Chapter 30: A Quiet New Year
Thursday, 1 January 2010
Niels woke up late.
For the first time in months, there was no alarm telling him to get out of bed. He hadn't stayed up all night celebrating New Year's Eve. He had simply enjoyed having nowhere to be.
He stayed in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling.
A few months ago, his life had been completely different.
He had spent most of his time sitting at a computer, playing games late into the night. Headset on, friends talking through Discord, always trying to climb one more rank.
Then everything had changed.
One moment, he had been in his old life.
The next, he was here.
New body. New world. New life.
And somehow, he had ended up working for a football club.
Niels almost laughed at the thought.
If he had stayed in his old world, he'd probably be sitting at his PC right now, playing FIFA or some other game. Maybe talking with the same people online. Maybe getting annoyed after losing a match and immediately starting another one.
He missed it sometimes.
The computer.
The late nights.
The feeling of knowing exactly what he was doing.
Gaming had always been simple.
You lost a match, you played again.
Football wasn't like that.
One bad decision could cost a player their place. One tactical mistake could cost the team a game. And there was no restart button.
Real people were depending on him now.
Niels looked around the room.
Match notes covered part of the table. A few pages of training plans sat underneath them.
His old controller was still there too.
He picked it up and turned it over in his hand.
It felt strange.
That used to be the thing he reached for every day.
Now it was just a reminder of who he had been.
Niels put it back down.
He still missed parts of his old life.
But when he thought about Crawley, something felt different.
The wins mattered to him.
The players mattered to him.
Even the difficult days mattered.
This life hadn't been his choice.
But somewhere along the way, it had started becoming his own.
Niels looked at the notes on the table and smiled slightly.
He still had plenty to learn.
But he liked where he was going.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Niels looked at the screen.
It was a message from his mother.
For a second, the word still felt strange.
Happy New Year, love. We lit the lanterns last night. Pie's waiting whenever you come home.
She had sent a photo too.
Their garden was lit by small orange lanterns, with smoke drifting through the cold air.
Niels stared at it for a while.
It still felt strange calling her Mum. She was his mother now, but part of him still remembered a different family.
He typed a reply.
Happy New Year, Mum. I'll try to come soon. Promise. Just not today.
He sent it.
He could already imagine her reading the message and telling Elise that he was too busy again.
Niels smiled.
He got out of bed. The floor was freezing against his feet, so he quickly pulled on a sweater.
The flat was still mostly empty. A few boxes were pushed into the corner, and a photo was stuck to the fridge.
It showed him and Elise as children.
Niels looked at it for a moment.
There were still parts of this life he didn't fully understand.
He made himself a cup of tea and stood by the window.
Crawley was slowly waking up. The streets were quiet, covered in light fog, with a few leftover Christmas decorations still hanging outside the shops.
His thoughts returned to Milan.
Without him, Niels probably wouldn't have stayed in football.
Milan had been the one who gave him a chance. He had pushed him when Niels doubted himself and trusted him with more responsibility when he wasn't sure he was ready.
Niels picked up his phone.
After a moment, he called him.
Milan answered after a few rings.
"Niels, you brat."
Niels smiled.
"Happy New Year, coach."
"Happy New Year."
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than I was."
Milan paused.
"And how's my team?"
Niels laughed.
"Still alive."
"Good. I was worried you'd already ruined everything."
"Give me time."
They both laughed.
They talked for a while about Crawley, the players and the season ahead. Milan told him he was getting used to being away from the training ground, although he still missed watching the matches from the touchline.
Eventually, the conversation became quieter.
Niels looked down at his tea.
"Thanks," he said.
"For what?"
"For believing I could do this."
Milan was silent for a moment.
"I knew you could."
They spoke for a little longer before ending the call.
Niels put the phone down.
He felt calmer.
The doubts were still there, but they didn't feel quite as heavy anymore.
Milan had trusted him.
Now Niels just had to prove that trust wasn't misplaced.
By the afternoon, Niels was getting tired of staying in the flat.
He put on his coat and walked to a small café near the high street. It had an old wooden door and mismatched chairs. The place was warm and smelled of coffee and fresh bread.
"Coffee. Black," Niels said to the woman behind the counter. "And something warm."
She handed him a scone.
"Thanks."
Niels sat near the window.
There were only a few people inside. An older man was reading a newspaper while a young couple sat together, looking at something on a phone.
After a few minutes, the older man looked over.
"We watched the game," he said. "Good win."
Niels smiled.
"The players worked hard."
"You lot are doing better than people expected."
They talked for a few minutes about the weather, the town and the match. Nothing serious.
Niels liked that.
Nobody was asking him about tactics or the league table. For a little while, he was just another person sitting in a café.
He checked Facebook while finishing his coffee.
There were the usual New Year's posts. Families, parties, drinks and people posing beside Christmas trees.
Then he saw some of his own players.
Korey was at a club with a group of friends.
Max was in a crowded bar, laughing with someone beside him.
Niels stared at the pictures for a moment.
Part of him was jealous.
Before coming to this world, he would probably have spent New Year's Day gaming, talking to friends online and staying up far too late.
Now he was worrying about whether his players were drinking too much.
He looked at Max's photo again.
They'd better be ready for training.
Niels shook his head and put the phone away.
He couldn't control what they did on their day off.
That evening, he was back in his flat.
The television was on in the background when a transfer story caught his attention. A young midfielder had just moved to a Championship club for a large fee.
Niels sat up.
The transfer window was open.
He started thinking about Crawley.
They needed more depth.
Maybe another defender.
Maybe a winger who could stretch teams.
Maybe someone in midfield who could control games.
The problem was the budget.
Niels had no idea how much money the club could actually spend.
Still, he started thinking about players he knew from his old life.
Back when he played FIFA, he used to spend hours looking for young players with good potential.
Maybe some of those names could actually help Crawley now.
His phone rang.
Max.
Niels answered.
"Boss?"
"Yeah?"
"My agent wants me to talk to a few clubs."
Niels sat up straighter.
"Bigger clubs," Max added. "What do you think?"
Niels thought about it before answering.
"You've got more ability than you realise."
Max stayed quiet.
"A move might be tempting, but you're finally getting regular football here. You're improving every week."
He paused.
"Don't make the decision just because the club is bigger. Think about where you want to be in a year or two."
Max took a breath.
"But whatever you decide, I'll support it. It's your career."
"Thanks, boss."
"No problem."
They ended the call.
Niels put his phone down and looked at the television.
The transfer news was still running across the bottom of the screen.
His thoughts went back to Max, then to Crawley, then to the photo on his fridge.
Him and Elise as children.
There was still so much about this life that felt unfamiliar.
But it was becoming harder to think of it as someone else's life.
Niels turned off the television.
He still wasn't ready to go home.
But soon.
Maybe soon.