Chapter 303 - Rosenborg's End-of-Year Banquet

-----

Saturday, December 14, 2013.

-----

Nightfall came with the whisper of perfect black that grew into a comforting chorus of stars. Upon the snow-lit eve, reflecting streetlamp gold into the black, Zachary was comfortably nestled in his Audi R8 GT, navigating the evening traffic on the streets of Trondheim. Beside him in the passenger's seat was Camilla, who was humming the popular Rihanna hit — Diamonds — that was at that moment playing on the car stereo.

Zachary barely stayed below the speed limit for most of the journey since the two of them were already late for Rosenborg's end-of-year banquet at the Scandic Lerkendal Hotel. He cruised through the streets like an expert race driver, and soon, the lavishly decorated entrance of the hotel was in sight.

"We are here!" He said after a few more seconds of driving. Without waiting for a response, he pulled up into one of the free parking spaces in front of the hotel before alighting from the vehicle and rushing to the other side to hold the door open for Camilla.

"There you go, my dear," he said with a smile as he opened the door and stepped to the side.

Camilla suppressed a giggle, the corners of her lips lifting into a gorgeous smile. "Thank you, Zach," she said, stepping out of the door to take his hand. "I'm already enjoying this. Maybe, we should start going to parties a little more often."

"I'm sorry, but that's just not possible," Zachary said as he locked the car doors. "Professional athletes should endeavor to limit partying to the bare minimum. So, I can't accompany you to most of those parties. That's why I have to give my apologies in advance."

"That's a pity," Camilla said with a smile, seemingly not taking Zachary's refusal to heart. "Isn't the banquet somewhere around here? Why is the whole parking lot abnormally quiet?" She asked, glancing around.

"That's because we're a bit late," Zachary replied, shaking his head. "The others should already be inside. Shall we head to the venue, my dear?"

"Okay, lead the way," Camilla said, beaming.

Without further ado, they started moving towards the hotel's entrance, taking care not to slip on the frozen pavement.

Since they were heading to Rosenborg's end-of-year banquet, the two of them were dressed to kill. Zachary had donned a classy grey tuxedo that accentuated his tall frame. One look at him, and you would think he was a male model headed out for a photoshoot of a famous men's magazine. On the other hand, Camilla was in a chic party dress — the kind that emphasized her long legs and brought out the green in her eyes. She looked even more stunning than usual that night.

A few minutes later, Zachary finally arrived at the banquet venue under the guidance of the hotel staff. He couldn't help but do a double-take when he stepped into the hall with Camilla by his side. It was as if he'd entered a dreamland. Be it the fragrances floating all over the place, the easy and natural colors upon the eyes, and the happy chatter in the background — they all gave the venue a delightful party vibe.

On further looking around, Zachary could see that the organizers had put a lot of effort into preparing the venue. The decorations, the tables, the lights, and the stage were all immaculately arranged to give the room an ethereal feel. And as a finishing touch to the entire setup, Rosenborg's two trophies for that season had been placed atop an elevated stand at the center.

"Let's find ourselves a table," Zachary said to Camilla after taking a moment to observe the setup of the venue. Without waiting for a response, he led her by the arm as they walked towards a table without occupants. Before long, the two of them had already joined in on the festivities and started stuffing themselves with the various delicacies, desserts, and drinks that the banquet had to offer.

Zachary, on his part, was really having a blast that night. He truly relished the vibrant atmosphere of the banquet. With Camilla by his side, the evening wasn't the least bit boring. The two of them discussed various topics, big and small, to pass the time. They only separated and started socializing on their own an hour into the progression of the banquet.

Zachary then spent quite some time mingling with most of his teammates while enjoying some mocktail drinks. He also spared some time to talk to Kristin and a few other acquaintances who'd also attended the banquet. And in that manner, the minutes and hours flashed by quickly, and soon the festivities reached their climax.

Boyd Johansen, the head coach of Rosenborg, stood up and took center stage. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said with a smile. "Can I have a bit of your attention, please?"

His tone was commanding over the microphone, and soon, the entire venue quietened down. At that moment, all eyes were on Coach Johansen's tall frame as the audience waited for his address.

