Christmas Day
That Christmas morning, Tai was sleeping soundly, getting the best sleep he had in about 2 weeks. All those interviews about the upcoming Old Firm match up had tired him out a lot. Since it was Christmas day, it was likely he could get a little extra sleep until he had to wake up and go to his teammate's Christmas party. It was then that he was awoken by a loud noise that jolted him from his sleep. He looked around to try and locate the source of the noise and saw that it was coming from his phone. "Hello?" He asked in a groggy voice.
"Hey, Tai!" The voice on the other end said. At first, he recoiled from the voice, but he could tell exactly who it belonged to.
"Hi Kari," he said in a groggy voice. "What is it?"
"Well first off, I want to say, 'Merry Christmas'!" Well, that one was obvious. "And second, I want you to know that T.K. and I are coming to Glasgow!" Oh, that was ni—wait, what!
"What did you say!" He asked. Now he had fully woken up, thanks to Kari's little announcement.
"I'm coming to Glasgow to see your game against Rangers!" She said. "We want to see you play Davis!"
"How long have you been planning this for?" He asked as he got out of bed. "Three days?"
"Actually, I've been planning it for months!" She replied. "In fact, TK and I are at the Narita International Airport right now!"
"Now!" Tai said in and astounded voice. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I didn't tell you because I wanted to keep it a surprise, silly!" She replied. It figures. "Hey, is Sora there?"
"I guess," he replied. "I'll go check. Hey, Sora!" Tai called after he opened his door. He suspected Sora may have been awake by now, since he could her some music coming from the living room of his Glasgow apartment. Although his hair was messy—bed hair—it was beginning to look longer, pretty close to the length it was when he was having those adventures in the Digital World. There was also chatter, possibly Sora and Biyomon. He knew Agumon wasn't in that conversation, since he was still sleeping in Tai's room.
Tai turned the corner into his living room, and sure enough, there was Sora, sitting on the couch with Biyomon, listening to some Scottish Christmas music that Maggie must have given her. "Oh, hey Tai!" She said once she noticed him. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas," he replied. "Kari wants to talk to you."
"Oh she does?" Sora said with a smile on her face. Apparently, she had forgotten about the previous night or something like that, because she wasn't being so... what's the word he's looking for? "Well, let me talk to her!"
"Oh, sorry," he said. He must have dozed off for a minute there before handing his cell phone to Sora.
"Hey Kari!" She said. Tai went over to the refrigerator to get some milk while he listened to Sora talk with Kari. "So, what did you want to talk about? ... Oh, really! ... That's great; I can't wait to see you guys! ... Well, we're probably going to open presents before going over to the apartment of Tai's teammate for a Christmas party ... Well, we think it'll be fun. Some of Tai's other teammates will be there, as well ... Luke Chapman, Gary Robinson, Kevin McKenzie, and probably some other players, those are the ones I know ... I don't see why not. Adult Americans and Brits give each other gifts, so I didn't see why we shouldn't ... So do you have tickets to the match? ... It's going to be big, I hear there's going to be a large police presence ... Well, I know someone who can get you some tickets ... Tomorrow? Okay, I'll see you then, take care now! ... Bye!"
"So what did she say?" Tai asked as he took a bite out of his toast.
"She's going to be in today or tomorrow," she said. "It is probably because of the long flight."
"I see," he said.
"Merry Christmas Tai!" Agumon's sudden entrance caused Tai to spit out his milk in surprise, while Sora tried very hard not to laugh at his comedic reaction.
"Merry Christmas Agumon," he replied, trying to recover from that.
"So when are we going to open presents?" He asked. Tai looked at Agumon with an intrigued look on his face. Although the dinosaur-like Digimon could be very mature at times-some times even more than Tai was back in the day-he could still have the same enthusiasm of a child. Of course, whether or not that's a good thing is another story. "And are you going to take your Digivice to the party?"
"Why would I?" Tai asked. "There's no need to take the Digivice, and if you want to open presents now, then knock yourself out." Agumon cheered and ran to the tree where the presents were. Finding a couple of packages that read 'TO AGUMON' on them, he quickly ripped into them like a typhoon at a seaside fishing village-or a tornado at a trailer park. Tai just watched the little dinosaur tear the packages in surprise. Agumon could certainly do some damage! "Just don't open anything that's for me," he said.
"Here's something for you!" Agumon said anyway, holding up a package with Tai's name on it.
"Toss it over here, Agumon," Tai said. However, one look at Sora's face made him change his mind. "On second thought, I'll come over there," he said. Agumon handed the package to Tai when he walked over to the tree. A quick unwrapping later and Tai found he was holding a show box.
"Open it," Sora said. She had a smile on her face, as if she knew there was something that would interest Tai. This of course, got Tai excited and he took the top of the box off to find more paper. He gave Sora a quick look before removing the paper. She must have wanted him to be excited.
Well, he was, because what he saw when he opened it made him smile from ear to ear. "New shin guards!" He said.
"Yep," she replied. "I noticed your old ones were getting worn out, so I felt I should get you some new ones. I don't know whether the club will let you wear them, but I'm still glad you like them."
"Of course I like them!" He said. "Thanks a lot!"
"Are there any for me?" Biyomon asked.
