.siete.
She hailed a cab once they reached the sidewalk and Javier followed, curious as to where she would take him. She spoke to the driver in Japanese and the man at the wheel nodded, he knew exactly where to go. The Mexican footballer became nervous. He thought that maybe he shouldn't have been so willing to get in a cab with her. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, per say, he had just been taught otherwise.
The number one lesson he was taught when he started primary school. "Never go anywhere with a stranger." His mother's words echoed in his mind. Back then the warning applied in case someone might try to kidnap him. He spent the rest of the cab ride contemplating his chances of escaping in case Amaya turned out to be a kidnapper. Mexican soap operas had taught him to be prepared for any scenario. He was in the middle of debating whether he could survive jumping out of a moving vehicle when the taxi came to a complete stop at an outdoor market which was illuminated by neon lights as the sun went down.
Amaya reached into her pocket and brought out money to pay the driver. Javier was just about to offer paying when she handed the driver some money. She climbed out of the taxi and he followed, mentally scolding himself for thinking all sorts of crazy things on the ride there.
"Follow." She instructed with a wave of her hand as she headed into the market place.
Everything was under the moonlight and they passed several food stands on the way. He didn't question her, since it seemed she knew exactly where she was going. He only helped her by carrying her boombox in one hand and the cooler in the other. She walked several steps ahead of him and continued until she stopped in front of a silver food truck.
She bowed her head slightly as she greeted the street vendor. "Konnichi wa." And Javier found it curious the way her demeanor changed entirely. With him, she had been confident and unafraid to speak her mind. But while talking to someone who was also Japanese she was more polite and guarded. Turning to the Mexican footballer for a moment, she explained, "They sell the best ramen breaded chicken here. You need to try it."
"I like Maruchan." Javier grinned, setting her belongings down on a nearby empty table. "I used to eat it for lunch all the time when I lived in Guadalajara. The beef one is really good."
Turning her attention back towards the street vendor who was a young man she seemed to know, she continued with the order. The two continued with a short conversation and Javier sat down at the table, feeling momentarily out of place. He didn't speak an ounce of Japanese, but he was eager to learn if only so that he could have more of her attention to himself. She jouned him at the table moments later, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry about being so rude." She laughed nervously. "Hayato is a friend from school and he wanted to know what Saturday's lesson was about. I obviously didn't bring my notebook with me to the beach, so I told him he could copy my notes on Monday--"
Javier shook his head, offering her a smile. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."
"In Japan its a horrible thing to ignore a guest." She bit down on her lip. "Its dishonorable to me as a person."
"Well then its good that I'm not Japanese, eh?" Javier winked.
Amaya sighed. "That is one of the many things I love about Mexico and its people. You all aren't afraid to speak out. And you aren't afraid to say bad words." She giggled at her own words as she spoke the last sentence.
"We are loud mouths." Javier chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. He thought back to his days with la selección. His mates on the national team were always shouting obscenities in the locker room and telling dirty jokes. It was a common thing to call each other cabrón, hijo de tu pinche madre, puto, or maricón. Those were words he couldn't just leave out of his vocabulary because he had been saying them for years. His parents said them, his grandparents said them, and so did the families of his friends.
"Like at the world cup." Amaya pointed out. "There was that really catchy thing you all said everytime the goalkeeper took a kick." Lowering her voice, she added, "The eeeehh puuuuuuto."
"You know, that chant started in my hometown of Guadalajara." He told her, matter-of-factly. Javier remembered there had been a goal keeper who had joined Chivas in the early two thousands. His name was Oswaldo Sanchez and he had played for Atlas and América, the two biggest rivals of Chivas. The fans weren't too fond of him at first. And they made it a point to say 'eh puto' every time Sanchez touched the ball. Later it was said at all Mexican futbol games.
"All the best things come from Guadalajara." She blurted without really thinking about it, but she was convinced it was true.
Their moment was soon interrupted by the street vendor calling her name. Their order was ready and she went to pick it up. When she returned with the tray of food in hand, Javier felt his mouth water. The smell was like nothing he had smelled before, but it was a good aroma. And a smile broke out onto his face when he saw small packets of wasabi sauce. It was one of the many things he had liked about the island. It wasn't as spicy as many of the foods he was used to in Mexico, but it was almost as good and it reminded him of home.
Before grabbing one of the pieces of chicken and biting into it, he looked right into her dark brown eyes. She nervously pushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked down at the table rather shyly, feeling her cheeks redden. "How do you say thank you in Japanese?" He wondered.
"Arigatou gozaimasu." She told him as a response.
"Ahre gato goza y mas u." He made his failed attempt at pronouncing it right, earning him a giggle from her. "How was that? Sí? No?"
She nodded her head. "Sí."
"You don't have to lie to me." He said, a smile playing on his lips. "I know that was terrible."
"It was great for a beginner." She assured him.
"Gracias." The footballer grinned, biting into the piece of chicken in his hand. It was breaded in uncooked ramen noodles and he found it was delicious. "That's thank you in spanish."
"De nada." Came her reply. And his dark eyes widened. She knew more Spanish than he knew Japanese. He was genuinely impressed with Amaya. And it seemed everything got better as he learned more about her.
She was the perfect girl.
-
i dont know whether this is short or long because i typed this up on my cellphone. my house internet went out and i have no wifi until my mom decides to call at&t to get it fixed. and doing this on my phone is to tedious and tiring for some reason.
maybe because i only use my two thumbs to type on this whereas i can use all my fingers to type on my laptop. this sucks. and i had homework to do too. but whatever.
anyway, i hope you all like the update. it means a lot that you all read and comment and vote.
-clary xx
