Twenty minutes later.
Lukas walked out of the building where the locker room was located. He stopped to look around, looking for Marco.
The U17 team were now playing a full-pitch11 v 11 game, and occasionally, coach Patrick's whistle would blow as he stopped the game to give out tactical instructions.
Some players, including João, had hands on their waist as they listened to Patrick attentively.
Some were bent over, with their hands on their knees, catching their breath due to the intensity of the training.
"I really can't wait to play a real match." Lukas thought as he imagined himself in a first-team football game—something he never got to do in his previous life.
"You're done already? Sorry for making you wait, I had to take a call." Marco's voice brought Lukas back to the present.
"No it's fine, I just came out now." Lukas responded.
"Alright then, let's find a place to talk."
"I live around here, so I know a place we can talk. Let's go." Lukas said as he walked to his bike.
"I brought a car. We can take it together. It will be weird following your bike with my car."
"That would be weird. Wouldn't it?" Lukas thought, before locking his bike back up.
"Alright, it's not too far away from here anyway, so I can come get it after our meeting."
"Alright then. Let's go."
Lukas and Marco entered Marco's car.
"Oh no! I almost forgot to text my dad about the time of the meeting."
"You should do that now, it would be best for us to finalize the important part of the deal today, and he needs to be around for that."
Lukas nodded his head as he took out his phone from his backpack. He unlocked it and sent his father a text message.
"The meeting will be at the café down the street from our place, at 6pm."
"Yeah. I sent him the message." Lukas said to Marco as he placed the phone on his lap.
BZZZT*
A notification of a new message rang out from Lukas' phone.
"Alright, I'll meet you there."
"Which way should I go?" Marco asked as he started his car.
"Just straight down, and then, to the left."
************
DING**
A bell in a café chimed as the door opened.
Lukas and Marco walked into the café, a standard sit-down café with about 20 seats.
The café had a decent-sized interior, around 70 square meters. The floor was tiled with marble. The walls were painted green, with floral designs on parts of the wall.
However, the first thing Marco commented on, was the scent.
"Hmmm. Smells like strawberries in here." He said to Lukas.
"♫ On a summer evening. ♫" Lukas muttered under his breath.
"Pardon? Did you say something?" Marco asked as he looked at Lukas.
"No I didn't.. I was just breathing in the scent." Lukas responded, with a deadpan expression.
[*Liar.*]
"Shut up! Who called you here?"
"Let's sit down over there," Lukas said to Marco as he pointed at a table at the end of the café.
They both walked over and sat down as a waitress came to take their orders.
"I'll have a cup of filterkaffee." Marco ordered.
"And a cup of milk coffee for me." Lukas ordered.
"They make some of the best coffee in this city." Lukas started the conversation as the waitress left to prepare their orders.
"Really? How would you even know that?"
"I have lived here all my life."
"And you've drank coffee for how long?"
"A couple decades now."
"A couple decades? Really now?" Marco asked, obviously not taking Lukas seriously.
"Ahem.. I meant a couple years. Still, you have to trust me. It really is the best in the city."
"We will see about that."
With the pleasantries out of the way, the real conversation started.
"I want you to join Rising Talent Agency, Lukas." Marco said as he stared directly at Lukas.
"So I'm guessing I successfully convinced you." Lukas responded with a grin as he looked directly at Marco too.
"I was convinced as soon as the ball touched your leg the first time."
"Thanks for the compliment. I was the one who contacted you, so you know I want to join the RTA. But I've got a question."
"Sure, go ahead."
"What do you think is the next best step for my career?"
Marco thought about Lukas' question. He already had an answer for him, but he had other things to consider.
Lukas was still young—in Marco's eyes at least. And he might not take the suggestion of leaving Darmstadt academy—where he has friends and has trained all his life—too well.
But if he had to make a suggestion considering only Lukas' development, the perfect option was obvious.
"Riederwald Youth Academy—that is currently the best choice I can suggest."
"Eintracht Frankfurt? Why?"
"As you already know, they are a top 10 side in Bundesliga, so their academy and training facilities are totally different compared to Darmstadt's. And they are close enough for you to commute from Darmstadt for training.
Another reason, is that I think you're good enough for their reserve team."
"Me? U23 level? You really think so?"
Lukas had not yet played a real match since he was returned back from the future, so he didn't understand his level compared to other academy players.
He knew he was better than the SV98 U17 players, but he wasn't sure how he was when compared with the first team, let alone a top side in the Bundesliga.
"Well, I still have to see how well you perform in a real match, I have only watched you train. But I trust my guts. And I can definitely get you a trial for at least the U19s."
"Hmmmmm.. that's not a bad idea at all. I really wanna see how much better TT has made me."
"I like that. Let's do it." Lukas said after thinking about Marco's idea.
"Great, I will let you know once everything is set up. Patrick might not be happy about this though."
"Yeah. He seemed to really want me back in the team. But he will understand."
"Yeah he will." Marco agreed.
"Here's your coffee." The waitress said with a smile as she placed the cups of coffee on the table.
"Can I get you anything else?" She asked.
"You want something else?" Marco asked Lukas.
"No. We could go for dinner after the conversation with my dad." Lukas responded.
"Alright then." Marco turned to the waitress. "That will be all for now. Thank you."
"Enjoy your drink." She replied before walking off.
Marco took a sip of his coffee.
"Hmmmm... It tastes like... filtered coffee?"
"Of course it does, that's what you ordered, right?" Lukas responded with a confused expression.
"Why are you acting confused? You said they had the best coffee in the city. This tastes like any regular coffee."
"I never said that." Lukas replied. Dead serious.
"You bloody liar."
"Where's the proof? That's slander!" A smile finally broke out of Lukas' lips.
"Is this what I'll have to deal with from now on?" Marco lamented to no one in particular.
"That's what I've been dealing with for 15 years now." A voice came up from behind them.
It was Javi.
"You're here dad."
"Yeah. Hope I am not too late."
"Of course not. This is Mr. Marco Kasten, he is gonna be my agent from now on." Lukas pointed to Marco seated opposite him.
"Hello Mr. Brandt, my name's Marco Kasten."
"Hello, you can call me Javi, since you'll be in charge of my son's football career from now on, let's drop the formalities. It's nice to meet you Marco."
"The pleasure is all mine Javi. I mean it when I say this, but your son is one of the most talented players of his age that I have seen."
"Hmmm.. Is this man a scammer? Or is it that he just hasn't seen a lot of youth players? Why would he just lie through his teeth like that?" Javi thought, as he started growing suspicious of Marco.
"Still, it is nice to hear someone complimenting my son, even though it's obvious he's lying." Javi thought, oblivious to how much better his son had gotten.