Inside a spacious tent, a group comprising two men and two women were busy stealing peeks at Diamond, who was walking towards the tent that they were in.
"Do you think that she will agree?"
"I guess we will need to see. We just need to be sincere!" one of the two women said earnestly as she tapped her knee.
When hearing that, everyone in the tent nodded, recalling Diamond’s identity.
"Let’s just hope that she will at most give us a chance!"
The four were quite anxious, especially after understanding how capable Diamond was. For someone that rich, spending time running and not dealing with business could be considered a waste.
However, they didn’t have a choice; they were quite desperate. They could only do this just this once.
Diamond shortly found herself entering the tent with a smile on her face being accompanied by someone she met outside who happened to be Director of the Frin Charity Organization committee.
This person was someone she once saw during the first event she and the foundation ever attended once it was founded.
The director obviously knew about her identity, but she knew that the other wouldn’t expose her. After all, people’s quirks were quite different.
Once she walked into the tent, she looked at the four representatives who had come from afar to see her. Without them opening their mouths, she had an inkling of why they were there. She was quite amused by the whole thing. She couldn’t wait to listen and hear what they had to say.
"Hello, aunts and uncles!" Diamond greeted the others politely as she walked towards them.
The four seeing her being so polite, their impression of her improved and smiles blossomed on their faces.
They returned the greetings while she took a seat the director had shown her.
Once she was seated, she looked at the four who had a lot to say to her, obviously with a smile.
With the rough information about Diamond they gathered, they all understood that Diamond wasn’t someone who loved going around in circles, and since it was getting late, it was better for them to state their cause as soon as possible.
So once all pleasantries were exchanged, the formal talk started.
"We are sorry for calling you abruptly, but we hope that you can listen to us for a bit," one of the elderly men, probably in his fifties, apologetically said as he looked at her wryly.
Diamond nodded towards him with an understanding smile, making the man and his acquaintances feel at ease.
"We four are board members from the national sports committee and ....." they introduced themselves and she was happy to listen about what these four were capable of.
They were all very prominent in the sports culture of Athary. These four were still coaching and engaging greatly in making the Athary sports greater. Although in athletics, Athary wasn’t considered that great, just like in football, it was still faring better than other countries.
At least, she had heard some news of the national athletes attending the Olympics and other sorts of events, though they had never brought a medal home before.
While talking about sports, she couldn’t help but remember about the matter of the national football team. If she wasn’t mistaken, the Orkney Football Cup was still ongoing and should be finishing in early April.
She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of miracles the national team would make.
Remembering the bet, she once made with Kian in front of the viewers, she couldn’t help but want to tease the fans and make a bet.
Anyway, she quickly threw that matter aside and concentrated on what these four wanted from her.
"We watched your training broadcast two days ago, and we were quite amazed."
"It was the first time anyone in this country had managed to make such a record."
The four were full of praise. It made Diamond feel happy and smug. Who didn’t love compliments?
Seeing that she was getting in the mood, one of the women asked earnestly, "We came here to ask you if you are interested in joining the national team?"
"Diamond, we are officially inviting you. Are you interested?"
Even though Diamond knew that this would be the end of this talk, she couldn’t help but feel warm all over. Her heart started thumping wildly. It was the first time she was being invited to any sports activities.
At school, she was just a filler and someone who filled in the numbers. At most what she could do was cheer, but she lacked singing skills. As a result, she could only warm the bench.
She couldn’t help but remember how cool those girls and boys looked on the track when they were running. How they would be cheering for them and the praises they would get once the race was over.
It was something very spectacular to watch all the time. And yet she had never felt like that before, but now, she was being invited to the last stage. To be part of the national team. If those people knew that she had such a day, she wondered how dark their intestines would be.
However, she quickly calmed down as reality and common sense kicked in.
Diamond looked at the four with a troubled look in her eyes.
Honestly, although this invitation sounded pretty nice, she didn’t have the time and luxury to do any sports. Her life was already busy and if she were to add sports to it, then what would become of her?
With her abilities, if she were to join the team and deny a serious athlete who wants to be part of the team and serve the nation, wouldn’t she become a sinner?
She wasn’t really passionate about sports, to be honest, and she didn’t want to lie to herself or anyone else.
As she looked at the elders, she couldn’t help but feel apologetic, but some words needed to be said. "This ...." She dragged her words as she shook her head helplessly. "I am afraid that I might have to disappoint you. This youngster doesn’t truly have the time to focus on sports. My passion lies elsewhere!"