PURPLE - Trent Alexander-Arnold

THIRTY FIVE

23/3/2019

The England senior camp was tense the next morning as everyone waited to see what would happen between Kyle, Ella, and Gareth. When Kyle walked into breakfast it was as though all the chatter in the room died as everyone watched him and anticipated Ella's arrival

But then Ella never walked into breakfast "Where is she?" Ben Chilwell asked Callum who was sitting opposite him

"Out there," Callum gestured towards the training pitch which could just be seen from the dining hall windows and Ben could just see two people on the pitch and when he looked closer he realised it was Ella and the Under 21 coach, Aidy

Ella had woken up early that morning and she dreaded the idea of being surrounded by her team who would just send her questioning or wary looks after the incident during the match so she had decided to eat breakfast alone

And then Aidy had spotted the girl walking around alone so he took her out to the training pitch, just like they used to do when she played for the under 21s

Aidy knew Ella didn't like to talk about her feelings and instead she took them out on the game so training was the best way to get her mind off of it and focus back in on herself

"El," Aidy said once she had done her sprints "Don't kill yourself in training just because of what happened. I know you'll want to prove you won't let Kyle get to you and show Gareth that you're committed to the team by being amazing, but you need to show him you can be an adult first."

Ella and Aidy had developed a really close bond during the 3 years she was apart of the under 21s and she really trusted him and she knew he was right

So after their training session it was the end of breakfast for the senior team which meant they would have training soon so Ella headed to her room to put on her tracksuit but before she went out to the training pitch she headed towards her manager's office and lucky for her Gareth was inside

"Hi," She said as she stepped in "Can I speak to you for a moment please?"

"Sure," Gareth nodded and he quickly pulled out his phone to message the head coach and let him know him and Ella would be late "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry about the way I acted last night in the game. I never should have fought with Kyle like that and I got caught up in the argument and forgot that we were in a match. I won't make excuses for the way I was acting, I let him get under my skin and I was immature." Ella said "I'm really sorry I let you down,"

"I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed in you," Gareth replied "But you're doing the right thing by coming to speak to me which shows a lot of maturity for your age and I remember what it's like to be so caught up in the atmosphere of the game that you forget right from wrong some times."

"That doesn't make the way I acted right," Ella said "But my entire life I've had people look down on me and tell me I'm not good enough, especially because of my dad, so to hear it from my own teammate got to me because Kyle doesn't understand how hard I've worked to get here and I don't believe in respect being given by age or position in the team, if Kyle wants my respect he has to earn it and he didn't,"

"I understand that," Gareth nodded "But the truth is that you're always going to have people hating you, but they only hate you because they know you're good and using their words is the only way to get to you. You have to be mature enough to walk away and not let it affect you,"

"I know," Ella replied "I want you to know that I take being on this team seriously and to me this isn't a right because I know how much work it takes to be here and I would never take it as a joke. Playing for England has been my dream since I was a child and I don't want to throw that away just because of another player,"

"That's good to hear," Gareth said "I trust you and I know you won't do it again, and I will also be speaking to Kyle because his behaviour was unacceptable. But if this happens again then both you and Kyle might be going home,"

"I won't let it happen again," Ella said and the two of them headed out of the office to go join the rest of the team who were already running laps so Ella took off to join in with the team, ignoring the questioning looks sent her way

Ella was glad the incident could be put in the past so the whole team could move on, but she just felt uncomfortable on this international break since the only players here who she was close friends with were Declan and Callum really

But Mason, Tammy and Trent weren't here, and Beth was closer to the older England players than her so she saw her friend less now. So Ella felt like she had to fend for herself in this team and at the age of 20 that was intimidating 

She knew she shouldn't rely on other people but playing for England was so much easier when her best friends and boyfriend were here