DROPPING WALLS (MANXMAN) ~UNDER REVIEW~

Thomas nails an interview.

When the now 29 tryouts arrived at the training center on Monday they saw the filming crew all over the place, and to their surprises, they were already filming them, and they were just getting out of the bus.
Some of the young athletes went straight to the group, smiling and making small talk, Thomas and the very fragile with the public comments Tim went inside without slowing the pace.
"I kind understand you now." Said Tim. Thomas just looked at him. During the day before Tim thought he could deal with the mean people, he went online and there was a bunch of people bashing him. The boy didn't talk to anybody after hours under his covers, not even when Thomas tried, something he never did.
"People are mean, and you can't trust everyone, I thought I could trust Patricia... She didn't even reply the texts I sent her, I needed support and she didn't want anything with me..." Said the boy about the girl he invited to the big soccer event.
"Hear me out Tim, you have to options mate, you can feel sorry for yourself and quit or be miserable, or you can push yourself harder and get your spot in this team, and don't think about this anymore... Let's eat, it's going to be a hella of a long day."
During the boys don't talk to the reporters officially, the crew only filmed from afar, the young players dynamic, their training and Thomas was okay with that.
After lunch the boys were sent to talk with the tryout's publicist, the woman was going to explain how the interviews would happen, and direct the boys' answers.
While most of the boys went back to training Thomas was called and sat in front of the woman who he had talked only once before when he was obligated to make social media accounts.
"Hello Thomas, how are you?"
"Uncomfortable, you?" Asked the boy and the woman giggled.
"I'm very well, you have made a great impression on the fans so far. Making friends with the big players is a very smart move, Sir, Vizanno, and Lucas are legends here, and they all advocated their support to you..."
"Vizanno is not my friend... And Sir just advises me sometimes, Lucas is the only one I can say is my friend, only because he didn't back off when I asked him to. What do you want me to tell those people?"
"Mostly the truth. But you have to be likable, you can hostile or the fans won't like you. The network has been interviewing the players' families for the past two weeks, that's why they took so long to get here to interview the lot of you. We always have an idea about what they are going to ask you, so the topics are: your friendship with your teammates, your background, your interest in soccer and your history with the sport, your love, and familiarity with the team, believe me, this one always screw thing for the tryouts. They are going to ask about your relationship with the players, Sir, Lucas and Vizanno more likely, and what do you think about the first game... As you didn't play they will talk about it too. How do you fell about those topics?"
Thomas closed his eyes and imagined himself running after the ball in a very important game, all the bleachers filled with people and the singing and cheers, he calmed himself.
"I fell okay, I can answer these things just okay." Answered the boy and the woman nodded pleased.
"Is there anything they might have discovered with your family and friends back at home? Anything that might need rehearsal before answering?" For the first time since he got there, the boy felt really alert. He didn't talk to his parents since he got to The House, he didn't know what the two could say to present themselves as good parents, his grandparents were not to say something he would get angry, he shook his head and once again the woman seemed content with the answer. "Great, you can go now, they will prep you for the camera, thank you, Thomas..."
"Thomas S. Fitz." He corrected her and for a second she was lost, then she forced a smiled and agreed with him.
Thomas left and breathed heavily! Sky showed up at the end of the corridor, she smiled as she saw him.
"So you're alive. Why haven't you texted me back?" Asked her in lieu of a hello.
"Advised to not use our phones... Sorry" said the boy, she hugged him and he gives her back strongly.
"You okay?" Asked the young woman.
"Gotta do the interview now... Not very interested." He said and she laughed.
"You're the best, come, I'll take you. You just have to be honest and try to have fun, I'd love to do an interview, but people only care about the staff of it to get gossip and I treasure my job too much to give them anything. You'll be fine okay? Trust me. I like you, Sir likes you, Lucas' obsessed with ya' Tim only has you as a friend here, we all saw something about you that the fans also saw during the first official game." Thomas nodded but he didn't feel comforted. Thomas was Tim's only friend the boy was also the only friend Thomas had inside The House, so it didn't matter much that they were exclusive friends when nobody else wanted to be part of the friendship.
The crew received Thomas with big smiles and as soon as he sat on the stall the makeup people were all over him, the hairdresser pushed his hair and sprayed things on it and they turned the strong light above the camera to his face and he felt blind for a few seconds.
