In the spotlight

54

Matteo Rodriguez

The deep humming of my automatic shutters woke up well before they actually reached the top, letting sunlight light up my previously completely dark room. I found this a much more pleasant way to wake up rather than any alarm clock drilling a hole in my head.

I sat up in my bed, letting the bedsheets fall off of my bare upper body, and I just stared outside of the windows as I was trying to gather myself a little. The grogginess slowly vanished from my mind, but the muscle fatigue wouldn't budge at all.

Yesterday's match was especially draining, a fast-paced back-and-forth battle for 95 minutes. The three-point extra lead in LaLiga is definitely worth it, but I will have to pay extra attention to recovery today. What better way is there than a rich breakfast to start it off?

I made my breakfast out of everything I could find in my fridge. Guacamole on toast, bacon, ham, eggs, and raw fruits on the side for dessert. The plate looked so immaculate, my nutritionist would have shed a few tears in happiness.

I sat down next to my counter as I dug in, feeling a wave of satisfaction washing over me. I took my phone in my hand to greet Sofia a good morning, who is probably already working tirelessly somewhere in the Thai capital.

I noticed a whole lot of messages from her during the entire night as I furrowed my eyebrow, thinking about what she could've been doing instead of sleeping when she has photoshoots from dawn until dusk the next day.

"Did you know people in Thailand absolutely loved football? They're broadcasting even your La Liga matches too!" She sent it along with an image of the huge flatscreen TV in her hotel room with the broadcast on as we lined up for the anthem.

"And it's even more entertaining trying to guess what the commentators are saying."

"I have no clue, actually; I can't understand a single word." She sent it shortly after with a sad face accompanying it. I snorted as I took another bite of the toast, scrolling further to see even more messages. Goddamnit, just how cute can this girl be?

"I don't need words to know how flawlessly you're playing anyway." I could feel heat rising on my face upon those words. Leave it to Sofia Christensen to make me feel that through text messages.

I put a little heart on that message and on the next one too, where she took a photo of the TV again as they were showing me up close in the broadcast singing the anthem, and she drew a heart around my head.

"The crew rolled up too for this one, about to be a banger." She attached another image to this message, but this time a selfie. My heart fluttered in my chest instantly as I could spot her radiant blue and brown irises.

She was on the very right side taking the picture; her long hair was gathered into tiny braids everywhere, and she was already wearing her glasses instead of contact lenses. She furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth, making faces and hand gestures just for fun.

Adriana and Xavier were both mimicking her in the same way in the pic, and I could also spot a fourth girl I've never seen before. I put a heart on this image as well as I scrolled down further with only a voice message of about thirty seconds left.

I pressed on play, and as soon as Sofia's voice spoke up, my stomach was tied in a knot. I missed her a lot, obviously, but hearing her voice knowing that she is thousands of kilometers away from Madrid did a number on me at the moment.

"Hey love, I just wanted to congratulate you on your win today." She said while rumbling around the microphone, probably making her bed, getting ready to sleep.