LAX Airport
Los Angeles, 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 had nothing to lose by trying.
It was a busy day at the airport. People would come and go, rushing in or out. Typical international airport. But that day seemed a little more hectic than usual, which was to be expected since, in a couple of days, a major event would begin. An event that would gather millions of people sharing the same passion.
The Football World Cup was to be disputed shortly and the United States was to host.
The Stub Hub Center in LA was chosen for the opening ceremony and the first match, which was scheduled between The US and Germany.
She knew all about it because Carlos, her best friend and sports fanatic, told her.
Carlos and her were great friends of 4 years. Samanta came to the US when her older sister, Teresa, having widowed, asked her to come from Mexico, where their parents live. Teresa had married an American man who lost his life in the battlefront in Afghanistan. Teresa devastated and with help from the American government, managed to get her only sister to the United States.
Samanta was excited to move in with her sister, besides she had many more chances at getting to study what she had always dreamed of.
Sam and Carlos first interactions happened during grade 9, when they learned they were neighbors. Carlos lived with his mother 3 doors down from Teresa. They became inseparable ever since, to such extent that whenever either of them was looking for a part-time job, they would both do it together.
And that was how they started working at the same place five months back.
Samanta, like always, is listening to the costumers while pouring their coffee. It was inevitable. Listening about what they did in their last business trip, how they miss their families and how exhausted they were after their long flights.
“Samanta?” her friend's voice made her turn around. “It's time. You should go or you'll be late.”
As she looked at the clock, she realized the minutes had gone by quickly.
She took off her apron and waved at Gordon, their boss, letting him know she was leaving. The man nodded and mouthed something Sam did not even see well. Sam could not see it, but she knew what he had meant.
Good Luck.
She took her bag, picked up her affairs and said goodbye to some of her co-workers.
Carlos gave her a big smile and gave her a big hug saying:
“You got this!” he believed in his friend blindly.
“Thank you” Sam said and hugged him back, just as tight.
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
Both hearts beat strongly. Samanta couldn't help blushing and Dominik noticed, which put a big smile upon his face.“It's you” he mumbled and shook his head strongly. “Do you work here?”The girl nodded.Dominik came up to the bar again and looked both ways, luckily there were no other costumers waiting in line.“Don't worry” she said. “I won't walk into you gain, don't be scared” she broke a smirk. “Sorry about yesterday, I really am” Sam stuttered the words out.“No. Don't even mention it. I was distracted. I didn't even see you” He shrugged. “I was…” Dominik held himself when he noticed was he was about to say.«I was looking for you? Really, Dominik? Could you try not to sound like a total stalker?». His conscience snapped.Samanta frowned noticing this man across the bar from her was doing all these weird gestures.»Uhmmm, I…” he mumbled.“SAMMY!”A voice made Sam turn away suddenly in the opposite direction. She could see her boss on the other side of the store grimacing at her.
If there was something Dominik loved, that was feeling sweat running down his forehead and his body. Also, the feeling of his own heart beating frantically.He ran and ran. He loved running. It was the most special time of the day, he could connect with his own thoughts and that afternoon, that one afternoon, he had something on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about it, actually, her.«What the fuck is this?», he asked himself after the fifth failed attempt to stop thinking of Samanta. He could not quite grasp how it was possible for some girl whom he only met twice to keep him so upset. He would close his eyes, and there she was, smiling at him.“One more lap and we'll call it a day. You can go rest, boys” Ewald said, raising his voice.Almost two hours went by since practice began and each one of the coaches did their part. It was time to wrap up and run a few laps around the stadium. It was the day before the opening match and the coach didn't want to push his men too hard, jus