Hello! Thank you for stopping by and reading the first chapter of this book! I just want to let you know, this is a different version of the first chapter. If you previously read this chapter, the slap is still there, but the way they meet is different. Besides that, minor changes will be made throughout the book, but overall, everything should be good.
Thank you and enjoy reading this chapter.
"It's a lovely morning to see the talented, brilliant, young surgeon Alexander Pensore be around in the United Kingdom! He had done incredible surgeries all over Western Europe, and the majority of the United States of America. With a passion for teaching young doctors and helping them study aboard, I must say, the future of medicine would not be in harm's way with this young man!"
"I must agree, Liam! We are witnessing an era with advanced medicine and technology to help out the health industry, and the fear of our health is all in the past!"
"Click!"
"Snore!" I lift my head from the table, looking around as the sound of the television turns off. I groaned as I forgot I was at work right now, having the bright light from the window, and the faint sound of animals awake me.
"Maytivoza! How long have you been here? You should go home and rest." Matthew, a colleague and friend I knew from college said. He must be the one who turned off the TV as he held the remote in his hand, placing it back next to the television.
I rub my forehead, shaking my head. "Si, si. I know, Matthew. But Wood had me do something later on. And I had a research paper to finish last night. As well as collecting data from the animal this morning. So going home was not an option." I stood up, stretching my limbs.
Goodness sake, my poor back cracks like an old woman, sending me whimpering in silence. Matthew notices how I'm dying in front of him, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know. He wants us to go out and speak to a lawmaker about laws and acts that need to be done to protect the wild animals here. But still...I think you need to tell him otherwise. You stink."
He pinched his nose, insulting me. I look down at my black loose shirt and dark green pants and see the stains of dirt and poop all over me. "Huh. Did not notice it." I guess I'm so used to the smell of it that I didn't realize how much I smell.
"Haha! Okay! This is not going to work. Either go to the shower and rest before we leave an hour or tell Wood to reconsider this." He smacks his hands, staring at me.
I stare at his brown eyes, wondering why he is stalling. "You scary, aren't you?" I told him, giving me small gasps from my insult to him.
"How dare you! Why would I be scared of a man whose job is to make policy and laws for the past thirty years of his life and me having to talk to him about it is something I'm scared about? You crazy in the head, Maytivoza!" He chuckles to himself, shaking his head.
I just stare at him, waiting for him to come to reality that he is scared. "Alright. I'm going to take a shower. You should be glad I brought a second pair of clothes. If not, your little ass would be scared around a British lawmaker." I grab my backpack and head toward the shower room.
I took advantage of it, cleaning any dirt and poop from my nails and skin. Although I'm not big on communicating as well, I do have a passion for speaking when it comes to making right for animal and their home.
I do care about human and their rights as well, but the will to study medicine and try to save them is not in my hands. Haha, no. I can't deal with trying to save someone's life when they don't want to listen to me. That's what animals are for, they don't talk back when I'm trying to save them.
"Yawn! Ah!" I stretched one more time and suddenly realized I'm going to wear formal attire. Great.
I pull out my black business pants and a white blouse, with a black blazer on, trying to fix my curly hair. Being in Europe has been a new change for me as I'm used to being in America. Although I was not born there, the culture from here to there is vastly different.
Okay, maybe not that different, but there are clear lines that both have. The common thing they do share is the way they treat people who are not European or have darker skin tones. Being a brown, Mexican-Colombian woman, hehe. My accent is very clear for them to know I'm not from here.
Although my English has improved a lot, I still feel like I'm treated differently from the way I speak, as I'm ignored a lot.
Feeling fear in my stomach from that, I closed my eyes, knowing my family would not give up. They know this is nothing compared to the journey of getting to America and being accepted there. I must keep fighting and do what I love.
"Maytivoza! You almost done?!" Matthew calls me outside the shower room, leaving me annoyed.
"Si! I'm almost done." I said, don't like wearing makeup, but we are going to do a little bit of work to hide this scar on my face. It's not that noticeable, but if you stare hard at my face, it is. I conceal it and add mascara to enhance my eyes with my glasses, taking a final look at myself.
Eh, I look decent.
At least I don't smell like shit right now. I grab my backpack, place it in my locker, and walk out to Matthew. He wore a navy blue suit as well, with his black hair slit back, looking nice and formal.
"I bet your girlfriend would love to see you wear that, huh?" I made fun of him. He huffs, fixing himself. "This is so uncomfortable. If she does, then I'll make sure we never go to any fancy place."
