.cinco.
Javier arrived back at the hotel almost ten minutes later and the team stood outside of the hotel with impatient looks on their faces. Around them, people who walked by stopped for a second to marvel at the group of handsome footballers just standing around. Real Madrid was a team known all over the world after all and the curious eyes of people who passed them were able to recognize them in an instant.
"I'm here." The Mexican footballer told his team mates, huffing for air. "Sorry for making you wait."
A smile lit up James' face when he saw his friend approach them. "Al fin, hombre!" Finally! The Colombian exclaimed in Spanish.
The group all piled into some rented vans from the hotel and headed towards their destination. They went to an expensive sea food restaurant at which Javier was reluctant to try the food. As a small boy in Mexico, his mother had always warned him never to eat anything raw, or else it would make him sick. But in Japan, it was encouraged to eat raw fish. It was what they put in their sushi and so-called california rolls.
But in the end he didn't want to be rude and gave it a try. The chef had done an outstanding job, cooking in front of them, so Javier knew exactly what he was eating. He decided to try some maki sushi rolls which was mostly pieces of vegetables surrounded in white rice and wrapped in a piece of seaweed.
Javier was surprised to find he actually liked Japanese food, especially the spicy ones. "These are my kind of people." Grinned the Mexican footballer as he poured a river of hot sauce onto his food. "They know all good food goes well with chile."
Beside him, James laughed, and the rest of the team joined in. It was the first time Javier actually felt included at his new team.
.
On his second day in Japan, Javier found that he had slept in. After dinner, the team had gone out to a club in the area and the Mexican footballer was surprised to see all the colorful lights everywhere. He had never seen anything like it before and he felt as though he was in a different time period, one much more advanced than the one he belonged too. It was the magic of the city lights and a few drinks of alcohol that kept him growing throughout the night.
Groaning at the headache that felt like a drill pounding holes into his head, he reached out onto the nightstand for his phone. It took him a few attempts to reach it blindly, as the daylight coming in through the window would not allow him to open his eyes.
In his bed, James was still soundly asleep, snoring away the various drinks he had ingested the night before. Javier clicked on the home button and opened his eyes just a crack to glance at the time. His dark eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw just how long he had actually slept. It was almost two in the afternoon and he jumped so much in surprise that he managed to fall off his bed. Along with that, he knocked into his nightstand, causing everything falling off it and onto him; the phone, the lamp, and James' cellphone.
As he was getting back on his feet, there was an urgent knock on the door. "James! Chicha!" The person said. He was Andres, from the media staff who took part in filming commercials for the club or interviews for the team page.
"Voy!" The Mexican called back. I'm coming!
He picked up all the scattered things on the floor and set them on the nightstand where they belonged before making his way towards the door. When he opened it, he saw the stern look on Andres' face when he saw Javier was still in his pajamas.
"Don't tell me you were still asleep?" He scolded, "We have a lot of things planned today!"
Javier's face contorted in confusion. He didn't remember having anything at all planned that day, except for his meeting with Amaya down at Momochi Beach. "What are you talking about?"
"You, James, Sergio, Toni and Cristiano are going to appear on a Japanese sports show to get interviewed." He reminded Javier. Only it wasn't a reminder for Javier because he'd never been told he would be interviewed on any sports show. As far as he knew, it was Isco who would be in the interview and not him. He hadn't been informed of any changes to the itinerary.
"But...I thought Isco was doing it." Javier pointed out.
Andres shook his head as though it were obvious. "Isco can't." When Javier shot him a curious look, the man added, "He got sick after eating too much sushi last night. Or maybe it was something else he ate. But the point is he's sick and can't do the interview."
"Why me?" Whined the Mexican footballer. "I don't even speak Japanese. And I have things to do today." He said, remembering that he had planned to meet up with Amaya.
"Well you cancel them." Andres told him firmly. "What can you possibly have planned in a place you only arrived yesterday? You have to be at this interview. We were considering you from the start, but you didn't want to do it, so we chose Isco. The fans like you, apart from Mexico and the United States, Japan is among the top countries where your jersey sells like hot bread. The Japanese love you because you're an underdog just like them." Javier frowned at that. There was their real reasons for wanting Javier at that interview, because he was well-liked and his jersey sold better in Japan. Andres added, "If we were in Central America, we'd go with Keylor because you and your country aren't too well-liked there. Everything is strategically planned for success. So go get ready, we leave in an hour. And wake James up." He gestured to the Colombian who was still sleeping.
The older man left the room and Javier sighed in defeat. He was going to lose his chance to see her again.
.
That afternoon, Amaya walked onto the cold sand of the beach and made her way to the same spot where she had met the Mexican footballer from Real Madrid. In reality, she hadn't planned to arrive, but something told her she should.
With the same boombox, she clicked the play button the moment she arrived. Maybe the music would lead him to her. It had done so the day before.
Amaya sat there waiting for a half hour first and bit down on her lip nervously. "Is he even coming?" She wondered. Her black colored irises searched the lonely beach for the young man with a sad smile she noticed on him. He missed his home, that much was clear to her, and she felt for him. When she traveled away from Japan, she dearly missed it. And she also had a deep love for Mexico. She didn't believe in reincarnation, but if she did, she'd have thought she was Mexican in her past life. There was something about the North American country that fascinated her like nothing else.
When the footballer was an hour late, she began losing hope that he would show up.
And when two hours passed, she felt the sting of tears poking at her eyes. She knew she had no right to actually believe he would come, maybe deep down she expected he wouldn't show up. He was a famous footballer who had other things to do than to spend time with a girl he didn't know.
Taking a deep breath, she picked herself up off the sand and quickly gathered her things. She was disappointed to say the least and she had no desire to return to the beach.
-
oooooh,
a sad chapter. i wanted to post this way sooner, but due to the university being a little bitch that takes up all my time, i just finished it now. but i started writing this up like a week ago.
anyway, i hope you like it and thank you for reading! i love you.
-clary xx
