Chapter 151: Through the Motions
The morning light filtered through the curtains of David’s apartment, casting a soft glow over the room. His alarm buzzed loudly, but he was already awake. He had barely slept. The rush of emotions from the past day—the tactical meeting, making the squad, the whirlwind of online reactions—had left his mind restless.
Still, there was no time to dwell on any of it. Today was another day, another training session, another step in proving that he deserved his spot.
With a deep sigh, he swung his legs off the bed and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His body ached slightly—a reminder of yesterday’s intense drills. He checked his phone first thing, scrolling through his messages. A few from his family mostly his mother, one from Zoey replying late at night, and then a flood of notifications from social media.
He hesitated before opening Twitter. A part of him knew what would be there, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to see it. But curiosity won.
His name was everywhere.
"David Jones over Martial?? What a joke.""Never heard of this guy in my life, but let’s see what he’s about.""Ighalo didn’t make it, Mata didn’t make it, but some kid did? What is Ten Hag thinking??"
David exhaled sharply and locked his phone. He couldn’t afford to get distracted by all of this. Whether people doubted him or not didn’t matter. He had been picked—that was all that counted.
He pushed himself off the bed and got moving, going through his usual morning routine. A quick shower, breakfast—eggs, toast, and a protein shake—then out the door. The Manchester air was crisp, a slight chill lingering from the night before. His car ride to Carrington was quiet, the only sound being the hum of the engine and the occasional radio commentary about United’s squad selection. He turned it off before they could get to his name.
Pulling into the training ground, David saw some of his teammates already arriving. Ronaldo was always one of the first, his black SUV parked in its usual spot. As David stepped out, he spotted Bruno Fernandes and Victor Lindelöf in conversation near the entrance.
"Morning, mate," Bruno greeted as David passed by.
"Morning," David replied, trying to shake off the lingering weight of social media’s scrutiny.