19This Chapter has been Remastered
And if this is what we've got
Then what we've got is gold
We're shining bright and I want you
I want you to know
The morning's on its way
Our friends all say goodbye
There's nowhere else to go
I hope that you'll stay the night
Stay the Night - James Blunt
*Flump*
Todd MacLaren set down his luggage on the floor of the room was staying in. The room had a bed in the corner, a small chest of draws with a lamp on top, a small desk with a chair, and finally a closet. He sat down on the floor and went about sorting out his stuff. Todd and his team the NZ Icebreakers were on the final night of their Tour of the Americas. The team was in a small town in Mexico. They were lucky to stay in a traditional Mexican house to finish off their tour, in order for them to get the best experience possible.
After everything was in order Todd left the room. He wore a cyan hoodie T-shirt, a pair of navy blue shorts, and black trainers on his feet. He walked out to the patio where he found his friends talking.
"Why couldn't we just stay in a hotel?" Stacy asked
"Seriously?" Tony said in disbelief "this is way better than a hotel, this is Mexican Culture at its finest" he gestured around the room. "No I didn't mean it like that it's just that this is someone's house it doesn't feel right, I mean I feel like we're intruding"
"Oh Chica, please don't feel like that it is only our pleasure to have you," Silvia Rodriguez said as she walked past. She and her husband, Rafael, and their daughter, Francisca were kind enough to let them stay in their home.
"Ah! Todd, you ready? Mrs. Rodriguez offered to give us a tour of the town" Stacy said excitedly.
Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses "Ready as I'll ever be" he replied as he put them on.
"… and over there is where Ernesto De La Cruz was laid to rest" Silvia then pointed to a giant mausoleum "He was one of the greatest musicians who ever lived, oh that reminds me we have some of his music and films at home if your interested" the group all nodded as she continued. Todd, however, was standing at the back of the group admiring the beautiful Mexican town of Santa Cecilia. He knew this was probably the first and last time he would ever come to Mexico. He just wanted to soak up as much atmosphere as possible and without realizing it he began to drift away from the group.
The sound of barking snapped Todd out of his trance, he quickly turned around and saw a hairless dog pouncing up to him. Todd smiled and knelt down, petting the dog smiling as he did so. "Hey Bud" Todd worked on a farm during the school break and as a result had a big love for animals especially dogs. "You're a Xo- Xolo- (sigh) Mexican Hairless dog"
"Dante?!" he heard a voice call out, the dog's ears perked up and looked in the direction the voice came from. Todd turned in that direction and saw a young boy running up to the dog whilst holding a toolbox of some kind.
"Hey" Todd greeted while standing back up
"Hey, sorry about Dante"
"Oh, don't be, I love dogs" Todd then rubbed Dante's head causing the dog to wag his tail happily. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Todd, Todd MacLaren" he then extended his hand.
"I'm Miguel Rivera, a pleasure to meet you," Miguel said with a smile as he shook Todd's hand. "You're not from around here are you?" he questioned as he noticed his distinctive Kiwi accent.
Todd let out a small chuckle "Nope, I'm on a tour with some friends" he then gestured to his group.
"Huh, well in any case welcome to Santa Cecilia"
Todd smiled "Thanks, man"
"Hey Todd, stop bothering the kid and come on" Stacey then called out to him.
Todd rolled his eyes and turned to look at her "Hey, I'm not bothering him" he then turned back to Miguel "I'm bothering you right?"
"Of course not"
"Well anyway, nice to meet you" Todd raised up his fist "Catch you later, aye?"
"Catch you later" Miguel gave Todd a fist bump and with that Todd ran back to his group. After a while of looking around Todd and his group were being led back to the house, Silvia offered to make them all some Mocktales to cool off. As they were walking through the plaza, Todd noticed Miguel being led away from the plaza, looking like he just got scolded, he then saw him pluck a poster off of a nearby wall unfortunately Todd didn't know what it said. Todd turned around and quickly caught up to his group.
Once back at the house, Todd and his friends sat on the patio, enjoying the drinks Silva had lovingly made. "Man, this place is just awesome," Tony said as he leaned back in his chair
"Yeah, cannot argue with that" Stacey replied, taking a sip of her drink. Todd on the other hand just sat in his seat quietly deep in thought.
"You okay Todd? You're awful quiet" Craig said, patting Todd's shoulder. Todd looked up at him.
"Yeah I'm fine it's just can't believe it's nearly over, I mean it felt like only yesterday we touched down in Alaska" Todd took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "It's been an adventure and a half."
The team nodded in agreement "Yeah it's been crazy in the best way possible, But at the end of the day: there's no place like home." Tony declared.
Yeah, it was a fantastic trip but Todd already was feeling homesick, after all, he was just a kid from New Zealand, a place literally on the other side of the world, a place he had been gone for too long it seemed. He couldn't wait to jump into his bed and devour his mothers cooking and whatever else he could find in their pantry.
"Ha, can't argue with that!" Todd said "Hey that's my line! Get your own" Stacey whined with a pouty look on her face. Todd let out a snicker.
"Hey, would it be cool if I went for a walk?" Todd asked, crossing his fingers behind his back. "Yeah, but just be careful please" Craig warned "Always am" Todd then set off to the plaza.
As Todd walked to the plaza he noticed posters advertising a talent show, "Must be what Miguel took earlier" he thought aloud. When Todd arrived at the plaza, he pulled out his phone to take some pictures then out of nowhere, Dante bounded over to him, yapping happily. "Hey Bud," Todd said, rubbing his head. Dante bounced around him and tried to tug his arm "You want me to follow you?" The dog barked as if he was saying yes. "Okay then lead the way".
After a short walk they arrived at a small building, Dante then climbed up to the sign on the roof he then turned to Todd letting out a small whine.
"You want me to go up there?" Dante yapped quietly at Todd. He quickly looked around to ensure no one was around "Alright dude, I'm trusting you". He quickly climbed up to the roof and moved the sign before crawling in after Dante.