i kept thinking ≫ fernando torres

015

"Mama!"I yell as I enter the room, my mother peeks up from the kitchen. 

"Hello, dear," she says, calmly. 

"Nadia, Sophie and Julia have arrived, they're staying over tonight, we'll fit it in my room," I say, "Really, we won't be in the way of the other guests." Mother rolls her eyes and I can see she would rather have them to not stay over. 

"Alex," she gestures to follow her, and leaving my friends standing in the doorway with their bags. " You know this is not a great idea, I mean, you'll be staying up super late, and it will be all too busy." She had a point though, because we wouldn't sleep before 11. Probably not even before 2 in the morning.

'But Julia and Sophie have travelled all the way from the Netherlands and Nadia has travelled here all the way from Cape Town, I know I should've asked first, but..." I say, looking at her, hoping she'd give in now. 

"Is there not another way?" she asks, "If there isn't', then sure, I'm not going to send these girls out on their own, but preferably not."

"Okay, I'll try to find another way, but all the hotels are full now, you know that right?" I say and she nods and walks back to the kitchen, muttering something to me in Afrikaans, that she hoped the other girls wouldn't understand.

I look at them and shake their heads. Julia shakes her head. "Not today, girls, but we'll find another way." 

"All the hotels are full, you know," Sophie says. 

"I know, I have an idea," I say to them, and then call back to my mother. "Do you think I could borrow the car, I have an idea where the girls could possibly stay."

"If you bring it back safe," mother says and I smile and take the keys from the lock. I know my mother is afraid I'll trash the car, but for this plan, I really need a car and a taxi wouldn't work. 

"Get in, ladies," I say to them, and they again load their suitcases in the trunk, it took some time before they fit it in. I sit down in front of the steering wheel and look at Sophie next to me and the other girls in the back. I'm glad I have my license now, I don't like driving, but it's really convenient if you can drive.

"So where are we going?" Sophie asks. 

"We're going to my boyfriend," I say. I don't know whether I could even consider Fernando my boyfriend yet, but probably yes. He hadn't really directly asked me whether I wanted to be his girlfriend or anything, but I just somehow assumed. 

"Alright, I didn't even know you had a boyfriend, what's his name?" Julia asks me. 

"His name is Roberto, he's very sweet," I say, I settled for Roberto, because he still was sort of undercover. We drove to this small apartment he had rented for the time he was there, it was less obvious than staying in a hotel with footballers and football fans. Which I kind of understood when he told me.

I stop in front of a big building, where he is supposed to live. I haven't really been there yet, but we drove past it and I remembered where it was. The girls settled on keeping the bags in the car until Fernando actually agreed on this plan. I haven't brought anything with me, but I might be able to borrow something from one of the girls or something, and otherwise I'd borrow a shirt from Fernando. I search for Roberto's name and press the bell. 

"Roberto," I hear, sternly. 

"Guess who this is," I say laughing. I hear laughter on the other side of the line. 

"I know who you are," He says and opens the door. We make our way to the first floor. There is no lift, so we have to walk. I dread the idea of helping either Julia or Nadia with their suitcases. 

"Did someone remember the number," I ask when we pass a couple of doors. 

"Number 7, right?" Sophia says. 

"No number 9," Nadia says. She has a great memory, that I am now thankful off. Julia presses the doorbell and we hear footsteps coming closer.  The door opens and I see Fernando's  familiar face standing in front of me. 

"Alexandra," he smiles. 

"Roberto," I say.

"What are these lovely ladies doing here?" he asks me.

"These are my friends, Nadia, Sophie and Julia," I say as I point them out, "And we need a place to stay."

"A place to stay?" Roberto asks, "What the hell have you done this time, Alex?"

"Nothing, my mother just doesn't want these 3 rebels in her house," I say laughing.

"Rebels?" Sophie raises an eyebrow. 

"Well, thanks, Alex, you're such a nice friend yourself," Julia says giggling. 

"Get in then, I might have enough room for all of you," Roberto says as he opens the door a bit more, "But you're not planning to sleep already right?"

"Of course not, it's 1 in the afternoon, what do you think?" Nadia says. 

Roberto closes the door and guides us to the living room that was small, but nice.

"It's small but I'm sure 3 matrasses will fit in here," Roberto mentions. 

"Ha, and then I'll be sleeping on a comfortable bed," I say laughing. 

"Evil," Sophie says. 

"You can sleep next to Roberto, if that what's you want," I wink at her. 

"No, you can do that," Sophie says.