The auditorium was huge. A big, tall, and void hall it was. He could hear the echoes as the event organizers talked and talked. There were about a thousand seats that stretched as far as his eyes could see. Lights were well placed on the stage and everyone present in the large hall was tiding the loose ends present at the venue. There would be about eight hundred to a thousand people here the following week when he stood on the very same stage to present his revolutionary technology to the big and sharpest minds of science that the world had so far and he hoped not to make a mess of himself before everyone when the time came.
Step and step, turn around… whipping and standing sentry one moment at a time and then walking up and down the next; dramatic as he always wanted to present himself before the eyes of the many. He talked fluently in English as his female training assistant trailed along with him, making sure that they practiced the steps and words to the details. Thirty minutes was how long the presentation was scheduled to take and five hours long the rehearsal had become. This was the last round and it was mainly about stage movement. When enough was enough, he decided to call it quits. He was sure he was going to ace this.
"That was a pretty intense five-hour walkthrough Julia," Lance told the woman as they strolled backstage to get out of the auditorium. A large crowd of people was walking about the building. Some cameramen and people in fancy suits were all over the place.
"You have no idea." She responded, tying her blonde hair into a ponytail. "I hope that the next time it won't be a deep and detailed rehearsal as this one. I almost passed out on the stage. I could feel the building dropping and crashing down on me. And the heat… it almost melted my face away."
Lance chuckled in response as he scoured her face. Julia was exaggerating things. She was a Mexican woman, with sea-green eyes and brown skin. She looked like she was at least a year younger than him, from what he could render. She was beautiful too and had a tattoo just above her chest. The rose art was peeping from her black gym vest.
"It was too much, don't you agree Lance?" She said, still trying to firmly tie her ponytail.
"Yes. Way too much. I mean the big science brains will be there as I talk and damn, I've never been so nervous in my life." Lance responded as he looked at his shaking hands.
"Hey, don't worry." The woman said as she grabbed Lance's shaking hands with both of hers. He could feel how calm she was and sooner than later he stopped shaking too. "Julia here is going to make sure that you won't mess up. I mean I know how important this is to you generally, and um… it's kinda rare for university graduates to be presented with an opportunity such as yours."
"You mean you've never seen anyone? Like not even a single soul?" Lance asked her, eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"None that I can remember." She said as she placed her hands on his chest and buttoned his shirt. But she did it knowingly so slowly that it sent off a different message to Lance. "Not that there are any to remember. Just some old men who are kinda not my taste to work with."
"Not your taste?" Lance chuckled. "So like who is your taste then? Older men?"
"No." She slid her arms to his shoulder as she finessed his shirt there. She took some sweet precious time and Lance gave her a sharp glare. His blue eyes locked onto hers.
"Stop that," Lance told her, looking straight into her eyes.
"Oh, fine." She said as she removed her hands immediately and took some steps away from him. "I'm sorry…"
He closed his eyes regretfully and sighed, "I'm sorry if I sounded harsh." Lance softly told her after he noticed the distress on her face. "It's just that I have a girlfriend and you and I… we're just workmates."
"I understand." She said, looking away embarrassed. "Tell her I said hi." She bit her lip, whipped around, and walked away. When she was two meters away from him, she whipped back around and waved goodbye to him.
Lance laughed softly at her, shaking his head doubtfully. "Have a nice day Miss." He said and walked away. It had been a whopping three days since he last saw Elena, and even though he cared about her, he had to prepare for the presentation talk that was approaching. Even with all the girls in the world, he couldn't find himself wanting another, if not Elena. He loved her as the days passed and the more he spent away from her, the more he missed her even more. He was going to make the situation between them work out, and he was going to be patient as she had told him to be.
He saw the car that he had been stationed with him for his use during this special visit to the country making a turn towards him; the yellow compact car. He got in once it had stopped and greeted his friend, fist bump style. The two drove out of The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and into the open public slithering their ways around the busy roads. It took them about a minute to find a different hotel from the one back at his residence that could make what his large pocket wanted to offer.
He ordered something different today. Tacos El Pastor and Pico de Gallo were on the menu for him today. It was a fun experience trying and eating these new worlds of delicacies once again, something he thought that he'd never get the opportunity to do so when he was a young boy and had just met Elena. The thought of how he missed such great moments with his birth mother saddened him every once in a while; of the good family dinners and moments that they would share. But yet again, he found solace in the loving Harpers.