I became increasingly panicked as my stress levels went through the roof. Whoever was behind me was leading me away from the night guards that started to pile in after spotting me on the field.
"Stop moving, I'm trying to help you!" I heard the person whisper. I thrashed some more in their arms as I bit whoever they were. They screamed, and then I broke free for a second. "Fiesty!" the said to themselves.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled. I heard the sound of impending footsteps, so the person just pulled me by my arm, making me drop my ball. "No!" I pulled them back,
"Stop being so stubborn or else they'll catch us both!" I wanted to deny that the raspy voice sounded too familiar to disregard, but it was obvious.
It couldn't be.
"Stop! Who is there?" I heard a guard yell as they ran after us. The man lead me down the stairs as security chased after us. I freed myself from his grasp and sprinted down an adjacent hallway.
"No! Not that one!" the man yelled to me, he ran in my direction.
"How should I trust you?" I asked in a hushed whisper. All I could see were his eyes, and they were too familiar to dismiss.
"I know this place, I play here." he said while looking left and right. "Come on." he started running as I followed him. I could hear my heart thumping as we took rights and lefts.
"Who is there?!" I heard one guard shout as they shinned a flashlight down the hall we were in. I gulped and stopped in my tracks. Someone pulled me by my wrist, and I fell down into their arms.
"Desculpe." he whispered, and my eyes widened. I immediately recognized his voice as Neymar.
"Està tudo bem." I quietly said to myself. I felt a pair of eyes on me once I said that, and it was his.
I saw the light creeping towards us as my heart beat became quicker. Neymar let me go as he went on all fours and started to crawl away.
"Vamos." he whispered again. I nodded and went on all fours, the sweat dripping down from my forehead. The light shone down the hallway as Neymar kept crawling. The scene was amusing though, his butt was in my face.
We finally reached another hallway and came to a full stop. What is this place, a maze? Neymar went on his knees and looked in both directions. He pointed left and nodded at me.
"Okay." I said to myself. We stood up and crept along the walls, and it felt as if I were in a spy movie. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the lights started turning on. I became panicked once again, and Neymar started pulling me again.
"Dessa forma! Dessa forma!" he yelled, which meant 'That way'! I hope the cameras weren't recording us, becsuse that was at the top of my worry list.
We sprinted down the hallway at a steadily increasing speed. It seemed as if we were in a loop as the doors seemed to push farther away from us. I looked at him, and saw him running with all his might. I smiled at that, and as I turned around; we finally reached the doors.
I tried to open it, but it was locked. I groaned, and finally turned around to look at him. He stared at me, and I stared back too.
It's as if I were in a trance.
Just then, he started to chuckle. I grew cautious, and he put his hand on the door. He pulled it open with a smirk as I became embarrassed with myself.
It said pull not push.
"Oh." I laughed, and he did again. "Obrigado." I smiled, and he did too.
"I'm Neymar...you are?" he asked in portuguese.
"I'm-" just then, we heard someone running around the corner. "Dessa forma!" it was my turn to pull him towards me. The door shut behind us as we ran from the exit. We didn't even cover half of the parking lot once we stopped running.
"Neymar!" I heard a female voice call, and it was a brunette in an Audi. He looked back at me as he walked towards the car. The brunette looked as if she swallowed something gross when she observed me. "We're late!" she yelled.
"Okay!" he yelled back. I stood there with a smile on my face.
He was super whipped.
I covered my mouth as I started to laugh at the scene of them yelling. While I was whistling something, they sped off, leaving me by myself in the parking lot.
At night.
Looks like my adventure didn't end here.
I shined the flashlight of my phone on the pavement and gathered my thoughts. It was windy and the trees sounded like their leaves were being blown away.
I could call Andrew, but he'd ask what I was doing at the stadium. Instantly I felt the need to get out of there quickly, but I didn't know where to go. All I could see was the parking lot, and the flashlight could only shine so far.
My boots scraped against the ground as I walked with a certain feeling. I sped up as the parking lot seemed never ending. That feeling that I had gotten earlier returned. I was sure that it was just my anxious side catching up with me. It's like footsteps were behind me, and sooner or later; I broke into a jog. The only sound I could hear was my breathing, my cleats against the pavement, and cars in the distance.
I looked behind me and sped up. My gut gave me the feeling that I was in fact not alone, and that freaked me out. My legs carried me towards the end of the parking lot. I didn't stop there, I just kept going and going until my legs were numb.
I shakily picked up my phone once it started ringing. It was a different kind of number. I put the phone into my ear, and all I could hear was breathing from the other line.
This was a scary movie all in itself.
"H-hello?" my voice trembled.
"Hello." a female voice called from the other end. The hairs on my neck stood up and I looked from left to right. "Alana?"
"What do you want with me?" I asked in a low whisper. The female chuckled with a snort.
"Whoa, what? Alana! It's Mel." I let go of the breath I was holding in. "You okay?"
