Munich, Germany.
Of all the things he did not like doing, getting out of bed was one of them. But he had to, the alarm clock was so exasperating. We Are The Champions was the one song he hated most in the whole world. That morning, like every other, he regretted choosing that Queen song. If there is a way to hate a song, that is to use it as an alarm clock ringer to wake up to. But it was not all bad, at least, if he woke up feeling low or blue, Freddy Mercury's voice would remind him he was a champion.
Dominik Weigand at age 19, was the most coveted player this season. Sports critics dubbed him “The Bullet”, because he was unstoppable when it came to scoring goals.
Although he was a celebrity, Dominik never acted as such. He would reject invitations to crazy wild parties all the time. He was raised differently from the rest of his team mates. From a very young age, his father taught him the value of Discipline. Since he was 5, soccer became his obsession. He would practice 6 hours a day, which earned him an enviable physical condition. Also, the walls of his room were covered in posters of every great soccer player in history and he owned a huge collection of the Germany national football team merchandise.
That day was just like every other day for the past three months. The world cup was just around the corner, thus, increasing his training schedule from 6 to 8 hours a day. Coach said he needed to relax a little, but Dominik was not the type to relax. Winning the World Cup with the Germany national team would consecrate him as one of the best footballers of all time. He would be shoulder to shoulder with all those great men such as Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Klinsman and Gerd Müller, whom he looked up to since he was a child dreaming of becoming a national team footballer.
With six club titles under his belt from the FC BAYERN MÜNICH, highlighting his two consecutive Champion League titles and a UEFA Euro the same year, he became the youngest player to ever accomplish such feats, all he was missing was getting to lift the World Cup. That would definitely be the cherry on top. He would retire a legend in some 10 years, the youngest player to ever manage the trifecta. That was all he wanted.
Getting out of bed was a prowess to Dominik, but he always came through. As soon as he set foot on the ground, it was like something was triggered inside of him. As if Weigand was a robot, for he often reacted as a machine, mechanical, methodical. It was no secret that Dominik had Asperger's, but he did not enjoy having that term being used on him. To everybody, it was Aspie.
He was diagnosed at age 6. The doctors remarked how special his case was. Usually, patients with Asperger's Syndrome showed no interest in sports or any kind of group activities, but, even at that, Dominik was exceptional, going against the odds. His parents reacted very well to this diagnosis and they always tried channeling the boy's special abilities and talents in the best way possible, although they sometimes made the mistake of pampering him a little too much. Dominik never knew rejection, being the way he is, but the exact opposite, he took pride in being different, sometimes, he would even be manipulative, even if unconsciously.
To Dominik it was pitiful how some people would use their condition as a trend and not what it really was, a lifestyle. Hearing them say they had Asperger's only because they were petty, arrogant or had a bad attitude. They would use the word “disorder” as if it were equal to “genius.” Undoubtedly, Dominik took for granted that, those with such "disorder" thought of themselves as a Limited Edition Weizenbock who were actually, nothing but an ordinary Heineken.
He got dressed and took his iPod. He looked in the mirror right before he left his room. The outfit Adidas sent him to try out was amazing, all in black with neon blue stripes. He thanked once again for the man who invented Supplex, it was great for working out.
The sound of whistling in his ear buds marked the start of his daily routine. A jogging session while listening to Engel by Rammstein, a particular habit of him since he hated almost any kind of loud noise, but his favorite music was all he could tolerate.
He was running high speed as a few drops of sweat slipped down his forehead and arms. As the endorphins and the serotonin increased in his bloodstream, so did his desire to keep going and going. He loved the wind in his face and his heart beating hard as it could.
Almost two hours went by until he decided to go back.
When he came home, he noticed a black car parking by his driveway. He noticed it was his friend Friedrich coming up to greet him.
“I hope you're all packed already” the visitor said.
“Almost” was Dominik sole answer.
“Almost?” the man looked at him with his brow arched high. “The plane takes off at 4 o'clock. For crying out loud, please be ready on time.”
“I'm always ready on time.”
“Don't you dare! I've had to call Ewald the past 5 times to have him wait for us.”
“They would never leave me” said Dominik, opening his front door.
Ewald Metzler was the Germany national football team's coach, apart from being one of the few people in the world who could manage to tolerate Dominik, it was really common for Dom, as some of his team mates called him, to "act up" but it was not his fault, his condition made him very vulnerable to noise, sudden weather conditions or physical contact with his peers, so, nobody could expect him to adapt to things. Most frequently, things would adapt to him.
