10 Things I Hate About You

Chapter 1

Weekdays were rather slow at the park during low season. The live count was still above the ten thousand, but that's half the amount the park would usually handle on high season. The lines at the attractions were still long and slow and the streets were busy, it was only in charts and numbers where you could tell the difference.

It was also that time of the year where every screen in Latin America had a football soccer game on, and yes that included the ones in the food courts and restaurants in Jurassic World. This was a major distraction for a significant proportion of the staff, like the one janitor making sure Main Street was always free of garbage. He was standing outside Winston's, finding a way to watch the game through the restaurant's window.

"¿Oye José, que te he dicho acerca de ver el football?" The redhead had once again caught him distracted with the TV. At the sudden sound of her voice, the man jumped and turned around to face her. She was passing by on her way to the innovation center, but if years of running that place had taught her something; it was that Latinos had an intense passion for soccer. A passion that couldn't be compared to the one people back home had for American Football, Basketball, and Baseball combined.

Claire Dearing had moved to Isla Nublar when she was only nineteen years old, and now in her late twenties —  a decade later, she mastered Spanish as a second language with perfection. She could read, listen, and speak it fluently. The only thing she couldn't do was write it, but in all fairness... Spanish grammar was so complex and complicated, she was sure even some native speakers hesitated on whether a word was written with a g or j.

About eighty percent of her staff were locals and about thirty percent of them only spoke Spanish, so she got to practice it every day. Claire had never been a sports enthusiast and since becoming the operations manager, she despised football soccer season with a passion. It was ridiculous how that game could glue her employees to the screens for ninety minutes.

"Lo siento señorita Dearing, no va a volver a suceder." The janitor promised about not getting distracted again, at least not in a place where he could get caught. He casually started to broom around and from time to time looked over to his boss who was still standing there watching him clean. The game wasn't even a local one, but one from the Spanish League; 'el clásico' between Real Madrid and Barcelona was on and the game was tied with just ten minutes left.

"Eso fue lo que dijiste la última vez, José." Claire reminded him how he kept using that excuse each time; how it was never going to happen again. The redhead walked into the restaurant and left José there to witness how she exchanged some words with the restaurant's supervisor. He watched how she was handed the remote control, and turned the game off. Claire then walked back out to deal with José.

The janitor was disappointed and aggravated, but he knew better than giving his boss some attitude about missing the last ten minutes of that very important game. He had a family to feed and the park had amazing employee benefits that he knew he would never be able to find anywhere else in the country. Finding the final score online later on wasn't the same as to watch it live but it would have to do.

"No oyó esto de mi, pero hay un gran grupo de empleados escondidos en la cocina de Fabián viendo el partido, eh." The janitor totally rat out the rest of his co-workers, it seemed that it was either all of them got to sneak around and watch or neither would. Could he be blamed to feel a little bitter about that specific group still enjoying the game when he had fought the pressure to join them and instead decided to watch from afar from his spot while still trying to perform and do his job? He was sure if it had been the other way around, anyone would have called the rest out.

Claire narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. She turned on her heel and headed straight to the cafeteria. It took her just a few minutes, she walked fast when fuming. She made it into the employee's only area at the back of the volcano-shaped building. This one was empty since it was not lunch time yet. Just like any business, Jurassic World offered employees a cafeteria that was opened twenty-four hours a day and it provided a different menu every meal. Some of the food was even complementary and fresh.