"Not really." I continued walking, and staying cautious of my surroundings. "I'm outside and lost." I quietly whispered.
"Whoa, what? At night? Find the nearest public place and I'll pick you up there."
"It's so dark outside..." I glanced around again. The trees were being blown around, and I could see Camp Nou in the distance. There were some condominiums and bars in the distance. I was around expensive homes, and no one was out at all. "I see a few bars and clubs in the distance."
"Okay, here's a tip for you: wait outside of a club and stand near the bouncers. Not too close. Stay with me on the phone, and talk to me. What street are you on?" Mel sounded as if she was already in her car.
"I can't see anything!" I accidentally shouted in a panicked voice.
"Shine your light on the signs, they reflect." she sounded surprisingly calm. I whispered to her quietly after shining my light on it. "On my way."
//+//
I spotted Dani Alves entering the club I was waiting outside of. He had some sort of entourage, and people were bothering him for some pictures and autographs. Trying hard not to stare, I looked up into the night. I could barely see the stars in the sky.
There were so many lights outside of the club. There was a lot of shrubbery surrounding it as it. It seemed like a hotspot for people my age, but not the kind of club I'd be interested in going to.
There was shouting and commotion going on, so I tried scooting away from the source. If only I could get right to playing, but Andrew told me that the first game was in two weeks. After being presented, I would get right to studying my opponents and trying to gain back my skill.
Or do I still have it?
If anything, I'd have to ask Neymar, the creep was watching me. I chuckled to myself while crossing my arms. Mel was taking her time to get here, I could tell.
I saw Mel jogging towards me with a whistle on a chain around her neck. She smiled, but once she got closer: she slapped her hands over her ears.
"How can you think with this music being so loud?" she had to yell above the music coming from inside of the club.
"I used to go to a lot of parties." I yelled back over it. Mel started leading me to her car as she turned around,
"You don't seem like the partying type."
//+//
She had her music blasting from her car at 10 at night. Mel sang along with the lyrics and continually drummed on the steering wheel. The sight was comical if you ask me. I started giggling until she glanced at me with a wayward smile.
"What's so funny?" she asked as we made a sharp turn. She couldn't slow down, she drove as if she had to be somewhere really soon.
"You're really into your spanish music, huh?" I asked.
"Course I am. I need to stay up to write this stupid paper on my reflections daily in Spain. Blah blah blah." she pressed harder on the gas pedal. "I've had 3 coffees and it's not even 11 yet. Or is it?" Mel glanced at the time. No wonder she seemed so jittery.
We had been driving for about fifteen minutes, and she was taking a lot of shortcuts. It's as if she knew the roads of Barcelona like the back of her hand.
"Mel, where are you from?"
"Here." she smiled at me while drumming on the steering wheel again.
"Then why are you 'studying abroad' or whatever?" I asked her. I saw a road that was leading to the hotel I was staying at.
"Why are you here with family?" she asked me in a serious voice. "You don't have to answer that." Mel said quickly once she saw my facial expression. "No one knows I'm from Barcelona, they all think every Spanish person is Mexican. I came here on a program cause I didn't have the money to fly over here, and my boyfriend, Milo, wanted to come too." she nodded at me. "Forged his name on the program sign up sheet because why not?" she shrugged.
"Oh wow." I laughed. "Seems like you were a bit of a rebel, aren't you?" I smirked. The buildings zoomed by as I continued to stare out of the window.
"Maybe I still am. Who knows? I got lots of tattoos on my right arm. My mama hates them a lot." she chuckled. "Oh the dear old lady hates them." Mel took a left. "Now I know this is unexpected, but why were you outside and lost? Did you go explore or anything?"
"I went to go and do a few things. I actually had to venture somewhere." I said to her, her eyebrows rose.
"You speak so properly." I thanked her. "So are you bilingual or trilingual?" she asked me.
"Call it what you will. I can speak Spanish if I put effort into it, and I speak Portuguese with my mami and sister." I answered.
"Where are they now?" she asked, and my stomach twisted. I had to remind myself to talk to them tomorrow, and let Katilina know that I was alright..
"Home." I whispered.
"Oh okay." she seemed to sense that I didn't want to talk about it anymore. We pulled up to the hotel as I gathered my stuff.
"Thanks so much Mel. I appreciate it!"
"Ah, don't worry about it. Try to get yourself a car, though, you'll need it around here." she waved as I walked into the elaborate hotel. She drove off as soon as I entered, and I passed by Maria.
"Hola señora Amero." she smiled at me.
"Hola..." I turned to her, and rushed out of the slightly busy lobby.
My thoughts were all over the place, and I had to get it together.
Fast.
*+*+*+*
Heyy guys, a question for you. How do I add pictures on the side? I have plenty of Neymar and I wanna share it with you guys. Could you please tell me how to add it? Thank youuuu
God bless.
*+*+*+*
Dominique