"There's something for you under that tree," Sora said. Biyomon scurried over to the tree and began scouring for something before finding one
"Here it is!" She chirped, holding up a package with the words 'TO BIYOMON' written on it. The bird-like monster tore the wrapping off, revealing another box. Biyomon then opened it and got a look at the merchandise inside. "Birdseed!" She shouted. Tai watched with confusion, as did Agumon.
"Birdseed?" He asked.
"She's grown fond of it," Sora replied. Tai nodded his head, but he still looked confused. "Is there anything for me in there?"
"Here's one from me!" Biyomon chirped, holding up another package. Sora had to wonder just how she got that, but she suspected that she had gotten it online. It seemed to be the most logical explanation. It would explain the strange charges he had gotten on her credit card bill. If it was, she'd have to scold Biyomon for that. She walked over to the tree and took the package from Biyomon. She tore the wrapping paper off and got a good look at the gift. Her face brightened as she got a good look.
"Wow, Biyomon!" She said. "I love it!"
"What is it?" Tai asked. Sora held up the gift. It was a picture of her and Biyomon from their adventures in the Digital World. "Wow," he said. "That's great!'
"I know," Sora said. "It's going to have sentimental value. Thanks, Biyomon!"
"You're welcome, Sora!" Biyomon replied. "I've also found one for Agumon."
"For me?" Agumon asked. "Let me see!" Biyomon handed the package to Agumon and the small dino-like Digimon tore into the wrapper. Agumon also brightened. "I love these things!" He said.
"What are they?" Sora asked.
"I love steaks!" Agumon said, holding up some prime beef. Tai snickered and Sora shook her head. "Here's one for you, Tai," he said again. "It's from me!"
"Oh, thanks, Agumon," Tai said as he walked over to him. He tore off the wrapper and got a good look at the item. He too, smiled. Just like Biyomon had done for Sora, Agumon had done for Tai. "It's an old photo of us," Tai said. In the photo, he and Agumon were giving a 'V' sign. "It's great, Agumon."
"I'm glad you like it," Agumon said. "Oh, here's one for Sora, from Tai."
"Really?" Sora asked. Agumon handed the package to Sora. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I did give him something." She tore the wrapper off and looked at what it was. The gift left her breathless. "Tai," she said. "Thank you so much." Just like Biyomon and Agumon's gifts to their partners, Tai had given her a picture. But this one had special meaning. In the photo it was her and Tai in their old football/futbol/soccer kits. The sentimental value was massive. "Thank you, Tai!" She said as she gave him a big hug, prompting him to blush like a ripe tomato.
"You're welcome Sora," he said as he hugged back. "But I got something else for you, too." He pointed to another package under the tree. Biyomon took the package and handed it to Sora. It was bigger than the other packages that had been given previously and Sora wondered what it was. She opened the package and got a look. There was a box and she opened the package to see what was inside. Again, she was rendered speechless.
"Wow," she said as she put it on the table and pulled out the contents. Inside were two of Tai's Celtic shirts; one with the green-and-white hoops, the other yellow. The yellow one had a black number and name.
"The yellow one is from the game I scored twice in two minutes against Aalborg," he said. "The other one is from the Villarreal ma—hey, what's wrong?"
"It's unfair," Sora said. Tai could see that she had some tears in her eyes. Why she did he had no idea. "I mean, you give me things that mean a lot to you, and I give you some shin guards," she said, trying not to crack. "It's completely stupid on my part."
"Hey come on," he said. "It's not that bad. I'll wear those shin guards against Rangers on Saturday if that makes you feel any better."
"It sort of does," she said. "But I wish I had given you something much more sentimental. I mean, you gave me a shirt from your greatest triumph, and I here I am, giving you shin guards."
"Relax," Tai said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I appreciated the gift. I don't understand why you're getting so upset."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me. I guess it's just that I was surprised."
"I'm not sure why you'd be surprised," Tai said. "But I guess I should be glad you like my gifts."
"Of course I do," she said as she gave him another hug. The hug felt nice to the two 21-year-olds and it reminded them of their old friendship back when they were young. For Sora, it reminded her of… forget it. The two broke off the hug and turned back to the Digimon, who were staring at them. Luckily Sora knew how to end that. "Is there anything else there?" She asked.
"There's one from your mom Sora," Biyomon said. "I think it might be a new kimono."
"That would be interesting," she said as she took the package from Biyomon."
"By the way Tai," Agumon said. "What are we doing today?"
"Well Sora and I were invited to a Christmas party held by one of my teammates," Tai said. "Since he doesn't seem to think Digimon are real, I suggest you two stay here and just watch TV for the day."
"Ooohhhh," Biyomon groaned. "I wanted to go."
"Sorry Biyo," Sora said. "But we'll probably bring something back from the party."
"But why can't we come?" Agumon asked, starting to get desperate.
"I don't think my teammates would be too happy about a pair of Digimon show up," Tai replied. "They might freak out."
"Oh darn," Agumon said. Sora meanwhile, had finished tearing the wrapping paper of off her mother's gift and took a look inside. Indeed, it was a kimono, but it was not the kind of design she was expecting.
"A Celtic kimono?" She asked, examining the Celtic FC crest on the kimono.
"I never expected that," Tai said. Although Tai was confused, it did seem to give Sora some strange idea in her head. She seemed to remember something and bolted to her room leaving Tai behind very confused.
