Izan woke up the next day feeling a bit sore in all kinds of places. The match yesterday had taken its toll on him.
Izan freshened up a bit before going out to complete his task for the day. The streets of Alboraya were still silent as they should be during this time of the morning.
Izan, after completing his task, didnāt linger about anymore as the weather wasnāt all that favourable and started heading home.
Komi, who had just woken up, went on her morning rounds in the house. After checking that everything in the house was without fault, she headed upstairs once more.
She opened the door to Horiās room and found her daughter sleeping peacefully. Komi smiled a bit before proceeding to Izanās room.
She opened the door and as expected, Izan wasnāt in his room. "This kid needs to rest sometimes", she muttered before proceeding to organise her sonās room well.
The door to the house opened as Izan walked through. Izan went ahead and took some water out of the refrigerator once he was in the kitchen.
After gulping down the whole bottle, Izan went to the bathroom as he felt a bit sticky all around from the sweat.
After a refreshing bath, Izan collapsed onto the bed to continue his unfinished business. Meanwhile, Hori and Komi prepared for their day.
Komi went upstairs after breakfast and headed to where Izan was. "School begins in 2 weeks. Is there anything you need?" Komi said after opening the door to Izanās room.
Izan, who heard the word "school" from his mother, was jolted up from his sleep.
He looked at his mother before shaking his head. Itās that time of year when school resumes.
Izan, even after becoming a professional footballer couldnāt escape the clutches of school. Izan fell to the bed again and waved his hand to Komiās question.
"Okay then. Miranda will be here tonight to talk about the deal with Adidas, so be prepared, " Komi added before going out.
Izan slept for a while after Komi and Hori left and If not for the rumbling sound coming from his stomach, Izan would have continued to sleep.
Izan, after the prompt from his stomach, woke up and went downstairs for his breakfast. After a hearty breakfast, Izan sat on the couch to watch some TV.
After searching for a while, Izan turned to the Laliga channel. The pundits were talking about the matches played by Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Izan sat, put down the remote, and listened eagerly. After a while, he felt that the segment was getting a bit boring and tried to change the channel but Izan stopped when he heard his name.
Izan turned up the volume a bit as the pundits seemed to be talking about the match the day before.
"Okay, Jorge, now letās talk about Valenciaās match yesterday", the female pundit spoke. "Well, what more can you say, Christina? Valencia played well, and a win proves it. They took their chances and they battered Osasuna"
"Heading into the game, I was actually on Osasunaās side, but Valencia proved wrong with another great performance with 3 wins in 3 games", Jorge ended.
Christina nodded before asking the other pundit. "Michel, what are your thoughts about Valencia ".
"Well, I also agree with what Jorge said, but Iām more in line with the performance of a singular player", Michel said.
"Could you elaborate further on your thoughts?" Christina asked. " I got a word and itās Izan. In the last three games of Valencia, heās been excellent".
"Four goals and four assists in just 3 games proves my point. Not just that, but heās threatening on the ball. In the last three games, Izan has been fouled 22 times, and this number is just ridiculous ".
"And another thing we turn to gloss over is the fact that he is not even 16 years old. None of the greats showed their dominance at 16 years, and I, for one, canāt wait for him to mature," Michel added before ending.
"Well, we hope he goes on like this, and weāll be looking forward to his upcoming performances", Christina said.
Izan, who was still listening to the segment, was grinning in all sorts of angles. "This feels good," Izan thought.
After the segment, Izan felt that he was still not well-rested and decided to sleep a bit more. The afternoon went by, and the evening came, and Izan was only woken up by the sound of the door unlocking.
Hori, who had closed from school, entered the house and headed towards the living room. "How was school," Izan said asked after the latter sat down.
Hori looked at her brother with a disgusted face after he spoke. "What are you, Mom," Hori said while taking out her phone from her bag. "Come on, Hori, donāt be like that", Izan said with a smirk.
"If you act like that again, I swear Iām going to stay with you", Hori said while performing an act of stabbing.