"Ooh, tóxico." I laugh, hearing him chuckle as well. "Okay. Wood better give us a good damn raise. We are doing his job more than him, you know?"
No denied, that's true. I don't know why Wood can't do that as he's a man of words. He can convince even a president to have his country stop hunting endangered species and create conservations to help restore their home and populations. Why have two idiots do that for him?
"Yep. Guess he wants us to embarrass ourselves." I said, hearing my flat shoes echo in the hallway as we headed outside. The front part of the building does a good job of hiding the vast land of animals behind us, only seeing the company trucks around us. We jump to one of the white truck, letting Matthew drives us to our destination.
It was not a nerve-racking feeling as I was aware of what to do. The only thing that makes my stomach hurt is an audience will be present when we make this happen.
Fuck that. Presentation in front of an audience is different than one person who knows their job very well. Is getting embarrassing in front of an audience that makes it ten times worse.
But still, I can't let this overrule me. I'm better than this. "We got this, Matthew! Believe in yourself!" I told him, forming fists. He stayed quiet for a minute before he replied, "I believe in myself! I believe in taking this car to a cliff and never looking back!"
What? Is he good?
After convincing him doing that wouldn't do any good (especially to me), we finally arrived in the city of London where the building of court and lawmaking. The thing that got me questioning is why there are a lot of people outside the building, cheering and gathering around it.
"Oooh, my god! Are they here for me? Chuck, I'm blushing!" Matthew jokes, knowing that's his way of calming himself down.
"Uh-huh. Maybe call your girlfriend before you go inside and you lose your shit. I'm going to get us checked in." I took off my seatbelt after he turned off the car, taking my idea and calling his sweet girlfriend.
I got out of the car, taking a glance at the scene in front of me. A lot of citizens from young to old are standing outside the building in the early spring, cheering with a camera crew with them.
Huh. I never knew how big laws and policies are in Europe. Nice.
However, I still need to get inside the door, leaving me having to go between the crowd and the building. Clinching on my pants, I walk toward the crowd, saying "excuse me" so many times for them to let me go through.
They didn't bulge or look annoyed when I asked. Sorry, I got to go into that building and do some work instead of standing out here cheering at this building for some reason. When I finally made it toward the door, I was trying to open the door but it was locked.
Wha? What's going on?
I look inside, and see a few people out in the lobby, talking to one another. I knocked on the clear doors, trying to grab their attention but the people behind me got even more louder.
Giving up, and waiting for Matthew to come and save me (for once), I see a black car drive up the road, stopping in front of the crowd. I got a better look as the steps toward the building rose, making it helpful against my short height.
When the car door swings open, it's like a celebrity is coming out of that car as the whole crowd moves away from the building and toward the person stepping out.
"Oh! Maytivoza Rose! Forgive us for not noticing you! Come in, come in." I turn to see a woman I once talked, to arrange this meeting.
"Oh, thank you. Um, Matthew Benson will be coming soon if this door can remain unlocked for him when he arrives if that's fine?" I ask, getting a nod from the security guard next to me.
I sigh in relief, ignoring what is happening outside, and begin getting set for this meeting. Ahh, what am I talking about? All I feel is more stress and nervousness running in my blood right now. I can't do this. I can't believe I'm going to be talking in front of an audience today! Where is Matthew's girlfriend? I need to talk to her right now.
"Oh, Mr. Pensore. Such a lovely time to meet you here." I hear the name I heard before, taking a curious look at the corner of the room.
"Haha! Yes, it very much is! I was informed by the director of the hospital I'm in to see this meeting. I'm not such a big fan of law-making for animals, but it would be curious to see the people who are going to make this happen. I would like to see them win, to be honest."
Huh? Respect this man has for us. Don't see that often.
"Well, you are pretty early. If you would like, you can take a seat in the room over there and wait as it will begin in twenty minutes from now."
Gulp! Great. Where is Matthew? I need that motherfucker here. "Of course. Thank you." He said, hearing footsteps coming closer to this room.
Not trying to be a creep, I stare down at my hands, thinking back what I would be saying. I close my eyes and mentally prepare myself for this meeting. I got this. I got this. I got—
"Oh. Who are you?"
I open my eyes, witnessing the voice I heard out there in this room. But what shocked me was the man sitting in front of me. His hair is dirty blonde, a part of it brighter than others. His arms are close over his chest, staring at me with intense glare from his green eyes.
Hah, I don't need this right now. "My name is Maytivoza Rose. Nice to meet you—"
"Uh-huh. Good to know." He interrupted me, ignoring my hand I was waiting for him to shake. But fuck that! Like I even want to touch your hand.
