My Four Superstar Ex-Boyfriends

Chapter 2: Czech Krumlov

Czech Republic, the small town of Krumlov.

"Mom, I'm fine now, really fine, you don't have to worry about me. It's not hot here in the summer, the house is made of stone, even if the temperature outside is high it's not hot inside! You really should have come over and spent the summer with me. I've found a nice house here, the one you said looked cozy, and the rent is acceptable, so I feel like I can live here with the money I made as a text translator. By the way, I've also made new friends. It's not that big of a place, so it's easier to make friends here! Yeah, I met a new friend at my landlady's birthday party. She's a German teacher at the high school! Yeah, I won't have a language barrier with her, I'm just going to meet her today!"

After ending the video chat with her own mother, Emily closed her computer and let out a deep breath. There were still 40 minutes left until her appointment with that German teacher at the high school. It was okay though, she didn't need to rush just yet because this place she was in right now was really a very small town. If she hadn't needed to take her luggage to the bus station, maybe she would never have used a cab here, and even her bike would have been optional.

This town in the southern part of the Czech Republic is small but not spartan, and almost every few steps you see very cute houses. They usually have red roofs and don't all look alike. A meandering river makes a big "s" shape in the town, giving everything a fairytale atmosphere.

It is an isolated town with forests and rivers, valleys and castles.

On her way to the closet to get her clothes, Emily inevitably saw her fatter self in the mirror. Now, she was able to look at herself in the mirror more openly. But being open didn't mean she liked it.

She'd never known she wasn't the kind of girl who was good enough to stand next to her four boyfriends. That kind of girl should at least have a body that's different from the average person's, like a moving clothes rack, and the status of an actress, a singing superstar, a supermodel, the daughter of some rich businessman, or at least a childhood friend who grew up together and is used to make people believe in love.

But Emily's 1.65 meters tall can only be considered not too short next to those ex-boyfriends of hers. Even before she broke up with Borukorin, she was only on the mild-mannered side. This kind of look might have been more popular in Asia, about what people often call a little family girl with some spirit. But she's in Europe now. If she wanted to be complimented on her good looks, she should have high cheekbones and narrow eyes anyways.

And, she was now thirty-two pounds fatter than she used to be.

Looking at the fat-faced person in the mirror, Emily herself thought she looked ugly.

"Emily, how is your job now, are you busy?"

At the coffee shop called "99", Emily, who always used to arrive ten minutes early, waited for her new friend, Carolina.

Carolina was wearing a very pretty sheath dress today, and the bright colors made the smile on her face even brighter. She wasn't one of the bony beauties Emily had seen over the years; Carolina was clearly stronger, and her short blonde hair gave her a feminine toughness.

Today, they ordered the same special waffle of strawberry pulp with fresh milk, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. It was simply the most wonderful dessert Emily had ever had!

You know, spending too much time in the UK always makes you feel infinitely less demanding of all kinds of food.

But before Emily, who was sitting face to face with her new friend in the coffee shop, could properly look forward to today's waffle, the teacher, who taught German at the school, gave her a cold shock! She said, "Emily, we're looking for a teacher to lead the soccer team at our school. I'd like to recommend you for an interview at the school."

Upon hearing this question, Emily's expression froze on her face, and she simply didn't know how her new friend could ask her such an unpredictable and not at all logical question in such a calm tone! It was as if her friend had just come over and asked her, "Emily, why don't you go shave your head? I think you'd look good with a shaved head.

So what the hell is she supposed to say to a question like that?

Carolina: "I made it a point to ask, the job doesn't pay very well but it doesn't require too much of your time, every day from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Of course, you will need to take at least a half day out on Saturdays and Sundays."

Carolina, wait a minute!

Carolina: "You might also have to take the kids to another school to play a game or something if it comes up when there's a tournament, but it's usually not too far away, knowing that our school's soccer team doesn't have a very impressive record. But that's something you can't let the boys feel, you have to try and motivate them. Motivated boys take everything else more seriously."

"Listen, listen Carolina, I think ......"

Emily, who was almost about to be carried away by the other's thoughts, rushed out to try to interrupt her, and that was when the girl from the café brought up the two waffles that had just been baked. After the sweet-looking girl smiled at Carolina, who had been living in town all along, and left, the Czech woman, who had been communicating with Emily in fluent German, gave her capper: "I think this job is perfect for you."

Emily: "......"

Emily felt out of place in her conversation with this very fastidious Czech friend, and in fact for a long time she had become accustomed to accepting other people's arrangements. This was of course because her life for almost a decade had all revolved around other people and her will was never the issue.

For example, she had been living well in Southampton and had found a job as a translator. But in order to be with Borukorin, she gave up her job and moved from England to freezing Moscow. She never had the notion in her head that her boyfriend could change the club he played for just for her. And she always had the notion ingrained in her head. She thought that all she was giving up was a job that paid two or three thousand pounds a month. And for her player boyfriend to change clubs for her would be a mistake that could be regretted for years to come. What's at stake is the future of a player's career.

So she was used to accepting it, rather than thinking about what she wanted.

Obviously, in this conversation with Carolina, this inertia came back to haunt her, and she was almost completely carried away by this Czech's thinking. It was hard for her to find her voice, which led her to say, "But I don't speak Czech at all! How am I going to teach those children!"

Carolina was almost fooled by Emily's stupidity when she asked back, "What do you think I teach in school?"

"German." Emily scratched her hair before the point of the question finally occurred to her, "Well, leading a soccer team at school doesn't require very much in-depth interaction with people. But, Carolina, why did you find me? I don't know how to play soccer, I've never even played."

"Emily," Carolina called Emily's name once, a look of utter incomprehension of the other woman appearing on her face as she asked rhetorically, "Wouldn't it be too easy for you to lead a varsity soccer team? Lo and behold, your first boyfriend is now in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund as the core of the team. Your second and third boyfriends are at Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it's fun to watch them play a couple of matches every year. My fourth boyfriend, who just broke up with me, is at Manchester United. Every boyfriend you've dated has been a world-class player, so they have to talk to you about soccer, right? They had to talk to you about what their training routine consisted of and what the process was like? They probably also talk to you about the tactics and ideas of their team's manager?"

Emily nodded her head at almost every word Carolina said, trying and failing to refute it, so at the end of the sentence, the bright Czech woman asked with a raised eyebrow, "So you're telling me you can't actually lead a varsity team? Uh-huh? Do all riders and trainers have to have been horses themselves?"

And then Carolina gave Emily the final blow, "Emily, this job should pay, like, thirty thousand Czech crowns a month, which is ...... almost twelve hundred euros."

After hearing that such an easy job could actually pay that much, Emily immediately said, "When is the interview! I'd like to give it a try! I think I need this job!"

And so on!

It was only after Emily had returned to her temporary home in the town of Kromlov that she realized what she had promised! She opened her mouth wide, but all that came out was a small, soft "ah".

She felt like she should have thought about staying away from soccer! She didn't want any more of those damn player boyfriends! She didn't even want to fall in love with anyone anymore! But now it was only thirty thousand Czech crowns a month! And she'd compromised once again!

No, no, she just needed to go up to this very small town with a bunch of really cute middle schoolers. She needed the paycheck.

So the question comes back, what should ...... the soccer team be carrying? How should ...... the varsity team be led?

She knows all about the training process, programs and menus of the pros, but what is the intensity and manner ...... of training for the average middle school student?