"Damn it all!" screamed a man as he busts into a locker room.

"You should learn to relax Jay. It's not like you resisting is going to change this shitty system."

"But how long should we just take their oppression, David? Just because the director's nephew was in the selection they threw me away 10 years back. I didn't make a scene then, because I thought there will be more chances. But I am 30 now when will the chance come?"

"We don't have the power to make the change man. We are getting paid for keeping our mouth shut. It's not like they have to keep us here. They are doing this so we don't complain about these things."

"Maybe if we had gone out of here earlier we could have had a better life."

"We didn't do it back then and we can't do it now. Stop fighting them, Jay. You are here only because the coach keeps saving your ass. I don't think he can do it anymore."

Seeing as his friend was still indignant about all that was happening he sighed knowing his friend will not back down and might end up in a difficult situation because of it.

"Jay, I have to go now. But listen to me. Don't get into a fight again. They can send you packing just because you are over the age for a debut match. Even if you are not they can make a thousand reason to send you home and never let you set foot inside a stadium. We are here because we love football. Don't lose what you have because of what you can't have."

"David, did you see the last national match against Thailand?"

Staring at his friend because of the sudden change in topic, David was lost for words. After gathering his thoughts he sighed before he replied.

"Yeah. India lost 4-0. It was a horrible match."

"I saw Ravi on the field. He was on the starting 11."

David suddenly realized why his friend brought up this topic. Ravi was none other than the guy who was selected instead of him 10 years back for the state team. David sighed again at this and tried to comfort his friend.

"He is at his prime now. He is only 27 years old and he wasn't really bad. You shouldn't keep thinking about this."

"All the people know to do is complain and say our team doesn't put enough effort. If our department is like this how will we have any chance of growing as a team? All we will have is a Cricket team that we can be proud of. And even there everyone knows the selection is biased. But no one talks about it because we are winning. But here no one talks about it because we are insignificant."

"I am going to take this to the media, David. I may not have enough evidence but the media will not care about it. They just want any news that can be sensational. They will report it and if we manage to get some attention at least in the future the youngsters will have a fair chance."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Don't do something stupid Jay. You cannot be sure the media will report this. It's all government controlled. They might just 'report' to the director and you will be in trouble. Don't make your parents worry at this age man. Go home and rest. Clear your mind and go on a holiday or something. Retire and get your pension in a couple of years."

Jay didn't reply and only nodded his head before walking into the shower. David stood there for a couple of minutes not knowing what to do. He sighed again realizing his friend is stubborn and might do what he just said. He worried for some time and mumbled to himself.

"I should call Parash and make him keep an eye on Jay. Hopefully, that will keep him safe."

Unknown to him Jay who just went into the shower was suddenly assaulted by severe nausea and was leaning against the wall unable to voice anything. Suddenly he vision turned black and he started to hear a static noise before everything went silent. When he opened his eyes again he was in a familiar but unfamiliar room. Suddenly he heard a voice that confused him even more.

"Jay, come down for breakfast. Amma (mom) has to go to the office."

Jay blanked out for a second hearing that. The voice definitely belonged to his sister who died three years back in an accident. And what she said confused him even more. His mom was hospitalized because of the same accident. How can she go to work? When he was still confused his room door was pushed open before a teen probably around seventeen appeared in his vision.

"What are doing Jay? Hurry up and come down. Just because its summer vacation doesn't mean you have to stay in your bed all day."

Seeing his sister standing before him or at least what appeared to be her from fifteen years ago, Jay blanked out again and kept staring at her. Noticing this she touched her face and asked

"Is there something on my face? Why are staring? Whatever come down fast and eat. Brush your teeth before that."

He nodded subconsciously and his sister left seeing that.

"What is happening? Is this heaven? Or maybe hell where they show me the good times before they plunge me into darkness. Did I die?"

Still confused as ever he walked into the washroom to wash up deciding to see where this goes. When he stood in front of the sink he could see his reflection in the mirror clearly. A young man with a round face, black spiky hair and broad shoulders with well-toned abs and brown tanned skin, it was no doubt his younger self from when he was still in high school.

When he was staring at the mirror he noticed a bubble on the corner of his vision. He thought it was on the mirror and tried to wipe it off but when he touched it, it suddenly enlarged into a dialogue box.

Do you wish to set this as your starting time?

[Yes]                               [No]

 He was surprised at this wanted to know what was happening. He wanted to press no to see if he can go further back but the selected option, that is the current year, seems to be the furthest possible option so he selected yes. Then a new dialogue box showed up.

Please select the system you would like to have

1. Player

2. Coach

3. Play Maker

Jay stared at the options for some time and thought he was hallucinating and started wondering why he was taking this seriously. But seeing that the dialogue box didn't go away he tried rubbing his eyes but he accidentally selected an option it would seem. The dialogue box changed again.

You have selected the Play Maker System. Enjoy your second chance.