"Okay. Sorry." I whisper the last word, looking down at my lap. I ignore his presence and focus on myself, but it's hard if he is staring at me! I lift my head a bit, seeing him staring at me.
"May you please stop? Unless you have a reason to stare at me?" I informed him, having a bad feeling about him. "Where are you from?" He asks, suddenly feels sweat starting to form at the back of my neck.
"Excuse me?" I said, trying my hardest not to break the polite tone I was having. "I said where are you from." He repeats, making the smile on my face more fake than ever.
"It doesn't concern you. I'm more than happy not to tell you, thank you very much." I ended our conversation, looking away.
"That's very impolite of you to say. If someone is asking you a question, you must answer them." He said. Of course, if someone asks you how many body counts you have, you must answer them as well.
"I'm from Mexico," I state, getting this curious mouse away from me. He smiles though, making me feel unease around him. "Why are you here in Europe then? Don't you think you are too far from your country?"
Ooooooh, okay. This is where I break the line. "It's for work-related reasons. I've been enjoying my life here, to be honest. And I would like for you to stop treating me like this."
"Like what? I'm just asking questions."
"Yes, well...these questions are making me uncomfortable. So if you can shut your fuckin' mouth and let me get ready for my meeting, I would be more than happy if you can do that."
"You don't belong here." He roughly said, leaving me speechless. "I don't get why you are here given your country is bad just like you. Your people had done terrible things to people and yet, coming to Europe is something you think we won't know."
"You don't know me. Not my people. I don't know you and I'm not judging you or your history to my people. Entonces, I have every right to be here as much your people have every right to visit my country." I fight back, losing my temper.
"As if. You guys don't take care of yourself. You do little to no concern about one another health and here you are, what? Fighting for animal rights am I right? As if anyone in your country is going to care about that. They would like for you to fight for more affordable and accessible healthcare than these animals and their home."
"I'm not here today to fight for that. I would love to do that, but currently, I can't visit my country right now and do so. And this is not a concern about my country. It's concerned about your country and the rights of animals and their home. And must I mention, this includes you and your people as well."
"Oh? How so?" He asks, not sure how he doesn't know.
"Well, the more urbanized we become, you are aware the less natural resource there are for us? If we focus more on taking land that was once open to everyone, both animal and human, the less source of food, water, and not to forget, oxygen, cuz I'm not seeing you producing any oxygen, quite the opposite, the danger of our future will be."
I said, waiting for him to come back to me. Come on, asshole. Let's see you try to be better than me. "Maytivoza Rose. The meeting will start in five minutes. If you would like, we can get going. Oh. Alexander Pensore. Such a surprise."
Huh? This is the man that Europe and the United States admire? Wait, I'm not those people. I don't admire him one bit. I remember Ruby mention about him, the wife of Wood. But I must second guess who this man is by the way she mentions him.
"Heh. Yes. It is a surprise. But is it possible to let me and her go on our own? I need to talk to her a bit more?" Oh no, you don't decide for me.
"Actually—"
"That's quite fine. I let the court know to wait a bit. Her partner said he won't be coming so we can wait a bit longer." She said, leaving us.
However, what left me shocked was how stupid Matthew gave up. That menso! Such a man you are.
"You impress me, Maytivoza. But must I mention, I don't think you are quite ready for this? I don't think you have the strength inside of you to defend and care about our land if you are not from here. To be honest, I believe you should end this meeting and go back to your country. We don't need pests around here making changes to our country."
What the hell? Who hurt him? An ex? A divorce? Or just a pure asshole to people like me?
"I'm sorry. I don't speak asshole language. If you know, I have a meeting to go to." I begin to walk, before I feel his hand on my wrist, stopping me.
"What the hell you just said?!" He angrily said, turning my attention to him. My heart pounds loudly as his hand grips tightly on my arm, leaving me in defense mode.
"Let go," I mutter, staring at my arm. "What do you call me?!" He shouts to me, hearing footsteps behind me.
"Oh, Maytivoza Rose. It's such an honor—"
"I said let me go, asshole!" I didn't think at all as I bring my hand up to his face, slap the shit out of him.
His grip loosened, as he stepped away from me. He groans, covering his cheek. I tried to calm down, but that was pointless as I turned to see the man who was talking to me earlier. It's the man I was supposed to talk to today.
"Uh...Mr..." Oh fuck. I mess up big time.
Hi. This is my first time writing on anything to the public. So be respectful and tell me what you think about this chapter. Comment and tell me.
Thank you. 🙂
P.S., I have never been to the United Kingdom, so please forgive me for my misunderstanding of it.