About 30 minutes later, she came back out, carrying some paper under her arm. Tai tried to get a look at it, but she hid the papers from him. She gave a look that said, 'not a chance'. He rolled his eyes in response, wondering just what she had on those papers. He looked at Biyomon and Agumon and shrugged. He watched as Sora put the papers in some kind of folder. Agumon though decided to change to subject to Tai's teammate's party.
"What time is this party?" He asked. "I think it's at about 2:00. His apartment is a couple floors below ours."
"That's convenient," said Biyomon. "Who is this teammate?"
"Scott Michaels, an American," Sora replied. "He invited Tai and I to the party after the Villarreal match."
"Really?" Biyomon asked.
"Yep," Tai replied. "We got some things for the party and they probably got something for us. Of course, I don't think Scott really said we had to get anything for the guys, but it doesn't hurt to bring anything, now does it?"
"I guess not," said Agumon. "Now can we finish opening our presents?"
"Yes, we can," Sora replied.
[][][]
With all of the presents opened, it was time to relax until it was time for the party. Tai had gotten some new football boots from his mom and Izzy had given him a new calculator. Joe had given him a sports medicine book in case he suffered something like a torn ACL. Really, that part was simply how to recover from a torn ACL. Ken had given Tai some boots as well. As for Matt, well, he didn't get anything from him; which is a shame really, since he felt he was still on good terms with him. He did get something from his mom and dad—each separately. Mister Ishida had given him a tape of an old interview on Fuji TV while Ms. Takaishi gave him a report on his Aalborg match. But since he and Davis were now sworn enemies, there was no way in hell Tai was getting anything from him.
Sora had gotten new shoes from Mimi—no doubt bought on Rodeo Drive. She had also gotten some make-up from Mimi as well. That lady sure loved to shop. She too got something from Matt's parents, probably since they saw her as a surrogate daughter even though she and Matt had essentially broken up. Yolei had sent her a JEF Chiba United shirt. Why she had done that, she didn't know, since she wasn't a JEF fan. Since Kari and TK were going to be in town tomorrow, they would get their presents from them.
For the rest of the morning, the roommates simply watched TV or prepared for the party. Tai got some time in to watch films of Rangers matches from this past season. He had seen Rangers in his debut match, but he didn't really get a chance to face them as a starter. He laughed to himself. He had come a long way in just a matter of months.
Rangers' top scorer was Kris Boyd, and he was tough to stop, being a goal poacher. Their playing style (at least in this story) was primarily defensive. Of course, there was also Davis. From his time with Kashima Antlers, he knew that Davis was a primarily defensive midfielder but when he was in position, he could be a real scoring threat. The Light Blues (Even though they wore regular blue), Teddy Bears (rhyming slang) and/or 'Gers would be a tough opponent. Of course, for this, we will just call them the Rangers, or just Rangers.
Sora meanwhile continued working on the papers she had with her. Just what they were he wasn't entirely sure, but she really seemed involved in them. When she was not working on that, she was mainly working on some food she was going to bring to the party. And yes, Tai, Agumon and Biyomon helped. There was no way Sora was going to do it alone.
Finally, at about 12:50, it was time to get ready to leave. Tai gathered up the packages he was bringing to Scott's apartment and Sora just gathered some of the food they were making. Not only that, she brought some of the papers she had been working on. Tai could not understand just what was so important about those. And no matter how many times he tried to ask, she would not tell him. "I'll tell you later," she said. Okay, so maybe she might tell him. "Biyo, Agumon, we're leaving now!" She said as she and Tai left the apartment.
"Bye, Sora!" Biyomon called.
"Don't get into trouble!" Tai said.
"We won't!" Agumon replied. With that, Tai and Sora closed the door.
The trip to Scott's apartment didn't take long. This was obvious since the apartment was only a couple floors below theirs so it was just a short trip on the elevator/lift to the floor. The doors opened and the two stepped out on to the floor. Eventually, they found Scott's apartment. There was some music coming from the door, which told the two that they were late. But there was no time (or need) to get angsty about it. Sora wasted no time in knocking on the door.
"Coming!" A male voice called from behind the door. There were some footsteps before the door opened. Scott got a look at the two before the brown-haired, blue-eyed 21-year-old Chicagoan smiled. "Kamiya, you made it!" He said. "I was wondering when you'd get here."
"I wasn't going to be late," Tai replied. "And what the heck are you wearing?" The fair-skinned, but slightly-tanned midfielder looked confused at first before he noticed Tai was pointing to his apron that said "KISS THE COOK" over a black T-shirt.
"I'm making lunch and dinner," he replied.
"You are?" Sora asked. "Does this mean I made this for nothing?" She held up the food she made. Scott raised his eyebrow and shrugged.
"Well, actually, I don't see why we can't serve this anyway," Scott said. "Anyway, come on in! The gang's all here!" Tai and Sora stepped in the door. They weren't wearing coats, so they didn't need to hang them up. "Hey, Maggie!" Scott called. "Takenouchi brought some grub!"
"She did?" Maggie Gordon asked. She was a 21-year-old Glaswegian lady with brown hair, brown eyes and a slender build. She didn't look too bad, either. "How are ye, girl?" She asked Sora. "Happy Christmas!"
"Not bad," Sora said. "But I have no intention about talking about romance."
"Fair enough," said Maggie.
"So Scott, who's all here?" Tai asked.
