š e j a n

1

dejan lovren was proud of being the only croatian kid in NYU. he got a soccer scholarship there last year and he never disappointed. he was a star of soccer and scouts of many big soccer teams were all lining up in every one of his games.

he was so happy about it but was always determined to stick to his goal of finishing college first. and so far it was going well.

he had everything, the talent, intelligence, looks, ladies, and not to fail to mention; his big ego. some marvel obsessed classmates of his called him "the tony stark of soccer". and he didn't mind that one bit.

in his world, everything was amazing.

---

life wasn't particularly nice to šime vrsaljko. he came from a poor family in rijeka, a town in croatia. he had a big dream and only a ball. well also talent but that didn't matter much when you can only show it to your friends on the dirty streets. or so he thought.

upon finishing high school he was playing soccer every day in his local soccer field with other kids from the neighbourhood, when a man in a shiny car and a suit came into his view. and he promised šime the unimaginable.

and boy was he in for one hell of a ride.

----

even before the start of practices, dejan was training out in the fields. of course, he felt the need to because he was captain, after all. he didn't mind the hot weather and that practices start in 2 weeks. soccer was his life all year 'round.

he was mildly surprised that his coach appeared in the middle of his laps. usually, there is no one out in the fields at this time. he didn't allow himself to be interrupted and still continued doing laps because he knew coach would join him soon after. they kind of shared this passion.

"hey, kid, working hard as always!" coach said as he ran next to dejan.

dejan gazed at him briefly and focused his eyes straight ahead. "what brings you here, coach?" dejan said in his almost perfected american accent. he still wasn't used to everyone around him being american.

"actually, i was just about to get to that," he said and took a breath, he wasn't as young anymore and couldn't really take it that much. "i've got this new kid, he is from your country. kid's got talent, you've got to watch him play."

dejan was taken aback by this. he was almost angry. he thought he was special, being a talented guy from a crappy country. "we already have a team, we don't need another player!" he said in a raised voice and sped up, leaving his coach there alone.

----

"dejan, you can't just hate the new guy because he is from your country!" one of his best friends, mike, said.

"yeah, i mean, maybe he is good." said david, taking a few steps back in case dejan decided that he wanted to punch something else rather than the punching bag.

"i don't need good! i need excellent! the best! and i already have that!" he furiously yelled and punched the ball so hard that it fell from its hook.

----

šime was so excited when he got to his dorm because he was finally here! his dreams are coming true and he couldn't be happier.

tomorrow he is meeting the captain of the soccer team! and apparently, he is croatian as well. he could maybe help him with the language because he barely understands it. and also it would be nice to have someone that brings some familiarity to this change.

he laid in bed that night, not being able to fall asleep and hoping everything goes amazing tomorrow!