Chapter 6 - Dominik

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 to intervene for his physical integrity.

He made it into the bus, after 15 minutes of walking, stopping and dodging nasty questions from sports reporters who, lately, had been criticizing his attitude on the playing field, since Dominik seemed a little rebellious when it came to abiding by his coach's strategies.

A guy with a frown and his arms crossed at the chest glared at him. Dominik could not keep his laughter in towards such predictable behavior from Friedrich, whom, in spite of being his friend, took his managerial and publicity roles much more seriously.

“Oh my! We're finally good enough for you to join” Treadaway let slip.

“Don't touch my nose, Friedrich” Dominik seemed hostile towards the reproach.

“Don't touch your nose? What the hell is your problem?”

“Hey! Calm down, both of you” Ewald intervened.

“Dom! You're on T.V. again” Ahren Degener mentioned, the national team's goal keeper, in a mocking tone.

“And the net” Theobold Bartram added, the center defense.

Dominik stuck his sight onto the 21 in plasma screen displayed up above the bus corridor. The news they were all talking about had nothing to do with his career, but something he did not enjoy talking at all, let alone have somebody else talk about it.

“Who is the girl, eh?” Teammate Edmund Brauer sounded a little nosey.

“What a doll!” Hector Rodríguez remarked, holding an iPad between his hands, with his typical accent, making it obvious he came from Costa Rica.

Dominik came up to the side defense, snatched the iPad and stared at it.

“You held it in well, Weigand” his teammate Derek Neisser joked.

“Tell us how you kept a girlfriend on the other side of the world with none of us noticing” Rodríguez' joke made him crack a smile.

“What are you all talking about? I don't even know her” Dominik shrugged.

“We know, Weigand. We're only joking” said Rodriguez remembering Dominik could never understand such jokes.

That was the nice thing about being in a team, more se, being that team, they were not only doing their jobs, they were a family. Each one of them were their own person, but at the same time, they were an organism kept alive through friendship. Although Dominik was Ewald's “favorite,” at least that's what the sports commentators said, no one in the team felt left out, especially, they never let jealousy get way. No. If one of them was not OK, everybody else were there to support him, if one of them was attacked, they would all stand up for him, besides, Dominik —in spite of his strong character— was an amazing person towards his friends, meaning he always did all he could to help them. His peculiar ways made it even more special for his teammates. He was like that little brother everybody wanted to look after.

It was only logical linking Dominik to that woman, the whole team knew better than to believe that of Weigand, he was not the type. Moreover, they very well knew he had gone for almost one year away from any steady relationships since he broke it up with his high school sweetheart, he was very focused on achieving everything he had set himself upon by the time he was 30.

“Who is she?” Friedrich asked seeing those pictures on the screen, showing Domink chatting to this girl.

“I don't know” Dom shrugged once again. “The girl came running into me. Literally.”

Friedrich squinted and gave him a harsh look.

»Oh, come on! Are you implying you believe all that crap?” Dominik seemed offended.

“Maybe if you acted like a man your age and did not cause all that fuss, the media would stop talking so much about you” Treadaway let out.

“You better tone it down. Remember the only one who could tell me what I could or could not do passed away December 9 last year. You work for me, not the other way around. Keep that in mind” Dominik skewered.

Sometimes he could not help being cruel. It wasn't like he planned snapping, he just lacked the tack to express his thoughts.

Silence took over the bus.

Dominik went further into the vehicle. He did not feel like keep fighting with his best friend. He pulled out the iPod from his pocket and sat on the seat before last. He took his ear buds and, just when he was about to turn the device on, he noticed something weird.

The music player he was holding was at least 2 versions older than his own; also, it had a sticker of a cartoon cat and some Swarovski rhinestones adorning a violet case.

“What the actual heck?” he muttered as he searched his other pocket, where his device actually was.

He looked at the ugly sparkly thing and risked turning it on. Although he did not enjoy that kind of music, he knew who it was, Il Divo. Not the kind of music Dominik would enjoy listening.

He could not help it, smiling like a fool as he remembered the incident and thinking of that smile... that beautiful girl.

«What? How?».

He shook his head strongly. Nothing nor no one was to distract him from his true objective. Besides, he had full conviction that the heart was an organ, scratch that, a muscle that worked only to pump blood, not to hold stupid feelings. He felt great the way he was. IF he ever felt the need to blow off some steam any given night, he could always just call any of his many girlfriends. It was that easy. No sentimental mess.

He put the girl's music player back in his pocket and took his own. He put on the ear buds, reclined his seat and was about to relax while Black Box Messiah by Diablo Swing Orchestra was playing. That was one of the few current bands he could stand listening to, he liked 70's bands better, 80's, 90's and early 2000, he thought all music after 2005 could not be considered music.