"Well, Luke Chapman is here," he said, referring to one of Celtic's English midfielders. Chapman's red hair was shorter than Michaels' medium-length hair and his green eyes contrasted with Scott's blue.
"Good to see you," Chapman said as he greeted Tai.
"We've also got Gary Boyd," Scott said, pointing to the Scotsman. He had grown hair and brown eyes.
"How ye doin'?" He asked.
"Not bad," said Tai.
"And rounding out the gang, we've got Kevin McKenzie," he said, pointing to a brown-haired, green-haired man.
"Nice to see ye," McKenzie said. All three were around Scott and Tai's age of 21, save for Robinson, who was 24.
"So, we were just talking about what we got today," Scott said as he sat down. "What did you get?"
"I got some new boots and shin guards," Tai replied. Being the footballer he is, the football-related items went first.
"Not bad," Scott said. "Nike or Adidas?"
"I got one Adidas pair and one Nike pair," Tai said.
"Going for variety, huh?" Chapman asked. It was then Scott threw his head back, remembering something.
"Oh, that reminds me," he said. "You want something? I got beer and soda pop in the fridge."
"Beer?" Tai asked. "What do you have?"
"Oh, I've got Carling, Budweiser, MGD, Miller Lite and Tennent's," Scott replied. "If you don't want that, there's some Coke and Irn Bru."
"Irn Bru?" Tai asked. "What's that?"
"It's only the best damn soft drink in thae world!" Kevin McKenzie said. Tai looked at him confused.
"Scottish pop," Scott replied.
"I think I'll have Miller Lite," Tai replied.
"Good choice," Scott said as he got up to get Tai a beer.
"Ah yes, go with the American crap," said Chapman. Scott shook his head in annoyance as he left the TV area to go into the kitchen, which was separated from the TV room by a counter. Scott took a couple of beers from the refrigerator and brought Tai's Miller Lite over to him while he had a Miller Genuine Draft in his hands.
"Thanks," Tai said.
"No problem," Scott replied.
"So what were you all talking about?" Tai asked.
"Boyd, McKenzie and Chapman were about to talk about their youth clubs," Scott said. "And we were going to talk about Saturday."
"I've done some checking on Kris Boyd," Tai said. "He's a goal poacher, so he camps out in the penalty box waiting for the ball and then he strikes. I also know a few things about Davis Motomiya."
"Motomiya?" Scott asked. "Well, then let's hear it!"
"He's primarily a defensive midfielder," Tai replied. "But when he's ready, he's a good offensive midfielder, too."
"How did ye knae aboot 'im?" Boyd asked.
"He was my teammate at Kashima Antlers," Tai replied. "He was only on the team for one year, but I got a good look at him when we played."
"Nice," Scott said. "Mike Jefferson is like you Kamiya. He tends to rely on speed and agility to outrun any defenders."
"By the way Scott, what's with the ridiculous apron?" Tai asked.
"Didn't I already explain?" Scott asked indignantly. "I made the food myself."
"Scott!" Maggie called from the kitchen. Chapman's and Boyd's dates were also in the kitchen along with Sora. "Isn't it time fer more glaze?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Scott said, getting up from his seat. He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl. Something was sticking out of it and Scott took it over to the sliding glass door. "Gentlemen, if you could please follow me," he said. "And put something warm on." Scott, Boyd and Chapman put jackets on while McKenzie and Tai came without anything. They would regret it. Scott opened the door and stepped into the Scottish air. Instantly, Tai was hit with a blast of cold air as the trio stepped out. When they got onto the patio, they noticed something on the deck.
"What is that?" Tai asked. The object was black and cylindrical shaped and stood on four posts.
"This," Scott said, "Is your Christmas dinner." He grabbed a handle and lifted up the cover. The cover revealed a grill and several pieces of meat cooking on the grill.
"What are those?" Tai asked.
"Baby back ribs," Scott replied as he took a bit of barbeque sauce on his brush and brushed it on the ribs. "We're havin' barbeque for dinner."
"What!" Chapman asked. "Are you daft?"
"No, my family just has different Christmas traditions," Scott replied. "Besides, my dad sent these to me for a special occasion, so I might as well use 'em."
"That's nice, but can we please get back inside?" Tai asked. "I'm freezing!"
"Oh, sorry about that," Scott said. He closed the lid of the grill and ushered the other players inside before closing the door. As Scott returned the barbeque sauce to the counter, Tai got a look at Scott's wall. It was covered with various awards and pictures of Scott's and even some old shirts. One was green, one was white with the word 'GATORS' scrawled across it. One was the familiar U.S. Soccer jersey and of course, a Bronze Medal. Tai shook his head. He just had to flaunt that, did he? There was one picture of a man with his arms spread out like wings and holding a basketball in one hand. Tai suspected who it was, but he could not come up with an answer. "That's Michael Jordan," Scott said, startling Tai. "Sorry about that."
"Michael Jordan?" Tai asked. "Why him?"
"Well for one thing, I'm from Chicago," Scott replied. "And he's practically a god in Chicago. Besides, he's a huge influence on Jimmy and I."
"How?" Chapman asked.
"Well, his determination and drive to win inspired us," Scott said. "By the way Kamiya, who influenced you?"
"Ronaldo," Tai replied. "The guy had mad skills."
"Is 'e talkin' aboot the Brazilian?" McKenzie asked.
