Luce di Stella • Kenan Yildiz

Chapter 2: Who Is She?

🎶 This Girl - Kungs Vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners — Kungs, Cookin' On 3 Burners 🎶

Kenan POV

Today was going to be a great day. Training was starting again and I had been called up by the senior team to do pre-season with them, where I hoped that I could prove myself. Sure, I was still only 18 and had a lot to learn, but I also think I had a lot I could add to the team and that was what I had to show Allegri these weeks.

"Buongiorno!" I greeted my new and some old teammates in the locker room and scanned it for my name. And there it was, #39 Kenan Yildiz.
"That was del Piero's locker" I heard my friend Dean say from a few feet away.
"Hey, bro!" I said happily and went over to greet one of the few really good friends I had made here in those few months I'd been living in Turin now. On the contrary to me, Dean had been here all his childhood and thus was close to many players of the first team already, especially the Italian ones. Sure, everybody got along well, but that group was really hard to get in to. It actually was impossible, unless you were Italian or lived here for more than half your life, like Dean.

"This was del Piero's locker?" I asked him incredulously, pointing at where my name was written.
"Yeah, pretty cool that you got his, given that he's your idol" he chuckled.
"How do you know... that one was his?" I asked him a bit confusedly, but curiously.
"Oh... long story" he mumbled and turned back to his locker to take out his training shirt. Weird.

"GUYS! Outside in 10, we don't want to be late on our first day back!" our captain Danilo shouted through the room and I was quick to pull down my shorts and get dressed. I couldn't afford to step one foot wrong here. Some guys already got going, including the Italians and I tried to hurry up. I mentally made a note to wake up ten minutes earlier tomorrow, just to make sure that there was no risk at all to run late.

With a spring in my step, I trotted outside and greeted the team's photographer and the content creator, making sure to send a wink to the camera, the fan girls were going to love that. I saw Dean with Chiesa, Miretti and Cambiaso talking to a girl and curiously, I made my way over, but had to stop just after two steps. Damn, that was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on in my whole life. Her blonde hair fell down her back in effortless waves, her lips were full, but definitely natural, they looked soft and rosy and I could only dream about what they felt like. She was dressed in a simple white knee-length office dress and my curiosity got ahead of me - I needed to know who she was, why she was here and when she would go out with me.

"When's your brother coming to town again, Fede? We should totally do doubles with Lucy again soon" this girl said and smiled at Chiesa. Damn, tennis with not only a player's girlfriend, but also his brother - she must know him well.
"Lucky guy spends his whole summer in Forte, so he won't come around until September" Chiesa huffed and patted her shoulder before walking over to Dusan to do some warm-ups.

"OK GUYS, GATHER ROUND!" Allegri shouted and now I also saw the club's President and sporting director make our way over to us. Shit, I still hadn't found out what the deal with this girl was, but I guess I'd find out soon. She caressed Dean's arm and sent him a smile before walking over to the two men who had just joined our coach. What was the deal with those two? Dean never mentioned a girlfriend or a gorgeous girl like her!

"Welcome back, team. We're very excited about the upcoming season and we want to thank every one of you here for continuing to put trust into this club, just like we do with you. It will be a hard year without European competitions, but we still have the League and the Cup, two trophies we've brought home lots of times and are definitely capable to win with the extraordinary squad that you form. I want to extend a very warm welcome to our players from the Next Gen team - we're all excited to see what you will bring to the team this pre-season and hopefully further into the season too." the President welcomed us and we all clapped.

Blah, blah, blah, I want to know about her!
"Now I want to ask you guys to welcome Beatrice. Many of you know her already, for those who don't, she's a newly appointed member of the board and will be working with the Strategy & Development team" he explained and I looked quite surprised. That girl looked my age and she was a board member? What the heck. And- wow!
"A few words?" Ferrero asked her and she nodded confidently.

"Good morning and welcome back everyone. I'm very excited to start my journey here at Juve - maybe sooner than expected - but I'm sure that together, we'll have a great season. Wear the colours with pride, every time you set foot on a pitch with the logo over your heart, you're writing history, following in the steps of some of the greatest football players of all times, who have represented this club just like you do now." she said and her words managed to get straight to my heart. She really seemed to love this club with every fibre of her being.

"But hard times have struck us and things need to change. When we return from the US, I'm going to hold individual talks with every one of you, to make sure that we're all on the same page and get to know each other better." she continued and now, some guys started looking at each other, murmuring what this was about. A new board member and "things need to change" - this is never a good omen.
"And whatever concern, critic or issue you have, my door is always open and I'd be happy to hear you out, don't hesitate to come knocking." she continued. "Now, I will leave you to your training and I'll see you all on the plane to America" she said and smiled as she clapped her hands.

We all now also clapped for her and she waved, moving away from the group with the other two men. Both of them seemed to beg for her attention and she only seemed to wanted to get away. There was so much more to this girl and I wanted to know everything, I craved her attention and I wanted to know how her touch on me felt like.

"Dude, forget it. She's John Elkann's niece. That's not even another league, that's another universe" Miretti hissed into my ear as he probably caught me staring after her.
"She's just a girl, a human like you and me" I snarled back at him. I was sick of people thinking that classes existed in our society. Sure, there were people growing up more privileged than others, but everyone was the same, in the end. And responsible for how their life turned out.

I came from a basic lower class family and knew I had to work myself up, if I wanted to make it in life. But I had also seen enough other kids at the academy in Munich that came from rich backgrounds and got in there because of their connections. But football, or any other sport for that question, was a place where you had to prove if you were good enough or not, with your skills and your skills only - no matter your parents' bank balance.

And looking at how she walked away, flanked by those two men double her age, I could see that a tremendous amount of hidden feelings swam under the surface of her perfect, composed exterior. And I wanted to dive right into them.