GEM TALENT

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He knew he could not simply ignore them forever, so he tapped on the glowing digital screen and called his friends to meet up so they could properly fix a quick, important meeting to talk about everything that was currently happening in his life.

He politely asked them to meet him right down the busy street at a popular, small local shop where they usually get cold, sweet soft drinks and also have some deep, meaningful discussions after a very long, stressful day.

William quickly changed out of his sweaty, dirty training clothes, put on a simple, clean white shirt, and walked quickly down the sunny neighborhood street to the familiar meeting spot. The warm afternoon sun was shining very brightly in the clear blue sky, and as he walked slowly toward the shop, his heart was beating very fast because he was heavily preparing his mind to drop a massive piece of news on his friends.

When he finally reached the small building, he gently pushed open the heavy glass door of the quiet shop and stepped inside. He immediately looked around the small space, and he quickly saw that his good friends, Adam, Stone, and Smith, were there sitting comfortably at a small round table in the far corner, and they were waiting for him already.

William happily walked over to their wooden table and joined them, and as they quickly exchanged warm, friendly pleasantries, they all smiled brightly and shook hands firmly like true, loyal brothers who were very happy to see each other.

They decided to relax and joke around for a few short minutes, laughing loudly about the funny, strict professors on the massive university campus and playfully teasing each other about their brand new, highly busy student lives.

However, the light and happy laughter slowly faded away into a very comfortable, quiet silence as they all sipped their cold drinks, and William knew that this was the perfect moment to speak his mind. He took a very deep, calming breath, slowly placed his cold glass bottle of soda perfectly flat on the wooden table, and quickly moved the conversation straight to the serious business of the day.

William looked directly into the curious, waiting eyes of his best friends, knowing perfectly well that he had to be completely honest with them this time around. He spoke with a very clear, brave, and totally steady voice, and William said,

"I have finally decided to go back to football again, because I truly felt deep in my soul that being a chemist would absolutely not work for me at all."

As he spoke these heavy, life-changing words out loud, he felt a massive, invisible weight lift completely off his tired shoulders, and he quickly continued to explain his brand new decision to his completely shocked friends. He told them that he had thought very deeply about his entire future while sitting all alone in his quiet bedroom, and he proudly declared,

"I simply want to follow my heart and my beautiful dream, because playing the game on the green pitch is the absolute only thing that brings me true, total happiness in this dark world." He fully expected his supportive friends to smile and quickly support his brave, strong choice, but instead, their happy, relaxed faces instantly dropped into very deep, highly confused frowns as they stared back at him in total silence.

The quiet atmosphere inside the small shop suddenly felt extremely thick and heavy, and before William could even say another single word about his upcoming football plans, Adam quickly raised his hand and cut him short right in the middle of his sentence.

Adam leaned far forward across the small round table, looking deeply worried and highly surprised by this sudden change of events, and he quickly asked a very direct, confusing question. Adam firmly said,

"But wait a minute, William, you clearly told us that you truly enjoyed your very first chemistry class when we were all talking happily under the big tree that day?" Adam's young voice was completely filled with total disbelief, because he clearly and vividly remembered exactly how William had smiled broadly and cleverly pretended that absolutely everything was going perfectly smooth with his complex science classes.

Adam strongly reminded William of how they had all joyfully celebrated their new academic journeys together, and he simply could not understand why William would suddenly want to throw such a bright, guaranteed university future completely away.

Hearing this heavy, totally truthful question made William feel a tiny bit of sharp guilt inside his chest, but he quickly looked down at his cold drink, gathered his inner courage, and finally prepared to tell them the absolute, honest truth about his terrible morning experience.

William answered softly but very clearly, wanting his loyal friends to completely understand why he had kept such a dark, painful secret carefully hidden from them. William said,

"I completely know that I said that exact statement to you guys, but I only said that specifically because I really don't want to spoil the happy, victorious mood we all shared on that beautiful day." He looked back up directly into Adam's waiting eyes and continued explaining his hidden, deep feelings, making sure his words were completely honest and fully transparent.

"I honestly don't want my sad, frustrating case should be a heavy concern for you, because you were all so incredibly happy and highly excited about your own medical and optician classes, and I just wanted you to freely celebrate your big success without worrying about my personal failures," he explained gently and kindly. He sighed very deeply, gently rubbed his forehead with his right hand, and bravely finished his honest explanation by saying,

Qq"And most importantly, I really don't want to be seen or treated like a totally confused person that day, because I am highly supposed to be a strong man who knows exactly what he is doing with his own life, and that is exactly why I did that silly thing." William wanted them to know that his personal pride had completely blinded him for a short moment, but now he was finally ready to face reality and stop running away from his true, natural destiny.

As William's honest, deeply emotional, and painful words settled quietly in the cool, air-conditioned air of the shop, Stone slowly took a very long sip of his own cold soft drink, and then he calmly came into the serious conversation to offer some gentle, caring advice.

Stone truly wanted the absolute best for his highly talented friend, but he also deeply feared that William was making a very hasty, emotional choice based strictly on a single bad day that he might strongly regret later in the unknown future. Stone looked directly at William with very kind, highly supportive eyes, and he softly said,

"William, you can still try chemistry again with a fresh, brand new mindset, because maybe you just haven't completely taken your busy mind away from your old football memories yet."

He desperately wanted to softly encourage his friend not to simply give up so easily on a very safe, highly respected scientific career, so he quickly added some practical, helpful steps.

"Please, just try and patiently attend a few more morning classes, and maybe you can easily join a helpful evening tutorial so the smart teachers can properly break down the complex formulas for you," Stone suggested with a warm smile. He finished his strong encouragement by adding,

"If you just give it a little more precious time and focus your brain, I am very, very sure you will definitely get to the absolute top of the university class and become a great, legendary chemist just like you originally planned."

Stone's chosen words were very sweet, highly thoughtful, and incredibly encouraging, but they could absolutely not penetrate the strong, totally unbreakable wall of pure determination that William had finally built carefully around his true passion.

William did not want to waste any more precious time debating or arguing about boring science formulas, thick textbooks, or giant lecture halls, because his mind was completely made up like a solid rock, and absolutely nothing could ever change it now.

William replied firmly and highly confidently, totally shutting down any further debate about his short university education with a very powerful, commanding tone. William boldly declared,

"Thank you very much for your kind advice and your care, Stone, but I am definitely going back to professional football, because that is the exact place where I truly belong and where I can easily make my father proud."

He took one last, very long drink from his cold soda bottle, feeling completely alive, totally refreshed, and highly ready to face his difficult, challenging future head-on. He looked at his quiet friends, clearly stated his final goal, and boldly added,

"Right now, I absolutely don't care about chemistry or the campus life at all, because I am just patiently waiting for Thursday morning. I just want to hear exactly what Chelsea will say to me."

The heavy, totally serious thought of directly facing the strict Mr. Stewart hung very thickly in the air, leaving a deep, incredibly silent suspense around the small round table as William bravely prepared his young mind for the absolute biggest, most important meeting of his entire life.