"Duh!" Tai shot back. "Well, him and Maradona. The Goal of the Century is my favorite goal of all time. They guy could just take any play and make it magnificent."
"Maradona, huh?" Scott asked. "Well, I guess he influenced me, as well."
"For me it was David Beckham," Chapman replied. "The man's a great player and he's from the East End."
"East End?" Tai asked, as he was very confused.
"It's in London!" Chapman replied in an indignant manner. "Except I'm from Fulham, to I guess that's ridiculous." He shrugged.
"My favorite player was Henrick Larsson," said McKenzie. "He had magnificent footwork and he had a knack fer scorin's goals."
"Edwin van der Saar," said Boyd. "He's a great 'keeper."
"Figures," Scott said as he sat down on his seat. "So you want to know what those photos are of, Kamiya?"
"Why not?" Tai asked.
"The one on the far left is my high school team after we won the IHSA state championship," said Scott. "The name was the New Trier Trevians, if you want to know."
"What about the second one?" Chapman asked.
"The second one is my Florida Gators team when we won the College Cup last year," he said. "Even though that was my third year."
"Did you even graduate from university?" Chapman asked.
"Yep," Scott replied. The other guys looked at him with shocked faces. "What? It's not unheard of for someone to graduate in three years!"
"It is for us!" Tai said.
"I went to summer school and took a lot of classes; 18 hours per semester," Scott replied. "Does that explain it for you?"
"I guess so," said Tai. "I really should go to college, now that I can think of it. Maybe I'll apply to the University of Glasgow."
"That'd be a good idea," Scott replied.
"I didn't really get a chance when I was playing with Kashima," Tai said. "I guess now I might have a chance."
"You probably should," Scott said.
"When I was with Fulham, I took some university classes," Chapman said. "I should probably finish as well."
"I have some pretty crazy stories about one 'event' in college," Scott said. "My teammates and I were in California to play UCLA. We were staying at a hotel not to far from the campus so that night, one of my teammates decided to pull a prank on the UCLA team…"
We're going to cut away from the guys for now to focus on the ladies. They were mostly in the kitchen, but only one was making food, and that was Maggie. Sora did not, since she had already made some shrimp. Scott's snacks included some tiny roll-up wieners and chocolate chip cookies/biscuits. Sora was having one of them as she talked with Maggie. "I really need a job," she said. "I have a work permit from the Home Office, but I haven't been able to find anything yet."
"I could try and get ye a job with the club," Maggie replied. Although it was never mentioned before, Maggie is an employee for Celtic. That's how she's able to get great seats for the matches. "Would tha' help?"
"Probably," Sora said. "You're a good friend, Maggie."
"Nae problem," Maggie replied. "Sae, what'd ye get?"
"My friend Mimi got me some shoes and make-up," Sora replied. Maggie gave her a look. "I think she got them at Rodeo Drive."
"Rodeo Drive?" Maggie asked. "What's she doin' in LA?"
"She goes to college at UCLA," Sora replied.
"Oh, that makes sense," Maggie replied.
"I also got a kimono from my mom," she said. "But it was green with a Celtic crest sewn into the fabric."
"Oh?" Maggie asked. "Is that sae?"
"Yep," Sora said as she grabbed a little roll-up wiener. She took a bite of the little hot dog to see what it was like. It didn't taste too bad. She then took a bite of some Ritz crackers that Scott had put out.
"Wha' else have ye tried?" Boyd's date, named Nora asked. She had straight brown hair, contrasted with Maggie's wavy hair.
"I tried to submit a design to some design company," Maggie said. "But they rejected my design."
"Och, tha's tae bad," Nora said. "If ye ask me though, fashion design shouldnae be your future. Ye should try something else."
"Like what?" Sora asked. "I guess I should take Maggie's offer and work with the club. But then again, I'm reluctant to do so."
"Well, if ya really want tae do this fashion thing, maybe ye should give it another try," Maggie said, getting more cookies/biscuits out of the oven. In the background, the guys could be heard laughing about some joke Scott made.
"I do have something," Sora said as she grabbed something from the table. She opened up the folder and took out several drawings. She took one and handed it to Maggie. "What do you think of this?" She asked. Maggie got a look at the drawing. The drawing showed a man wearing a football kit. It was apparently a football kit, and it looked like a Celtic kit. But the thing was, it had different coloring. The hoops were yellow and black, and the shorts were black as well. The socks were black and yellow.
"That looks good!" Maggie said. "Where'd ye get this?"
"I saw an image of an old Celtic away kit," Sora said. "I think it was called the 'bumblebee' kit or something like that, so I decided to design a kit like that."
"I like it!" Maggie said. "It looks like a real Celtic kit!" She handed the drawing to Nora and Chapman's date, Mary. The two got a look at it and they came away very impressed.
"That is good!" Nora said.
"It looks like a good football kit," the English lady said.
"You think so?" Sora asked. She was starting to get encouraged by their praise.
"I think we should show this tae the players," said Maggie. "Scott!" Scott heard Maggie calling him and he came over to the counter.
"So anyway, we were in Hawaii when-what is it?" He asked. Maggie handed the kit design to him.
"Have a look at this," Maggie said. Scott got a look at the kit and showed a face of interest.
"I like it!" He said. "I think I'll show this to the guys." He walked over to the players and showed Sora's design of the kit. All of them, Tai included, reacted to the kit positively. Tai even said that he loved the kit. But that's when he remembered the papers."
