BLUE LOCK - a place where soccer is more than just a sport and a future of worldwide glory is within grasp. Desperate to prove her worth and break barriers, Keiko Iteya fights to hold her own in a rigorous competition against 299 young men in Japan...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I trailed behind the girls as we took the small elevator up to the first deck, mostly because Callista insisted she couldn't possibly climb all those stairs in heels, and then moved towards the dining area.
"What food do you think they will have?" Eme was asking Callista as the two excitedly talked amongst themselves, both looking beautiful in the dresses they wore.
I was a few steps behind, walking with a brain working hard in the overthinking department. A light wind blew from outside the ship, gently tossing both my hair and the fabric of my own dress as my attention turned to the left. I could see over the railing where the ship was slowly moving away from the city with the sun glowing orange in the background and night setting in. The scene ensnared my focus and my thoughts were so consuming that I almost didn't notice myself walking right into Ellis' back. She stiffened as I let out a quiet gasp and collected myself at the last second from crashing into her.
"You okay?" She blinked in concern at me. "You seem distracted."
"I'm fine," I murmured, giving her a small yet fake smile.
"Really?" Ellis raised an eyebrow. "Because I've seen the poker face you use at most photoshoots and you're not using it right now. I can read you like a book. It's like you are not even trying."
"That's because everyone on this ship actually knows me." My expression fell into a frown at her words. "There's no use in hiding how I feel. I think it's obvious at this point."
"Look, I get it..." Ellis fell back to walk with me while the other two kept speed walking ahead. The older girl gave me a small smile. "You want to know my secret? I just pretend that I'm way more confident than I should be when I talk to people. I pretend that I'm the smartest person in the room, even though I know I'm not. When you do that, even if you don't believe in it, it makes anything somebody else says seem less worrisome. When you think you're superior, what anyone else says doesn't matter. It's a one track mind. Confidence can make or break you. It's the key. So pretend to be confident, even if you aren't."
I stopped walking, turning to face her with a surprised smirk. "Whoa. That's a little egotistical of you, Ellis. That's kind of out of your range. Is that really what you do all the time?"
Ellis chuckled and told me, "I'm in public relations for a competitive female sports team. I have to be a little egoist, otherwise I'd be bad at my job. To be honest, I don't like being around people, but I'm really good at working with them." Then she nodded. "You know what I mean though. The truth is that you're a great person who's really talented and sincere. You know you haven't done anything wrong. You know that you're in the right. Anyone who makes you feel otherwise about any of those things isn't worth worrying about. So... for lack of a better term, man up and own the room we are about to walk into like the sensational woman you are. These people may know you as the girl that left Blue Lock, but the rest of the world knows you as Keiko Iteya, the female soccer legend and model. So, you got this."
