With a third of the season already gone Coach Warren decided to give the team Sunday afternoon off. Ethan found himself walking around town with Callum and Mason. For the first time in weeks football wasn't the only thing on their minds.
They headed towards a shopping centre just outside of Eastfield. Callum saw an empty water bottle and attempted to juggle it. Predictably it dropped and rolled away.
"You've got a worse touch than Harrington's back line," Mason teased.
"Oi, I've scored more than you this season. I'll take having a dodgy first touch if I keep banging them in," Callum responded.
Ethan chuckled, feeling relieved to not feel the pressure from the expectations hanging over him. It was just the three of them killing time like normal teenagers.
They ended up at the arcade where Mason wanted to show his skills on the basketball shooting machine. "Midfield general, goal scorer, and now the Michael Jordan of Crestwood," he declared after beating the high score.
"Yeah but you still can't shoot in training," Callum muttered.
Most of Ethan's shots clanged off the rim and he barely broke thirty points.
"Stick to football, Eastfield," Mason clapped him on the back.
Callum made a show of pretending to be amazing. He celebrated every one of his shots going in like he had just won a cup final. Both Ethan and Mason couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness happening in front of them.
During lunch at the café, the conversation drifted back to football.
"You know," Callum said, "I'm telling you both right now that I'm going to be top goal scorer in this league. No one's catching me."
Mason rolled his eyes, "You better thank Ethan then. Half of your goals come from his passes."
"More than half," Ethan said.
"Joking aside, if we keep playing the way we are, we can actually win this league. Those top four teams are good, but they're not much better than us," Mason said.
As the boys walked towards the bus stop, Ethan trailed behind slightly. For all the pressure of football, moments like these reminded him why he loved being here. It wasn't just about the goals or winning the league. It was about the friendships, the laughs, and feeling like they were all on this journey together. For the first time Ethan thought of Crestwood as his home.