"Sora, is this what you've been working on?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I love it!" Tai replied. 'I want to play in it!"
"Why don't ye submit it tae the club?" Maggie asked. "They might like it."
"You know, maybe I will," Sora said. "Who knows, it might work out."
"Well, what if ye don't find anything?" Maggie asked. "What are ye gonnae do?"
"Well, I might be a little rusty," Sora said. "But does Celtic have a women's team?"
"Aye," Maggie replied.
"Then I might try out for them," Sora said.
"Tha' sounds good," Maggie said. "I guess ye might have a chance."
"The problem is, I've been playing tennis for the past several years," Sora said. "I used to play football, but I dropped that for tennis. I still don't know why."
"HA!" Maggie said. "Aye, I played football as well. That's why they hired me as a scout. I would play fer the ladies' team but my work won't let me."
"That's too bad," Sora said.
"Hey Sora!" Scott called from his chair. At the same time, Tai got up from his seat.
"Where are you going?" Sora asked him.
"Restroom," Tai replied.
"Oh," Sora said. "Okay." Then she remembered that Scott had called for her attention. "Yes Scott?"
"Kamiya was telling me you had a boyfriend," he said. Sora sighed in annoyance. "Did you break up with him?"
"Yeah, I did," Sora said.
"Why?" Scott asked. "Did he cheat on you or anything?"
"No, he didn't," Sora said. "Really, we just grew apart. He had his band, and I had my own things to do. I don't hate him or anything; it's just that it didn't work out in the end. So, since I wanted to broaden my horizons, I got a work permit from the Home Office and stayed with Tai."
"Oh, I see," Scott said. "So the flame just burned out, huh?"
"Yeah," Sora said. But she didn't know that Tai was listening to their conversation.
"So that's why she stayed!" He said to himself. He really had no idea why Sora had stayed with him and not gone back to Japan, but now he knew. Of course, he had to wonder why she wouldn't tell him and she told a practical stranger. But he left the hallway and returned to the party with Sora none the wiser. His beer was finished, so he went back to the fridge to get another beer, this time a Carling. He might as well have a drink of the sponsor. "So Scott," he said. "How'd you get your work permit?"
"Well, in order to play, I had to have dual citizenship," Scott said. "Since I already had dual citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, I was in the clear."
"Really, I don't know why the SFA has that silly rule," Chapman said, referring to an SFA rule that foreign-born players had to hold a European passport in order to play. "It's just ridiculous."
"I agree," Scott said. "Speaking of which, I've been appealing the club, the SPL, the SFA and UEFA."
"To do what?" Chapman asked. "You didn't do anything wrong!"
"To change my number!" He replied. "I want to change in to #23."
"Number 23?" Tai asked. "Why?" Scott didn't answer; well, at least not verbally. Instead, he pointed at his picture of Michael Jordan. Tai instantly got the point. "Oh," he said. "By the way, did you get anything from US Soccer about your national team eligibility?"
"What?" Boyd asked. He was unsure of what Tai was talking about.
"I got suspended from the US national team after I got into that fight with Kamiya," Chapman groaned and put his head in his hands. He knew exactly what Scott was talking about; it was his question that started the whole ruckus. "Well, I got great news," he said. He held up a piece of paper with the US Soccer crest on it. "I got the letter from US Soccer president Sunil Gulati today. I have officially been reinstated into US Soccer!"
"Alright!" Tai said, giving Scott a high-five. "Will you be selected to the qualifying team?"
"Hopefully!" Scott replied. "I hope Coach Bradley will select me for the friendly against Sweden or the first qualifying match against Mexico."
"The FA told me I might be selected for one England's group matches," Luke said, referring to England's UEFA World Cup qualifying.
"Good luck with that," Scott said, somewhat uninterested. Chapman made an indignant face at Scott's snub. Tai stifled his laughter. Then he remembered something.
"Oh, by the way," he said. "Kari's coming to Glasgow. She's coming to see the Rangers match."
"I'll get her some tickets," Maggie said. "Two for her and her boyfriend."
"Thanks Maggie," Tai said. "By the way," he turned to Scott. "What about your brother, Jimmy? What's he up to?"
"His team is playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl," Scott said. "They're playing I think the Kentcuky Wildcats."
"Wait, 'Bowl'?" Boyd asked. 'What does yer brother, play anyway?"
"American football," Tai replied. The other players groaned in response.
"He's a quarterback," Scott said. "He plays for the University of Central Florida Knights and—HEY! What are you groaning about?"
"Why is he playing a sissy game like that?" Chapman asked. Scott replied by giving Chapman the dirtiest look imaginable."
"Say that to Jimmy, I dare you," Tai said. Scott laughed in response.
"It's true," Scott said. "He said, 'if football players are pussies then why do soccer players roll around on the ground if they get hit'?" Chapman and McKenzie rolled their eyes while Tai, Boyd and Scott laughed.
"Is that really what Jimmy said?" Tai asked. "Because I remember you said something else."
"Well that's what the gist was," Scott said. "So how do you guys like the party?"
"It's good," Boyd said.
"Not bad, huh?" Scott asked. "Especially for an atheist!" Boyd and McKenzie suddenly began staring at him and Tai just looked at him. "What?"
"You're an atheist?" Boyd asked.
"Can we not get into this?" Tai asked. "I don't fucking care!"