"Okay, Mr. Thomas S. Fitz, I'm Bernardo Wasser and I'm very happy to finally meet, heard lots of things about you. Your grandparents are the best." Somehow Thomas felt better right away, the reporter was good, starting talking about his favorite people in the world would make Thomas relax and be more cooperative.
"Yes, those two are my everything." Said Thomas with an unexpected smile on his face.
"They told everything about you, so many embarrassing stories, it's nice to see that you've changed jerseys for once..." Thomas started laughing right away. "Wanna comment on that?"
"When I was six, about to start elementary school, my grandpa bought me a Sir Elenon's jersey, and that's what I wore to school for almost two months, I only stopped because my father got me a different one, also from Sir, and I started to go between the two jerseys until my grandmother told me to stop wearing the jerseys or she wouldn't put me to play in the local little league." Thomas liked the memories, it made him feel good about his past and how soccer pretty much was part of everything, he saw the smile on Sky's face.
The questions about his past didn't stop, he answered questions about the endless support his parents gave him playing, and how he liked it and felt it was too overwhelming at the same time. He explained how hard it is to focus on school when he knew already what he was going to do with his life and science was not part of it.
"You played in a bunch of little leagues right? We are aware that you met in one of those another player who is now playing professional and passed through tryout trial in here as a u18... Have you stayed in touch?" Thomas struggled to not close his eyes or count his breaths, but he knew he was doing some weird face.
"No." Was the only thing he said and the reporter continued.
"Well, we've talked to Peter Delley and he said you guys lost touch after he accepted the invitation to play as tryout... He was a friend and then he was gone, how did you feel?" Asked the tryout.
"I think he was wise, it was a great opportunity for him, maybe the only one, so accepting it was smart, now he is professional at the age of 18 and getting rich and stuff, doing what he loves, I feel okay." Thomas knew his face betrayed him. He played with Peter two years ago, it was still fresh in the memory of his teammates back at home and his old coaches.
The interview went on, asking him about his time at The House so far, his relationship with the two biggest name on the team, where Thomas went from fangirling Sir Elenon to blank comments about Teddy Vizanno. He explained how Lucas forced a friendship to begin and got to laugh again.
The reporter asked a lot of questions about former friendships and connections that the boy might have had and Thomas tried his best to answer every question as short as possible.
"What is the most important thing to you Thomas?" Asked Wasser.
"Soccer and my grandparents..." Replied the boy.
"In that particular order?" Asked The reporter laughing and Thomas smiled.
"Depending on the day, yes!" Said the boy looking right at the camera.
"Very funny. Last question. We got information that when you were sixteen you were invited to be part of the under 18 Unity team, but you declined, becoming the first person to ever be invited twice to be part of the team. When you declined that's how Peter got in. Why did you decline?" Thomas closed his eyes and smiled, he knew that question could be asked, but the only people who knew that were his family, and the people at the club, and they'd not make the boy get in trouble with his answers, and Peter too. But it was supposed to be an easy answer, the same way he did with the club when asked.
"I was 16, I don't think I was ready back then, and I can assure you that I improved a lot since I was asked the first time. And I really wanted to join the team by the main tryout, so I always got in my mind that I had until I was 18 to be the best I could to try out, and I fell that I've accomplished that." Answered the boy pronouncing every single word as careful as he could.
"Sir was recruited when he was 14, now he's the biggest name of our soccer, representing us worldwide, don't you think that if you had started when you were sixteen they would have made you the player you might want to be?"
"I thought the last question was the last question..." Joked Thomas and Bernardo laughed, it wasn't true, he was afraid Thomas would avoid answering, but the boy did. "Sometimes in life we need to pass through very dark paths to finally see what's the best for ourselves, some people can do that without problems, but I guess I was one of the people who need to fall to learn how to stand tall and focus on what really matters, and to me is to play soccer." He smiled and the other man smiled too, he was pleased that he got through the questions without problems, he thanked Thomas and the strong light went off.
"Thank you so much, Thomas, you kid is going to get all the attention after that. Hope we can work together again... I know we will, but I hope you want to." Thomas thanked him and smiled.
"Is Thomas S. Fitz by the way... Only my friends called me Thomas." The truth was that Lucas and Sky liked to call him by a lot of nicknames, most people called him by his full name or the last ones.
"Yeah, sure, it's been a pleasure, Thomas S. Fitz. See you."
Thomas left and Sky passed an arm around the boy's waist.
"It wasn't that bad."
"Yes. It was." He said.