Izan smiled at Horiās action before looking around. "Whereās mom," Izan asked after not seeing Komi around.
"She said sheāll be coming home later and asked me to come first. Sheās probably going to pick up Miranda or something " Hori said.
"Or her boyfriend " Izan added. "Momās got a boyfriend " Hori exclaimed after Izan spoke. "Well, I donāt know," Izan said with a teasing smile.
Hori, who saw Izanās teasing smile, understood what her brother was trying to do. "Youāre so childish," she said before throwing a pillow at Izan.
The two siblings bickered for a while and only stopped when they heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.
Izan rushed to the door and opened it before Komi could touch the handle of the door. Komi, who was about to open the door, felt surprised and tensed when the door opened by itself.
It was only when Izan came into view that she relaxed. "Good evening, Maāam", Izan said with a charming smile.
"What are you up to" Komi said as she entered the house. "Nothing much, Hori just wanted to know why you didnāt pick her up from school and if you had a boyfriend, " Izan said intentionally saying the latter part out loud.
"No, I did not," Hori said with her fists clenched. "Did too" Izan said childishly. Hori chased after Izan for a while but couldnāt catch him.
Komi, who saw her two kids getting along, smiled before closing the door behind her. "Izan, stop worrying, you sister," Komi said, prompting the two to stop.
"And to Hori, No, I donāt have a boyfriend," Komi said. "I didnāt ask that question" Hori screamed before heading upstairs.
"Izan, help me with dinner," Komi said after she got to the kitchen. The mother and son duo went about the kitchen expertly, and soon enough, the dinner was done.
"You like Miranda, donāt you," Izan suddenly said while taking off his apron. Komi, who heard this, froze. "Yo- you, how, donāt say such things," Komi said with a nervous laugh after regaining a bit of composure.
"Mum, mum, itās okay," Izan said. "I like her too" Izan added. Komi looked up at her son who was smiling at her. "Sigh" " I found it hard to love a man other than your father, but then Miranda came in and swept me off my feet and then and then,", Komi said in small sobs.
"Mom, itās okay, itās been a while, and you deserve to be happy. Besides Iām more comfortable with Miranda than I would with any man", Izan comforted her mother.
"Really" Komi asked. "Yes Mum, be happy," Izan said again. Izan pulled his mother in for a hug and the two stayed still for a while.
"By the way, how did you know?" Komi asked. She was sure she didnāt leave any clues, so how did her son find out?
"I didnāt, I just found your relationship with Miranda a bit awkward. And you smiled whenever you said her name, so I tricked you into telling me yourself by asking that question, and your reaction said it all," Izan spoke.
"You little trickster", Komi said, picking up the spatula to hit Izan, but the latter ran. Hori, who heard the ruckus downstairs, came down only to find her mother chasing after Izan.
"Weird," thought before going upstairs again. Komi finally stopped chasing Izan when she heard the doorbell ring.
Izan, who also heard it, ran with all his might to the door. "Good evening,step-mom," Izan said after he opened the door.
Komi, who followed Izan to the door, hit her child in the head with the spatula. "Stepmom?" Miranda asked after she entered the house.
Komi sighed before telling Miranda what had happened and how Izan had tricked her into telling about them.
Miranda smiled before hugging Komi. "Wow rubbing it in," Izan said. "Just be good to her, okay" he added.
"Anyways, what happened with the meeting," Izan asked. Miranda was about to speak but Komi stopped her. "Letās have dinner first before we go into it," Komi said before heading towards the dinner table.
Izan and Miranda followed suit as Komi called Hori down for dinner. The dinner between the four was lively as Komi told Hori about her relationship with Miranda.
Hori first thought it was a prank, but when did her mother ever prank her? Ultimately she was happy as she didnāt want her mother to be with another man.
Another woman, however, was a different case. Komi who had now gotten this off her chest felt refreshed and was also happy that her kids were good with her relationship.
After the dinner the Komi and Miranda sat down with Izan to talk about the deal. "Okay Izan,its time for business" Miranda said with a cheesy smile.
A/n: Another chapter for you guys