On Sunday morning Ethan woke up with a sore body and racing mind. Although it was only a friendly, scoring the winner had been the highlight of his young career. However, on Monday it was back to school and Ethan has to balance football and schoolwork now.
On Monday morning when Ethan arrived at school, he heard a few of his classmates whispering about him. One of them even told him, "Don't forget about us when you're famous!" Ethan enjoyed the compliments, but now he felt the pressure to not let the town of Eastfield down. Normally after school ends, students would take the bus or have their parents come and take them home. However, Ethan's mom drove him straight to training after school.
On the training ground, Coach Warren gathered the players around before getting the session started. "Good work against Hartwell last Saturday," followed by a few claps from the lads. "However, that was only a friendly. League play starts this Saturday away against Marston Vale. I know school started for most of you lads, but that doesn't mean you get to slack off in training."
The training session started with a full 11 v 11 scrimmage that had Ethan and Callum on one side and Mason on the other. Callum was acting a bit differently than he had before, trying fancy dribble moves and demanding the ball more. "Pass the ball earlier next time," Callum had said after Ethan had the ball too long. Mason was his usual self barking out orders to his team and challenging for the ball. However, at one point Ethan tried a bold pass that got through Mason and to his teammate for an easy goal. "Don't get used to having success against me, Price," Mason said in a playful tone.
In his mom's car after training, Ethan was slumped in the passenger seat exhausted after a full day of school and an afternoon training session. His mom told him, "You are going to have to get used to this. School, training, and homework are a lot for a teenager, but I believe you can handle it." Ethan could only nod as his eyes started to shut, and he slept the rest of the way home.
Saturday
The week flew by, and before he knew it, today was Saturday. The first league game of the season for the Under-14 side. Today the team has their first game of the season away against Marston Vale. Ethan arrived at the bus with his bag over his shoulder and found that Callum and Mason were already there.
"Ready to set me up again?" Callum asked as he and Ethan did their new handshake.
"Or maybe try not to get embarrassed in front of everyone," Mason said with his arms crossed.
Ethan could only laugh as the trio got onto the bus. As the journey got started, Ethan stared out into the fields, realizing that the real thing was about to begin.