[ six ]
Mariluz left the stadium with Marcela, letting Ricardo know that she didn't need a ride back to the house with him. She hoped he would continue talking to Florencia, but as soon as she left, she got a text from the team president's daughter.
'hey michael.'
'who is this?'
'florencia.'
'ah, okay. hey florencia. who gave you my number?'
'cristiano. he got it from ricardo.'
'hm.'
Mariluz instantly knew Ronaldo was already working on getting Marcela. That was the only explanation as to why he had given Florencia her number. The two friends were sitting together at a nearby cafe. When Marcela saw the annoyance on her best friend's face, she asked, "What's up with you?"
"Florencia keeps chasing me." Mariluz sighed. "Which sucks because Ricardo wants her."
"Mm." Marcela muttered angrily.
In other circumstances, she knew both Marcela and Florencia would have gotten along and probably been the best of friends. But since Florencia was jealous of Marcela, she didn't like her. And in return, Marcela couldn't stand the blonde.
"Hey," Mariluz began, noticing her best friend was suddenly looking upset. "What's wrong?"
Marcela rested her head in her palm and sighed deeply before saying, "Your brother and I got in a fight yesterday. I think we're really over this time." She admitted.
With a groan, Mariluz said, "This is why I didn't want you two to date. Keep me out of this."
"That's why I didn't want to tell you." Marcela whined, running a hand through her long brown hair. "I know he's your brother and you don't want to hear my cry about him. But I don't know what to do. He hasn't even called me. How did you get over it when you and Bojan broke up?"
"Ooh." Mariluz sucked in a breath. "I was just lucky. You know our break-up was ugly, and soon after he was sent to Roma for his new contract."
"I heard he's coming back this upcoming season." Marcela commented.
Mariluz gasped. "Oh no."
"Yeah."
"And you'll die when you hear this," Marcela said, "You know that charity carnival tomorrow, the one we all agreed to volunteer in?"
Nodding, the girl dressed as a boy said, "Mhm."
"Bojan will be there." Marcela dropped the bomb and the news was so shocking to Mariluz that she nearly choked on air.
.
.
.
.
The next day, Ricardo and Mariluz were jogging around the field before anyone arrived for practice. Thanks to the extra training sessions with Ricardo, she knew she was on her way to being considered for the first team and she was grateful to him.
"So you and Florencia have a date?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
He nodded, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "I'm glad you and your girlfriend are coming with us." He admitted, "I still don't know how I'm going to talk to her."
For one reason or another, she found that when she thought of the two of them together, she was filled with annoyance. But she shook the thoughts away. Trying to sound reassuring, she told him, "You'll be fine. But if it doesn't work out, you can find someone better." She said casually.
When they finished with their jog, they stopped for a water break. Ricardo asked her, "So, are you going to that big charity event? A lot of footballers from all over the country got invited."
"I have to go." Mariluz told him, "My mum is one of the main coordinators and she wanted my siblings and I to be there."
"Cool." Ricardo smiled. "I think Florencia's going too."
"My sister Mariluz will be there." She added.
"That's great. Maybe I can meet her." He said politely. Setting his water bottle on the bench when he saw the rest of the team arrive on the field.
Time seemed to go by in a blink and she was running some drills with Gonzalo, who played the same position she did. Since Ricardo played midfield most of the time, he asked Gonzalo to give her some tips on being a forward. Ricardo at first suggested Ronaldo could teach her, but then he remembered the two could hardly stand each other and decided on asking Gonzalo for help in the end.
"Okay," Gonzalo grinned, "Ricky's gonna pass you the ball from the other side of the field and I'm going to try and sweep the ball away from your feet. Now you won't let me and then you'll shoot on target, where Mesut will try to stop it and likely fail."
"Why do I have to be goalkeeper?" Mesut complained in his thick German accent. Mariluz found it to be adorable.
"Because," Gonzalo rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed that he had to repeat the plan for the millionth time. "He needs someone who sucks at goalkeeping so the ball can actually go in. What if we have Iker stand in? He's a real goal keeper, he'll stop the ball and crush our womanizer friend's feelings. Then Michael won't know what to do with his life and will be forced to drop out of the team. Then he'll have no place to live and end up selling oranges on the freeway. Do you want that for our friend, Mesut? Do you?"
Ricardo chuckled.
And Mariluz scoffed. "That's a little dramatic, Pipita."
Mesut groaned and looked up at the sky, as if praying. He then slid the goal keeper gloves on that he had borrowed from Iker, or more likely that they took without his permission.
The guys set up the play and Mariluz ran down the left wing of the field, Ricardo running down the other. Something not planned happened when Cristiano ran up behind the Brazilian and stole the ball before he could make the pass. With bad intentions, he kicked the ball with all his strength, in the direction of Mariluz.
When Gonzalo saw the ball coming, he jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit by the ball that flew at them at top speed. Everyone on the field watched in horror as the ball hit Mariluz in the groin with a loud thump before falling at her feet.
She noticed them watching her, confused as to why they all had pained looks on their faces. Then she remembered she was supposed to be a boy. A boy who had gotten hit in the groin. "Oh, right." She muttered under her breath. The next second, she threw herself on the grass and clutched her stomach while her friends came running to her aid. "Ah! It hurts. For the love of God someone help me!" She yelled out loud.
Sergio, Mesut, Gonzalo and Ricardo surrounded her, checking to see if she was okay. When Cristiano approached her, each of them shot him a glare. "Sorry." He offered, but it seemed all but sincere.
Still laid out on the field, she nodded, "Its fine."
She didn't feel like arguing with the Portugese football astro. Not when she had other things to worry about like the charity event. If her friends from Madrid were going, she would need a plan.
-
next chapter will take place at the carnival, so stay tuned for that. and yeah, i am including scenes from the movie because it is based on it.
thank you all for reading and voting.
it truly means a lot to me.
i love you all.
-clary xx
