Courier Autumn

Page 21 “Th-thank you, sir.” “Now, there's no need to 'sir' me, my boy. The name's Jeremy, I'm the head coach for the youth development center at Liverpool F.C .” “Um, I'm Thomas.” “Well, Thomas, what would you say if I was to ask you whether you wanted to start training with me?” “Are you kidding?! Oh, um, I mean, um, thank you si- Jeremy! That would be incredible!” He chuckled,“Well, thats settled then. I'll send you some forms and information leaflets when I get a spare minute. Oh, I nearly forgot! I noticed you looking at those boots a minute ago, and you cant come to training without the proper gear, can you now?” “Hang on, do you really mean...” my insides lit up with elation as he handed me a wad of crisp ten pound notes and made a shooing gesture towards the shop. “I'll wait for you right here.” My face split into a massive grin as I realised that my dream was slowly coming true around me. Year 7 English Oh how I dreamed of owning those boots! Of course, my mum could never afford them. She worked ever so hard, juggling three jobs on her own as well as looking after me, which meant that she was rarely home at our small flat in London, and even then we rarely had themoney to provide a full meal every evening. But still, when we had had to go without tea it proved a usefull distraction from the hunger that gnawed constantly at my insides,and,besides, like my mum always said, we can but hope. Every night I would lie on my mattress in the dark, listening to the wail of the police sirens and the shouts of men down in the street below, and imagine myself dribbling down the pitch during the world cup finals, wearing those boots with the bright red laces, the gleaming metal studs and the shiny blue and yellow streaked leather; It would be the final minute of added time, the crowd would be going crazy, we needed one more goal to take home the trophy, I was dribbling down the pitch, skilling 3...4...5 players, I wound up for the final shot...let fly... “Thomas, are you up yet?! You're gonna miss the bus!” “Coming mum!” I shouted back down. I hurriedly tugged on my charity shop blazer, tucked the slightly-deflated football that I had received for my tenth birthday two years previously under my arm, and ran down the stairs two at a time to the door. I dribbled my way up the street that lead to the bus stop, pausing briefly to admire the display in the shop window. I stared longingly at the boots of my dreams and silently crossed my fingers and hoped for all I was worth that somehow, someday, those boots would be mine. Then, shaking my head as if to clear my thoughts, I carried on with renewed pace to the bus stop. I was almost there when a long limousine with heavily tinted windows pulled up beside the kerb and the glass facing me was rolled down to reveal a smiling, bearded man wearing dark sunglasses. “That's quite some skill with the ball that you've got there young man.” TheNewBoots byBennyWilliams This short story by Benny put a smile on our faces, we hope you enjoy it too.