It is 20 minutes to four and Dominik is still in his room. Looking out the window, although he seemed alienated by the view, in his head, he was only reviewing all the strategies coach came up with for him. He was not convinced and would tell Ewald as soon as he saw him…“Ready?” Friedrich looked in from outside the door.“I'm not for getting the ball from Delch. I want to go get it myself” Dominik replied.“What the hell are you talking about?”“I think it's best if Brauer was the retriever, we get along better.”Friedrich rose an eyebrow when he understood what Dominik was saying. Once again, as usual, he was underestimating Ewald's work. He always did, he always had something to say when the coach gave him directions.“You can tell Ewald when you see him. We gotta move, it's late”.They both took their bags wasting no time and headed for the airport.None of
LAX AirportLosAngeles, California. A pair of bright brown eyes looked stern at the clock. As if a mental power could speed up time. She would be working until noon, she had arranged it with her boss. She had to take her SAT's. In just a few more minutes, she would have to get up from there and get in the first cab she could find in order to make it in time to Campus. That was plan B. She decided to apply for Art and Architecture at UCLA as her second —and most realistic— option after applying for Archaeology at the American University in El Cairo. She knew how hard it was to make it in AU, so she decided she would also pursue a safe goal, regardless of her passion for past civilizations and ancient hidden treasures. Since she was a child, she dreamed of exploring the pyramids and discovering mummies. Her dreams faded to the background as the years passed. Nevertheless, she h
Finally, after almost 13 hours, the flight coming from the Munich International Airport landed on American soil and, in just a matter of seconds, the FIFA committee deployed all over the place.Dominik looked out the window and noticed the huge amount of people expecting them, from fans to journalists.One by one, they came out of the jet. Dom waited until everyone else was out. He always did. He loved being the last man out, both from the bus as much as from the plane.He did not like walking behind his teammates. It made him feel like a sheep following the herd, so he always tried to be as far back from the rest as he could. Many times, this even allowed him to go unnoticed.He pulled his iPod from the pocket in his jacket and put the ear buds in as he turned up the volume to Faint by Linkin Park. He could not help it, he loved his music, the music that had marked him during his teenage years. Listening to it helped him cope, somehow, with the void he f
Samanta fell to the floor after walking into... «a light pole?», she thought. however, she had to look back to make sure. She realized the reason she fell was a man, who, apparently, was just as tall as a light pole. He was huge.She was held back by the hordes of people crowding around the Germany national football team whom had just arrived and she realized how dumb some girls looked, jumping about, screaming like they were possessed in the presence of a bunch of sweaty dudes, the only good neuron they must have, she thought, was only good enough to tell apart a calorie from a protein.“Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you alright?” the man asked. His voice was plagued in concern. The man had a very masculine voice, so much so, Sam forgot she was lying on the floor. He offered his hand to help her get back on her feet and asked once more, “Are you alright? I'm really sorry! I didn't see you coming.”She shook her head slightly.
He did not smile. Not even out of courtesy, he just never learnt to pretend. He wanted to leave, get out of there, jump on a bus and get away from all those flashes and camera sounds photographing him.Little by little he managed to distance himself from all these people, while some of the security staff, designated by FIFA, tried escorting him to the outside. Dominik answered in monosyllables only, begrudgingly, to each and every question he was asked, all ranged from: «How do you prepare yourself for the game?, » to «Was she your girlfriend? » This last question made him shake his head and frown. «The girl», he thought to himself. He turned his head, looking around for her, but to no avail It's like she disappeared into the air. He answered with a strong, loud "no" as he carried on.Escaping the journalists, paparazzi and fans usually drained him. There was always a group of bodyguards, security or police officers ready and willing
Samanta ran to the front door to open it, otherwise, Carlos would knock it down. It was almost 6p.m. and she was fixing dinner for herself and her sister Teresa. Now she had to set up another seat at the table, because, if she was sure of something it was that Carlos loved her mac & cheese.“Come in, come in. Hurry. I left the stove on and the macaroni is almost ready. You know I love them…”“Al dente” her friend concluded as he closed the door behind himself. “Tell me, I'm all ears. How'd it go?”“Great!” Sam replied from the kitchen. “I answered every question. I think I'll get well over the 2000 point mark.”“So… UCLA?” Carlos mentioned and Samanta noticed a certain tone of mockery in his words.“You know it's my most… realistic choice” she said.“Right, right. That and the fact that some poor peasants must resign to
The sun was rising as a new day began. Sam got out of bed, showered, got ready and had some breakfast before she left for work. For some strange reason, she could not stop thinking of the strange encounter from the day before. What she could not understand was why she felt like she knew this man from somewhere, even when she could not remember where? She showed up to the airport and smiled as she reminisced of what had went on in her mind. Today seemed as though it would be much hastier than the day before, since, in one day the much anticipated World Cup would begin. People from all over the world were coming and going. She walked into the cafeteria and prepared herself for a long day at work. That day she had to do a double shift, making up for the time she took for her SATs the day before. Gordon was thoughtful, but also strict when it came to work. It would be a boring morning since her friend would come in until past noon. She would have to deal with costumers w
«This is insane. This is insane.» Dominik kept saying to himself. He was supposed to be practicing in just a couple hours, but he decided to escape from his hotel to go to the airport. He could not sleep well thinking of that girl. That feeling of necessity he had never felt before forced him to reprimand himself after such foolish behavior. None the less, he kept his intention of looking for her. He had a feeling he could find her there. Why not? He just knew it. He was only following his instincts.«She could have just been passing by. Like me», he questioned once more this crazy idea taking over his mind. «I'll just give her back her iPod. That's it», he said to himself, like this would keep him from feeling like less of a fool from what he was doing.The probabilities of finding her in a place packed with people every day were minimal, but there he was, taking a cab, on his way to the LAX in Los Angeles.He got out of the