11. A(n) (Un)Pleasant Victory

Leaving the Melbourne Victory stadium after the game, we saw a surprising amount of Mexican football fans who were ecstatic after the first win of the tournament. They made a noisy exit with festive chants and colorful fan gear in their euphoria after having won their first u-17 game of the tournament, and were also convinced there would be more to coma. Over the last thirty years, their youth national team had become one of the best in the world with six world cup trophies and over thirty regional trophies, in addition to five international ones. The Australian fans weren't too pleased by the result of the game--how could they be?--but they were especially not happy with the Mexican players. 

We watched on the televisions in the halls of the darkened stadium that led to the exits how Kalin and his team had to be escorted out of the venue because Australian fans were throwing things at them such as food and cups of beer. But the players walked happily, nothing was fazing them, and they were still celebrating the victory with one another. Kalin was at the front of the procession out of the stadium towards the waiting bus, the captain's badge wrapped around his arm proudly, and there was a bright smile on his face that was unmistakable. He was one of the happiest people in the world to have won the game because even though he had chosen to represent Mexico, many fans had their doubts about him being on the squad and being captain.

Now he had proven that he was just as loyal to his national team than any of his other team mates, even if he wasn't Mexican by birth or if his family was originally Australian.

Luke and I stopped to watch the stadium televisions for a moment as the boys were then booed off the field by the Australian fans. People walked around us, except one that seemed to recognize Luke from the youtube videos he used to film with his friends and brothers when he was younger, and he shoved him forward. "Keep moving, you fucking betraying cunt." The person said to Luke. It had been someone who knew that Luke was part of the Janoskians and that he was Australian.

I gasped as I saw Luke stumble forward, the rest of the family had gotten lost in the crowd. They hadn't spotted what was happening on the field and were probably already out of the stadium. With lightning speed, Luke turned to face the obnoxious rival fan, and he confronted him with a growl, "Why don't you just walk around me, mate?" Luke said to him through gritted teeth, his hands closing into fists as he prepared for a fight that seemed almost inevitable now.

"You're just as much a fucking traitor as your son." The guy continued, his words filled with venom.

"My son chose Mexico because Australia never called for him, and because he feels Mexico is his true home. He has lived there his entire life, and I'm gonna support his decisions-" Luke began to explain with a clenched jaw that was just about ready to snap, but he stopped himself short. "But I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone, so fuck off."

Just before the argument could get out of hand, Jai and Beau seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere. Jai held Luke back, while Beau pushed the other guy back and tried to talk to him into letting the argument go. I watched helplessly behind Luke, thankful that his brothers had arrived just in time to stop him from doing anything stupid that he would later regret. Getting into a fight with someone at the stadium would not only bring negative consequences for him, but the press would surely be getting pictures of all of it, and I was sure they would use it to harm Kalin somehow. They would all blame him, since everything bad seemed to be pinned on him now.

The fight was extinguished before it even broke out and we were on our way, out of the stadium and back to our hotel where it still took a while for Luke to cool down. I had to talk to him through feather light kisses and soothing words that everything was okay, even when we both knew it wasn't. Being in Australia was beginning to become a dangerous thing for Kalin, and as a sixteen year old boy, he didn't even realize the dangers of being that famous. Luke was fuming that he, Kalin, and the rest of the family were now coined as traitors when all we were doing was supporting our son who had every right to choose which national team he wanted to represent.

On Australian television channels, the negative media coverage on Kalin continued pouring into the homes of the people who resided in the country. Many sports analysts even swore that if Kalin had chosen to play for Australia, they could have won that match, further straining the relationship with my son and the rest of our country. 

Later that afternoon, we would be going to Gina's house to celebrate the team's victory. 

She was very proud that Kalin had done so well during his first game at the under seventeen world cup. For us, as his family, we were used to it because we had seen him participate in so many tournaments. But for the rest of the family it was something new and they wanted to make a big celebration out of every victory. His grandmother was so proud of him that she had gotten posters made at the local print shop and she had hung them up on her windows with joy. Beau, Luke, and Jai cautioned her that it probably wasn't the best idea to do that, since many people were upset with Kalin at the moment. But she didn't care. It was her house, and she was going to display her love for her grandson the way she wanted.

Once Luke had calmed down, we got ready at the hotel, we mostly just washed the face paint off and then headed out to Gina's. We still wore our green jerseys with Kalin's name on the back. Gina had her television on in the living room where everyone was sat around having drinks and snacks while we watched the Mexican sports channels to watch interviews about Kalin. They didn't want to watch the Australian channels because they knew there would only be negative comments about our son, and she also didn't want Luke and I to have to see those things being said about Kalin.

Instead she clicked on the subtitle option on their television so that they could understand what was being said. 

The teenagers and kids left us, the adults, in the living room and went to do their own thing. Bastian was probably going to play video games with his cousin, and Liz would probably be gossiping with Brissia and Jaicey. It was surprising the way that the three girls had become that close in a matter of a few days. They were just liked when Beau, Luke, and Jai were living at Gina's house growing up.

Finally after an analysis of the game, they showed a video of the post game press conferrence. Due to the insecurity at the stadium after the game, the interview had to be shot at the hotel for the players' safety. 

The press and Kalin avoided the subject of his dual nationality, per my request, because everything had already been said and done. Any more being spoken about it would just make the situation worse. Instead they only talked about the events that had taken place during the ninety minutes of the match, and what was in store for the national team in their next game. Just watching him there on my television made my heart ache because he was already getting public scrutiny from everyone. I couldn't imagine the way he would be treated if people found out he was the son of two siblings. 

As the night progressed, Luke and I said a goodbye to Gina and the kids. We had asked them to spend the night at her house, and she was glad to have them there. We would be heading to the national team's hotel to take part in a victory rally. There would be music for the boys, and hundreds of people were expected to attend in order to celebrate the victory. Our daughter Liz had wanted to go with us, but we convinced her that it would be too difficult to even get close to Kalin, and she decided to stay behind. 

But we wanted to be there and show Kalin that we supported him, even if our country didn't.

-

another update for this story. from here its going to get so much better, i promise. more daniel, and many more confrontations and drama. i hope you like the new chapter and thank you loads for reading and voting. it means alot!

have a great week.

-clary xx