Everybody's Romeo, Nobody's Juliet

Chapter Seven: The School Festival

"Hello everyone!" a voice echoed through the speakers. A lady in a white blouse and navy blue pencil skirt stood on top of the platform in the middle of the school grounds. "Thank you so much for being here today. And thank you to those who gave their time to help raise funding for the school's playground." There was a brief pause as she continued, all eyes on her. "Now before we start, I would like to introduce our special guests. Please join me in welcoming the Borussia Dortmund team." She stepped aside as the members of the BVB squad took the stage one by one. The crowd broke into wild applause and cheers. Aside from Erik, those who were on stage included Nuri, Roman Burki, who replaced Mitch Langerak as the second goalkeeper, Neven Subotic, Jonas Hoffman, Adrian Ramos, Oliver Kirch, Gonzalo Castro, Jeremy Dudziak, Shinji Kagawa, Aubameyang and of course, Marco Reus. Erik was no longer wearing the shirt he was wearing earlier. All of them were wearing a yellow shirt emblazoned with 'Borusse!'. The lady looked over to the team and continued, "Thank you for accepting our invitation. It's a wonderful privilege to have you here with us today." She handed the microphone to Thomas Tuchel.

He cleared his throat. "Thank you for having us, it's an honor for us to be here." He handed the microphone back to her.

She faced the audience again. "The team will be participating with the children in today's events." With that, she clapped her hands too as the team left the stage. "Names of the participant will be selected by drawing names from this bowl. Students, once your name is called, please climb up the platform."

Throughout the day, the children and the team took part in different activities like triple sack race which Aubamayeng, a second and a fifth grader won. They played tug of war, the team was divided into pairs and joined by eight students from different grades. Roman Burki and Gonzalo Castro's team won the event. There was the Frisbee throw where they need to throw the discs as close as they can at the marked poles. Each squad member had ten student each. Shinji Kagawa's and Jeremy Dudziak's team ended in a tie. Lunch break was followed by a thirty-minute scavenger hunt. Erik and his group of fifteen students won 5 minutes before the time was up. Mrs. Braun, Kristopher, Rose, and Mrs. Kruger all cheered when they heard Kendra's name called for the fifty-meter piggyback dash. Mrs. Braun kept snapping pictures as her daughter stood beside Roman Burki. By the end of the race, Kendra and Roman won by several inches against Neven Subotic and a sixth grader. Kendra, being an outspoken little girl, insisted that she had her picture taken with him along with her mom and Kristopher. Kristopher handed Rose his phone so she could take a picture. That was when Marco noticed her.

"Hey Rose!" he called out. "Erik said you were here." Several people gave her a strange look.

'Oh shit. Marco you're so adorable but right now I want to kill you.' Rose gave him a single nod and focused on the four people in front of her. "Ready?" she asked. Kendra posed a victory sign. "All right, one, two, three, smile!" She looked at the picture and said to Roman, "Sorry, do you mind if we take one more? This weirdo over here had his eyes closed." She motioned at Kristopher. Roman smiled and nodded. She snapped another picture and gave them the thumbs up. She handed Kristopher back his phone and began to follow them back to their table when Marco blocked her path. He was wearing a childish grin on his face.

"What's the hurry?" Marco asked.

She heard Kristopher sniggered as he continued his way back. Discreetly, she took a deep breath through her nose, exhaled slowly and faced him. Shinji, Jonas and Aubameyang were standing behind him, immersed in their conversation. "Need to help with the fundraising." she answered. All of a sudden, Rose felt a soft tug on her hand. She looked down to check what it was: Omer was standing and waving at her.

"Hello." He greeted. "Do you still remember me?" He asked shyly. Marco bent down and gave him a high five.

She also crouched down to his level. "Of course I do. How could I forget a sweet kid like you?"