After spending a night at the luxurious Hilton Belfast Hotel, Zachary and his teammates returned to Trondheim the following morning in a jubilant mood.
The excitement of crashing Crusaders Football Club in the Europa League qualifying round had not worn off even after a night of celebrating. The players were all smiles as they exited the bus at the parking lot of Lerkendal Stadium with their luggage in hand.
"Okay, guys," Coach Johansen hollered out loudly, clapping his hands, right after all the players had exited the bus. "Can I have a bit of your attention before you leave?"
Zachary and the rest of the Rosenborg players immediately started moving quickly after hearing his yell. They acted with a practiced urgency, evolved over months of responding to the coach's instructions. In a few seconds, they'd assembled around him.
"Welcome back home," the coach said, smiling. "But first, let's congratulate ourselves again upon winning the first leg of our first fixture in the Europa League qualifying round. We managed to destroy the Crusaders without giving them a chance to breathe. We're ROSENBORG! ROSENBORG! ROSENBORG…" He ended his little speech with a victory cheer.
All the players responded by clapping and yelling their versions of victory chants after hearing the coach. They continued singing and dancing for the next few seconds like they were high on alcohol. Each one of them was in a festive mood.
"Okay, that's enough," Coach Johansen yelled at the top of his voice, raising his arm to request silence after a while. The players, of course, obeyed and stopped the cheering.
"That was some incredible display you guys put up against the Crusaders in Belfast," the coach began, still smiling. "You were brilliant, precise, and intense while on the attack. Your intensity and drive during that game could rival that of some top teams in Europe. That is why we managed to win the game with four goals to none, even while playing at an away ground. I'm really proud of your performance."
"But," the coach continued, sweeping a glance across his players. "We must not relax after winning the game. We now have to put the victory behind us and focus on recovering and preparing for the upcoming matches."
"We'll play Sogndal at home on Sunday evening, just two days from now — that's if we're not counting today. Then we'll have to welcome the Crusaders to Lerkendal for the Europa League return leg next Wednesday. After that, we'll face Strømsgodset away in Drammen the following Sunday. So, as you can see, we have a very tight schedule for the next few days. That's why we now need to return our focus to training and start prepping for those three fixtures. You've got to remain focused if we are to continue winning. That's all I'm asking from you. Are you with me, guys?"
"Yes, coach."
The coach nodded and folded his arms across his chest before continuing in a solemn voice. "We'll only be taking today off to recover from match fatigue. You can go home, or go shopping, or do anything else that helps you relax. But that is only for today. Tomorrow, I expect you here early in the morning for gym work with your fitness coaches. After that, we'll immediately start the official preparations for the next three games. I expect you to be at your best throughout the entire training session. Otherwise, don't complain when you don't make the squads for any of the upcoming matches. Are we together, guys?"
"Yes, coach," the players replied.
"Good," Coach Johansen said, nodding. He then touched on a few other issues concerning the training schedule over the next few days before releasing the players for their day off.
Zachary immediately got into his R8 GT and steered it out of the stadium's parking lot, intending to head home and relax for the entire day. But just as he was joining the main street, en route to Stjørdalsveien, he heard his phone vibrate from the passenger seat beside him.
But he didn't dare pick it up since there were strict regulations against mobile phone usage while driving in Norway. Instead, he cast a glance at the rearview mirror before pulling up into a nearby parking space. Without further ado, he grabbed his smartphone from the passenger seat and then glanced at the screen.
He couldn't help but smile after noticing that he'd just received a text message from Camilla. He was excited to hear from her since they'd spent more than a week without meeting.
'Hey, honey," he started reading the text message.
'Welcome back, and congratulations upon your incredible performance in Belfast. My heart was racing when I watched the highlights of your game against the Crusaders. Would you like to go out and celebrate? Today or tomorrow is fine. I'm really looking forward to hugging you, kissing you, and taking a walk with you again. I miss you so much, darling.'
'Camilla.'
Zachary's smile blossomed into a grin as he started preparing a response. He'd long warmed up to her over the two months they'd spent interacting. He really enjoyed her company.
'Hey, Camilla," he typed. "Thanks for reaching out. I miss you too. But luckily, I have a day off today. We can go out for lunch or maybe dinner. You can pick a place and time."
'Great," Camilla replied almost immediately. 'I'm still at work right now. I'll get off at 3:00. Let's meet then and make plans."
'Okay, then,' Zachary replied by text. 'I'll pick you up from Møller Bil at around 3:00 PM. See you then.'
'Great. Can't wait to see you. Have a good day.'
Zachary felt his mood lighten as he placed his phone back on the passenger seat. Camilla's timing was as great as ever. She would only call when he had some free time and never bothered him when he was busy with training. She'd never tried to interrupt his schedule since they'd started spending time together. Zachary liked her for that.
**** ****
