Alex was breathing hard. His entire body felt like it was humming.
"Good," Chloe, the gym trainer, said. She was smiling. "Your balance is better. You are not a wobbly traffic cone anymore. You are a... a slightly more stable traffic cone."
"Thanks, Chloe," Alex panted, wiping sweat from his forehead.
The gym work was paying off. He had been with the U21s for two weeks. He was sore every single day. But he felt... solid. He no longer felt like a little kid in a world of men. He just felt like a smaller, smarter man.
His defending was still a work in progress. Ben, the captain, made sure to remind him of that every day.
"You are still annoying, Finch," Ben had grunted after training that morning. "But you are annoying in the right way now. You are forcing players to go where you want. It is good."
That, from Ben, was the highest possible praise.
Alex was a real member of the team. He was the pivot. He was the brain. And he had started the last two games. They had not lost.
