The phone on my desk rings and it startles me. This is odd, no one ever calls me there. Sometimes it feels as a decorative piece, or a dust gathering one. It can't be my mom as she calls me on my mobile and everyone else emails me.
I lift the handset. "Hello?"
"Good morning Sanne, Jane from the reception. Something arrived for you," says the bubbly girl who manages the counter.
"Oh? Ehm... Good morning. Hi! Can you send it up with the mail guy?"
"It's something you should see for yourself."
Her chirpy tone makes me feel uneasy. I take the elevator downstairs and freeze on my spot the moment I see what is on the counter. The receptionist smiles goofily at me as I approach the large arrangement of wildflowers in all sorts of colors.
"You are one lucky girl," she says as she hands it to me.
I search for a card, but there isn't one. I even look around on the floor in case it fell, but find nothing.
"Who delivered this?" I ask her.
"Came straight from the flower shop. Who is it from?"
Not wanting to give her more information than she needs, I only smile politely and walk back to the elevator carrying the heavy vase. The curious stares of my colleagues follow me as I make my way back to my office.
Once I close the door, I stare at the flowers. They are beautiful, but certainly not from someone who knows me well. The notification light on my phone blinks and I unlock it to find a couple of emails including one from my new coach. Are the flowers from him? No, that's improbable, we just met.
Hey Sanne, great game on Sunday. You made quite an impression. Some people just need to warm up to you.
Cooper
Some people... more like one. Rose truly took a disliking to me since the moment we met. If it wasn't for Cooper's insistence and the fact that I love soccer I would have returned home.
The rest of the team is pleasant. Willow was the friendliest and made it her responsibility to introduce me to everyone. They interrogated me non-stop during tea. They wanted to know if living here is different to back home and how I like it here. It felt more like them wanting a confirmation that living here is great than finding out if I feel comfortable in my new location. I was surrounded by a group of women, yet I felt lonely.
Meetings and calls fill the rest of my day. I leave early, making use of the extra hours I put in during the last campaign, and head to the mall. A shopping spree always works wonders when I'm in a funky mood. I left the flowers on my desk to give a bit of color to my office and can only hope that I can thank the sender soon enough.
I head to the sports store and treat myself to new training clothes and throw in a pair of cleats in the basket. The pair I used last Saturday was a last minute thing I found in Goodwill since I was too busy to shop, and looked barely used. Still, the fit wasn't the best and now that I think about it is probably the reason they got discarded.
After paying for my purchases, the coffee place in front calls my attention. Not really the place, but the ad of a creamy, frothy coffee shake. I've seen my fair share of stock photos in my life, but that one looks so real I feel tempted to pass my tongue over the heavenly-looking drink.
"One latte shake," I say to the cashier.
"Sure, and your name is?"
"Sanne."
The girl looks at me strangely and hands the order to her colleague. No other customers wait and she leaves the counter unattended. I receive my drink and take a place next to the window to observe the people who walk around while soothing myself with sugar, coffee and cream.
"There are other coffee places in this mall."
The accent, the clipped tone, that voice only belongs to one person and not one I desire to see today.
"Rose."
"You made a wrong decision the day you decided to move here. You made it worse by wanting to join my team."
"What the hell is your problem?" I raise my voice and the people surrounding us stare at us. "Last time I checked Cooper runs the team!"
"That little fool doesn't know a thing. He picks you out of desperation, you catch a few balls and then suddenly you are the star."
Jealous! She's jealous.
"Look, Rose, I didn't go to the club to steal anyone's spotlight. I wanted a place to exercise, make friends and find some sense of belonging in this god damned town. I've played soccer my whole life, but I can't pull up a file of my past to prove it. So you, Cooper and everyone else will have to let me show what I can do."
"You will never belong here. Cooper will eventually see his mistake."
"I get you all feel bad for Sage, but it isn't my fault. You are as competitive as I am and I'm sure that even with your close friendship it bothered you as hell that she missed the games and you had to forfeit."
Rose's eyes widen for a second and go back quickly at throwing daggers at me.
"Finish your consumption and leave," she says before turning around.
She snaps her fingers at a lanky teen who hurries to clean a table. Then says something to the cashier before leaving through a door.
My drink has lost all its appeal. So I grab my purchases and leave. Of all the places I could choose from, I ended up in hers.
"Sanne!" I hear as I walk towards my car.
Cooper grins as he walks towards me. I'm not up for this now.
"Hey, Cooper."
"What a coincidence. Oh, I see you are done already. Do you want to like have a coffee with me? Rose's coffee place is close by."
No, thank you. I've had enough of Rose today or the rest of the week.
"Another time. I'm ready to call it a day and get in bed."
"So early?"
"Yeah, you know, beauty rest and everything," I laugh and it comes out so fake that it surprises me.
"I guess I will never understand that," he shrugs. "I'll see you on Saturday. Really Sanne, your game is good. Glad to have you on board. I should buy you flowers or something one day, you will save our rep this season."
I wave at him as I get in the car. The flowers definitely didn't come from him, so who sent them?