"Exactly!" Scott said. "Look, you know what the phrase in the collar says? It says 'it's not the creed nor nationality that counts. It's the man himself. You know what that means?"
"Aye," said Boyd. "Sorry."
"We play for Celtic F.C.," Tai said. "The motto of Celtic Park is 'a place where a man is judged by his football alone'. I've done my research, okay? I know the club was formed by Irish Catholics and it's still part of the culture, but we're an inclusive club!"
"Damn, Kamiya," Scott said. "You're good at this."
"Yeah, we're not like those Rangers bastards," Tai said. Scott stifled a laugh at Tai's surprising statement. Even Sora was surprised. "You know, if they want to wave those Union flags, why don't they play in England?" Scott, Kevin and Boyd were doubled over in laughter while Chapman shook his head at the four of them.
"I think you've been affected by playing here," Scott said.
"I know," Tai replied. "I think I'm an Irish Republican. I'm not even Irish!" Scott again snickered at Tai. Tai just shook his head, though. "I just don't understand loyali—I gotta stop, my mouth is running away from me!"
"You bet your ass," Scott replied.
[][][]
About three hours later, the ribs were done. The footballers and the ladies were seated at a table Scott had set up in the dining room. "Here it comes," Scott said as he brought the ribs into the dining room, laying it on the table. "Baby back ribs for Christmas," Scott said. "Is there no better combo?"
"I can probably think of some," Tai said as he grabbed a rack.
"I'd rather have Christmas pudding," Chapman said as he tried to cut his ribs.
"I don't know how to make that," Scott replied. Chapman shrugged in response. "I know how to make things like cookies and brownies, but not Christmas pudding."
"Whatever," Tai said. "I'll just enjoy myself, thank you very much."
"Good call," said Scott.
"Wait till my mom hears that I had barbeque ribs for Christmas dinner," said Sora.
"Same here," said Maggie. "My ma will be amazed! 'Ribs? What are ye, some kind of American redneck?'" Scott burst into laughter at Maggie's crack.
"Nah, I didn't learn that in Texas," Scott said. "I learned it from my dad."
"He knows that stuff?" Tai asked after taking a bite of his ribs.
"Yep," Scott replied. "He's a cool guy." Just then—
RING! RING! Scott groaned. It was his landline phone. He was not happy about having his dinner being interrupted. He answered the phone while Maggie decided to tell Tai something.
"I got tickets for the first row at Ibrox," she said. "Yer sister will love them."
"Are they close to the pitch?" Tai asked.
"Sort of," Maggie replied.
"JIMMY!" Scott said in the background. It must have been his brother on the line. "Wait, you want to be put on speaker? Okay, hold on." Scott pressed a button on the phone and hung up the receiver before walking back into the room. "Okay Jimmy, I want you to say hi to everyone!"
"Scottie, I'm not a little kid!" The voice of Scott's little brother shouted in the background. Maggie and Sora giggled.
"Why'd you put him on speaker?" Nora asked.
"He asked to be put on speaker," Scott replied. "So what's up in Northfield?"
"Not much," Jimmy's voice replied. "Mom and dad got your gifts though."
"Did they like 'em?" Scott asked.
"Well, mom loved hers," Jimmy replied.
"Is this really necessary?" Tai whispered to Sora.
"Would you do the same for Kari?" Sora asked.
"Point taken," Tai said. "So Jimmy, I've heard about you." The phone went silent.
"Who the fuck are you?" The voice asked. Scott snickered. Obviously he knew Jimmy, so this was unsurprising. Sora and Tai, however, were not pleased.
"That's not polite!" Tai said.
"Who do you think you are, my mom?" Jimmy's voice asked from the phone. Scott shrugged at Tai.
"I'm Tai Kamiya," Tai replied. "I'm friends with Scott."
"Oh, that's nice," Jimmy's voice replied. "I'll bet you're one of those pussy-ass soccer players, aren't you?"
"Don't direct it at Kamiya," Scott replied. "Focus it on Luke Chapman and Kevin McKenzie. Hell, Chapman called football a pussy sport."
"WHAT!" Jimmy's voice bellowed. "Well, he should be talking! Why is my game a sissy sport when soccer players roll on the ground for ten minutes after getting hit?"
"I guess that's the real quote," said Tai.
"He needs to learn some manners," Chapman said.
"By the way Kamiya, are you Japanese?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, why is that?" Tai asked.
"Coach O' Leary's trying to recruit some guy from Japan," Jimmy said. "I think his name is 'Sohma' or something like that."
"Hello Jimmy," Maggie said. "I'm Maggie, I'm the girl Scott has probably told ye about."
"Oh yeah, Maggie," Jimmy's voice said. "My mom knows about you. I think she likes you."
"Oh, thanks, Jimmy," Maggie said.
"I gotta go," Jimmy said. "Mom wants me to eat breakfast."
"Okay Jimmy," Scott said. "See ya!"
"See ya!" Jimmy hung up on the other and Scott hung up as well. Scott eventually rejoined the table.
"Was that really necessary?" Chapman asked.
"Probably not," Scott replied. "But it felt nice to talk to him again."
"Wait till you meet my sister," Tai said.
"It should be nice," Scott said, going back to his ribs. For the rest of the hour, things went nice. The footballers and the girls had a pleasant talk (sort of) and things went well. Jimmy's cameo didn't have much effect on the rest of the evening, anyway.
