"Are you sure you're okay?" Kate asked for what felt like the umpteenth time as she and Mason disembarked from the car and stared at Middlesbrough's training facilities.
Rockliffe Park, the current training facilities used by Middlesbrough FC, was built in the late 1990s in order to equip the senior teams and youth teams coming up with the latest, state-of-the-art training facilities to aid with their development.
Staring at the various buildings inside the training complex, Mason let out a quiet sigh. Not because he was feeling intimidated or anything—he had been to quite a few training centres growing up, and he had technically trained in facilities such as this—but because he was nervous about the fact that he was coming back to play the same match that had drastically changed things for him.
'I'll just be careful this time,' Mason thought to himself, and he nodded.
"Are you sure yo—"
"I'm fine, man. Just let it go!" Mason snapped at Kate, who raised her hands in mock surrender.
"Alright, let's go then." Kate nudged her head towards the inside of the training facilities, and Mason walked with her until they reached the training pitch.
"Hello, Mr Lyall, Mrs Lyall." A middle-aged man walked up to Mason and Kate as soon as they arrived. He was one of the scouts who had spotted Mason and invited him to come on trial with Middlesbrough. "I'm pleased you were able to make it today."
"It's not like I had a choice," Kate muttered in a voice only she could hear, before shaking the scout's outstretched hand with a beaming smile on her face.
"Alright, Mason, are you nervous?" Ted, the scout, asked Mason as soon as he finished greeting him and Kate.
"I'm alright."
"He's nervous, but he's trying to be cool about it," Kate whispered to the scout, who just nodded.
Mason stared at her and raised a brow. "You do know I can hear you, right?"
"I do. That was precisely the reason why I whispered so loud—so you would hear me," Kate said.
Mason stared at Kate for a few moments before turning his attention to the scout. "It's a friendly today, right?"
"Ah, yes. This is just a formality; everything's done already. We just need to gauge your ability so that we'll know whether or not you'll mainly be with the first team or the reserve team."
"Oh, that seems very simple," Kate said.
"It is, ma'am," Ted said. "Mason, if you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the locker room where the rest of your teammates are so you can meet them before you play."
Mason nodded and followed Ted inside the training facilities. Inside, there were a lot of pictures of the successes that Middlesbrough had achieved over the years, with everything building towards the euphoria of their League Cup success in 2004 and the heartbreak of the 2006 Europa League final, where they lost against Sevilla.
"Alright, we're here," Ted said, bringing Mason out of his thoughts.
Mason stared at the door of the locker room for a few seconds before raising his hand to push it open.
Inside the locker room, the players had already started changing into their jerseys for the match against Rangers U-21. Everyone had pretty much arrived and was changing, so they didn't expect the door to swing open. As a result, everyone turned towards him and stared at him as soon as he entered.
"You must be Mason." One of the players changing stood up and came to shake his hand. He looked older and more mature compared to a lot of the boys inside the locker room. "Our coach said that we should be expecting you."
Mason sized up the youth in front of him and smiled inwardly. He already knew who he was. In fact, a lot of football fans would know who he was just a couple of years down the line.
"Mason Lyall," Mason said as soon as their hands connected.
"Hayden Hackney," Hayden said as he took in Mason's firm grip. "I'm the captain of the under-twenty-ones, and I'll be your midfield partner today."
Mason smiled in response.
Hayden then introduced him to the rest of the team and, after that, showed him where his locker was so that he could change into his jersey. Mason started changing, but before he wore the top, he stared at the crest and at the number eight behind it.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't stop himself from being nervous, thinking about what had happened the first time. That, more than the match itself, made him nervous. After all, he had already experienced a lot of football and was technically a seasoned pro—what was a mere youth friendly to him?
"Hey, man." Mason looked up and saw Hayden, fully changed and wearing the captain's armband around his right upper arm, staring down at him. "Don't be nervous, alright? The hard part's done. Just play your game, and everything will be fine."
"Thanks, man," Mason nodded. He wanted to say that he wasn't nervous about the match, but nobody seemed to believe him.
Hayden smiled in response and walked away.
"Alright, boys, gather round," Mark Tinkler, Middlesbrough's Under-21s coach, called everyone together. "First off, I would like to introduce a new face in our midst. Odds are he's going to be with us a lot more after this, so really get to know him after the match," Mark said while gesturing at Mason.
"Remember, boys, even though this is just a friendly, this is a good chance to go and prove yourselves. Michael Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate will be watching, so go out there, play the best football you can, and maybe you'll end up in the first-team squad at the weekend."
"Yes, coach!" everyone, bar Mason, shouted in unison after the coach finished talking, then left the locker room.
Hayden then said a few more words to motivate them and fire them up. After that, they all left the locker room and waited for the opposition to finish up with whatever they were doing inside theirs.
Before Mason knew what was happening, in spite of his rapidly beating heart, he found himself walking out onto the pitch.
The youth friendly had started.
The trial match had begun.