"It's really a pleasure for me to stand here before you as the head coach of Rosenborg after a year of great success," the coach began after clearing his throat. "It has been a long season, for sure. But we have finally ended it with a bang and managed to win two trophies. As I speak now, we're currently both the League trophy holders and also the Norwegian Cup winners."

The coach paused as a wave of applause arose from the audience. The Rosenborg players and staff, plus all the other banquet attendees, took their time clapping and cheering to celebrate Rosenborg's success. As a result, a merry mood was all over the air for the next few seconds.

The coach smiled, sweeping his gaze across the room as the applause subsided. "Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you who contributed to our great spell of victories."

"Thank you, my players, for doing the hard work," he continued, his voice rising slightly. "Thank you to all the other members of staff that have helped me in my daily duties as the head coach of Rosenborg. And above all, thank you to all our fans that have supported us with their all throughout the entire year. I salute you all. Rosenborg wouldn't have achieved its current success if it wasn't for the relentless efforts of you all."

The venue exploded again, but that didn't stop the coach from continuing his impassioned speech.

"Today is a day of festivities," he said, lowering his voice. "I don't want to take up much of your time, rumbling-on on unrelated issues. So, it's my humble request that you allow me to step down from the stage since I also wish to rejoin the festivities as soon as possible."

"Permission granted!" A few of the Rosenborg players and staff yelled out loud while the rest of the audience laughed out loud. They were really enjoying themselves since they could even laugh at Coach Johansen's jokes.

"Just a moment, just a moment," the coach said, raising his hand to request for silence. "Before I step down from the stage, let me take this opportunity to welcome the club chairman to bless us with a few words as we continue on with this victory banquet."

"Mr. Chairman," the coach continued, turning to one side of the room where the club executives were seated. "The stage is now yours."

"Clap*Clap*Clap..."

Everyone in the audience started clapping enthusiastically as Ivar Koteng, the chairman of Rosenborg Ballklubb, took center stage. In a few words, he thanked all the players, staff, fans, and well-wishers of Rosenborg before returning to his seat.

After his speech, it was finally time for the prize-giving session. It was the climax for the entire banquet — the moment when Rosenborg's player of the season would be announced.

Mr. Eric Hoftun, Rosenborg's sporting director, soon stepped onto the stage to announce the prizes. He gave a friendly smile before he cleared his throat and spoke in a steady tone.

"The entire Rosenborg team has been quite exceptional this season. The defense has been quite solid, the midfield greatly versatile, while the attackers have been extremely sharp." He paused, sweeping his gaze across the entire audience that was waiting with bated breath.

"However," he continued. "One player has stood out from among the rest this season. He has matured greatly in less than a year, casting away his status as a newbie from the academy and becoming a first-team player. Of recent, he has even managed to establish himself as an irreplaceable offensive pivot of the team. Whenever he is on the field of play, the opponents will tremble — simply because he can score from any angle at any given moment."

"As you all know, he has already managed to score quite a number of goals in various competitions this year. Among those are his seven goals in the Europa League, which have helped Rosenborg qualify for this year's Europa League knock-out stages. For me, it's always a pleasure whenever I watch him on the field of play."

"Let's put our hands together for Zachary Bemba, Rosenborg's player of the season!"

The venue exploded right after the announcement. The thunderous applause was like nothing else at that moment.

Zachary didn't lose his composure from all the attention. He squeezed Camilla's hand to acknowledge her almost silent congratulatory message before marching towards the stage. He then received the best-player award under the gaze of the entire crowd and numerous flashes of the cameras in the venue.

At that moment, he could hardly contain his excitement since he'd once again managed to win another accolade very early in his second life. It really meant a lot to him, even though it was just a trivial team-best-player award.

The awards ceremony only continued after he'd returned to his seat. To no one's surprise, Nicki Nielsen won the best Rosenborg forward accolade — while Mikael Dorsin went home with the best defensive player award. And, of course, Rosenborg's season's best-midfielder and club top-scorer accolades went to Zachary. With that, he'd managed to win three honors on a single evening and created a sort of a record.. Thus, he was really over the moon when he exited the banquet venue and headed home with Camilla later that night.