[][][]
After dinner and Jimmy's cameo, the footballers and the girls sat down in the TV room for some more socializing. Scott was telling the girls about the story he was telling to the other teammates while Tai continued talking with the other players. "We had some pretty crazy times in South Korea," Tai said, telling a story. "We were in our hotel when we heard this knock on our door. We went to the door and there was some smoke bomb in front of our door. Well, it wasn't an exploded smoke bomb, so it wasn't bad. The next morning, when we were leaving, the doorman asked if we had a good night. Want to know what our answer was?"
"What was it?" Chapman asked.
"It was a bomb," Tai said. Chapman and Boyd broke out laughing, as did the girls. But they were laughing at Scott's story.
"Scott," said Maggie. "I think it's time we opened presents."
"Oh, that's right!" Scott said. He leaped off the chair he was sitting on and went over to the tree in the corner of the room. "I got presents for you guys," he said. "McKenzie; Chapman; Takenouchi; [Nora] MacGregor; [Mary] Smith; Kamiya, here you guys go."
"Thanks Scott," Sora said. "We also got something for you and Maggie."
"Really?" Scott asked. "Where are they?"
"Over here," Sora said as she grabbed the two packages. The other footballers had already opened their gifts and were looking them over.
"What the bloody hell is this?" Chapman asked.
"No swearing!" Scott replied.
"What is this, anyway?" He asked. It looked like a shirt.
"Couldn't really think of anything for you," Scott said. "So I just got you a Chicago shirt."
"Scott, what is this?" Sora asked, holding up a flag.
"It's an Erin go bragh flag," Scott said. "I want you to wave it on Saturday."
"Really?" Sora asked. "Are you just giving us joke gifts, though?"
"No," Scott replied. "I got you a Celtic CD."
"Oh," Sora said, holding it up. "I do like this."
"I like the shirt," Tai said, holding up a red jersey with a Native American head on it. "I think."
"That's a Chicago Blackhawks jersey," Scott said. "They're an ice hockey team. Also, IO gave you a DVD; That 70's Show."
"Oh," Tai said. "Open my gift, will you?"
"Hold on!" Scott said as he was opening Tai's present. He got a look inside and rolled his eyes. He held up a shirt that said 'I'm with stupid' pointing upwards. Sora rolled her eyes and facepalmed while Scott shook his head. "I take it someone's still not happy about losing."
"Couldn't you have given him something else?" Sora asked, handing her present to Scott he opened his and was impressed by it.
"It's a movie," Scott said. "Godzilla?"
"I thought it would be a good idea," Sora said.
"It's not bad," Scott replied. Maggie held up her gift. She seemed to be kind of confused by it.
"Wha' is this?" She asked.
"It's a yukata," Sora said. "My mom made it."
"Oh, I should thank her," Maggie said. "Send her my thanks."
"You're already welcome," Sora said.
"Well then, now that everything's taken care of, let's put some music on," Scott said. He walked over to the iPod sitting on the little stand and put a song on. The song began and the whole group could tell what song it was as they sang along.
"Hail! Hail! The Celts are here!
What the hell do we care?
What the hell do we care?
Hail! Hail! The Celts are here!
What the hell do we care now?
It's a grand old team to play for
And it's a grand old team to see
And if you know its history
It's enough to make your heart go sad
God bless them
We don't care whether we win, lose or draw
What the hell do we care?
Because we only know that there's going to be a show
And the Glasgow Celtic will be there!"
[][][]
The next day, Tai and Sora went to Glasgow's Buchanan Hotel where Kari and TK were staying. Naturally, once Kari saw Tai in the hotel lobby she ran right up to him and gave him a big bear hug. "Tai, how are you?" She asked.
"It's nice to see you too, Kari," he replied. "TK," she said glaring daggers at him. TK just smiled back.
"You don't have to do that," he said.
"Sorry TK," Sora said. "He's just the overprotective type, you know that."
"But he knows me," TK replied. "He doesn't have to be like that."
"Sorry TK," Kari said. "Oh by the way, we have your presents."
"Oh thanks Kari," Tai said. "When do we open them?"
"When we get to your apartment," Kari replied. "By the way, do you have tickets for the game on Saturday?"
"A friend of Tai's teammate works for the club as a scout so she was able to secure tickets to the match on Saturday," said Sora.
"Oh wow," said Kari. "I should thank her!"
"She'll be coming to the match as well," Sora said.
"Sounds good," Kari said. "I can't wait to see Davis's face when he sees me cheering against him!" Kari's comment was more light-hearted, but Tai's next comments were anything but. And he said this with an incredibly dark look.
"He's going to regret joining Rangers," Tai said. "I'm going to make him pay."
"Wow, Tai's really upset," Kari said. She was getting kind of scared of Tai's face. "He's acting like David broke u—"
"Don't." Sora said. "It's just that the Old Firm rivalry is so big that Tai was upset that Davis is playing for Rangers."
"Wow," Kari said. "This rivalry must be big."
"You have no idea," Sora said. "You have no idea."
[][][]
End chapter
Man, this thing is finally done! I had been working on this one chapter for half a year. I really had meant to get it in sometime, but I never did. Well, up next is the big match; the Old Firm, Celtic and Rangers; Tai vs. Davis; Scott vs. Mike. It's gonna be big!