezing his way, he arrived at the stall. Excitement flashed past his eyes as he reached the merchandise stall.?He then began searching for Hiroâs jersey, but as he rummaged through the piles, his excitement turned into disappointment. frđ°ebnovđđ„.đođș
Unable to find what he was looking for, he approached the shopkeeper, a rather old man with kempt hair, who was busy attending to other fans.
âSir, I canât find any jersey with Hiroâs name on it,â Kota said, his voice tinged with frustration and disappointment.
The shopkeeper looked at him, a bit surprised. âHiro? You mean Takahashi Hiro?â
Kota nodded enthusiastically.
The shopkeeper sighed and spoke while shaking his head. âLittle guy, he plays for the youth team, and we donât sell youth team merchandise here.â
No sooner had he finished his sentence, than Kota blurted out, âBut heâs playing today!â
He knew that Hiro was playing today with certainty. He had even received a ticket personally from Hiro. So, how could he tell that he wasnât going to play today? No matter what, he wasnât going to take no for an answer.
As he blurted out a murmur spread through the nearby crowd.
âWhatâs that little kid talking about?â someone asked.
âTakahashi Hiro is making his debut in todayâs match?â another echoed, sounding intrigued.
âBut I didnât hear any announcement,â a fan nearby said, frowning in confusion.
Kotaâs words stirred a buzz of gossip. Though many recognized Hiroâs name, few had heard of his debut. The excitement in the crowd grew as they began to discuss Hiroâs unexpected debut, speculating about his performance.
Even though it was a word coming out of a kidâs mouth, they were intrigued to hear that Hiro was making his debut. Well, why wouldnât they be intrigued? After all, he was the wunderkind they all wanted to see in the pro league, so eagerly.
For a while, his statement generated quite a lot of stir. But after a while, they all laughed it off as they thought of it as nothing but a kidâs fantasy. Even with Kotaâs seriousness, they couldnât take his word seriously.
âJust like you, we too wanted to see his debut. But itâs not gonna happen today kid,â one of the fans spoke as he denied Kotaâs claims.
Then another chimed in, âYeah, the club would have made the announcement, if he were to debutâ
And soon everybody discarded his claims as a joke.
Furrowing his brows, Kota tried to defend himself as he started throwing a tantrum, âHeâs going to play todayâ
But still, no one took him seriously. Instead, many of them laughed at him and ridiculed him. While many replied considerately as they tried to soothe him.
âIs Hiro really not playing today? But, Iâve personally read his letter. So, it shouldnât be the case. Then it means that his debut was kept secretâ Kotaâs mother tried to figure out the situation.
She knew the truth. Yet, she chose not to argue with those who laughed at her son. It wasnât worth arguing with them. So, she turned to her son.
Looking at him with eyes full of support, she tried to console him, âKota, donât be sad. They just donât know about it because unlike us Hiro hadnât personally sent them the tickets. Theyâll know about it once they see himâ
Her words had a magical effect on him as they immediately made him feel better.
They then made their way to their seats. The stadiumâs energy was palpable even when the players were yet to make their appearance. While making their way to their seats, many gave them a strange look.
While some gossiped and laughed about him behind his back, âLook itâs that strange kid who said that Hiro was debuting todayâ
No matter where you go, youâll always find some toxic people. And it wasnât any different in the stadium either. There were quite a few toxic people present in the stands.
But his mother didnât allow their negativity to get on him.
And finally, after walking for a while, they arrived at their seat. It was quite near to the pitch. And the view from there was one of the best in the entire field.
Looking at the pitch in front, his heart pounded with excitement. It wasnât his first time watching a football match in a stadium. Yet, he couldnât stop feeling excited about this match.
Then after a while, starting players emerged out of the tunnel. Kota excitedly looked at the players emerging out of the tunnel, his eyes desperately searching for Hiro.
But, he couldnât find him in the starting lineup.
This greatly disappointed him. And many people even ridiculed him for his earlier confident claims. Frowning, he turned to his mother, âMom, Is he really not playing?â
Speechless, his mother hesitated to reply. More like she had no words to reply to. What was she going to tell him? She didnât want to disappoint him. But, she had to at least console him. After all, he was her son and she couldnât leave him like that.