ꜰʟᴏʀᴇꜱ [ꜱᴇʀɢɪᴏ ʀᴀᴍᴏꜱ]

TWO

DISCLAIMER: This is 100% fiction and things will be inaccurate to real life. Any Spanish used is through Google Translate so my apologies if it's bad. 

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2009

One week had come and gone. Catalina saw the reminder of her first day every time she looked in the mirror, the now yellowish bruise that rimmed against her left eye was a reminder of her poor reflex time.

Catalina had taken it upon herself to study each member of the squad, matching the teams' names to their faces. To make it a bit easier, she made a game of it. All of her mother's printer paper was gone as she printed each face out and handwritten the players' names one by one on small pieces of paper.

All twenty-six members laid in duly colored ink paper sprawled across her carpet floor.

Mr. Buzzcut who gave me the ice pack. Catalina laid the name 'Benzema' over the bald-headed man.

The other one with a buzzcut who has great aim and a strong kick   'Pepe' written in pink marker pen was placed over the photo.

When Catalina's dark eyes scanned over to the next photo, her lips curled down slightly. The long-haired defender who thinks I'm a complete idiot. It didn't take her long to seek out 'Sergio Ramos' in the pile and place the name over his face.

Catalina shrieked with embarrassment when she remembers herself getting smacked in the head with a ball in front of everyone and covers her face with her palms in an attempt to stop thinking about it.

Tomorrow was a chance for redemption. Real Madrid had their first official match of the season which was a big deal because the team was boasting a few new players, the most notable being Cristiano and Kaka. Naturally, with some of the biggest names in football, all eyes were on the Spanish team which added another layer of pressure.

The team was in a somewhat awkward growing stage of trying to figure each other out and gain chemistry, which luckily they had a good amount of organically. In an attempt to for team bonding, the staff invited them over to their dining hall to have dinner together before the season starts tomorrow.

Catalina wasn't quite sure why she was invited but took the invite nonetheless. It seemed to be a somewhat formal dinner, so she made an attempt to look presentable which was hard with yellow and purple still staining over her eye.

The hall had been transformed into a dimly lit atmosphere, with candles and red flowers decorating different thick white tablecloths in the middle of the room. Catalina was happy to have bumped into her uncle on the way in so they walked into together the room together,  easing some of the social anxiety that was screaming from her psyche.

She felt out of place watching these well-accomplished people filing into one room. There were world-class athletes, managers, and coaches whom she felt she didn't deserve to be around. Suddenly her thoughts got louder and harsher, distracting her from listening to her uncle's conversation with a manager about the upcoming season. Not wanting to cause any attention to herself, Catalina chose an empty table to set her purse down on as she took in deep breaths.

The fluffy cushion underneath her felt comforting as she leaned her elbows on the cloth table, in an attempt to feel something cool against her skin. "¿Estás bien?" A voice came from above, a careful hand on her back.

Catalina pulled her head up from her lap and breathed in heavily to be met with caring brown doe eyes and large furrowing brows. Instantly she knew his name from her flashcard game, Kaká.

"Yes, I'm just overwhelmed from the heat. I'm not used to it being this hot in August. Thank you though" She put on a big grin to assure him that she was alright, and he seemed to accept her answer.