The flight to Barcelona was not too long, and before I knew it, I was sitting in my hotel room. Alicia was sitting on the armchair beside me, going through the schedule we were on for the following days. Alicia had picked out seven houses that I was supposed to look at in the following two days, a tight schedule to be honest. I was looking forward to finding myself a vacation home, a place where I could stay for the summer season, or the winter, whenever I felt like I wanted stay somewhere where it wasn't freezing.

In the morning, I did my makeup slowly. Covering the spots on my face with concealer, along with the dark circles that once again made an appearance. I added some bronzer, blush, and highlighter to make myself look more alive, as well as a slight touch of contour. Mascara, eyeliner, and my favourite lip combo was applied by my nimble fingers.

I found some silver jewellery, a necklace with a moon on it, earrings with starts and hoops. Bracelets and rings. It went well with the short blue dress, filled with flowers in a darker shade of blue that I decided to wear. An outfit that was complete without adding a cardigan. It would make me feel way too hot in the shining Spanish sun.

Wearing sneakers were out of the question today. Instead, I wore my Birkenstocks. They had been a staple in my closet for years, the perfect shoe when I wanted to go to the beach, or when I wanted to explore.

First, we visited a house that looked way better on the pictures than in real life. It was very run down, and a lot of renovations needed to be done to make the house liveable. Another downside was that it was far away from the city, almost an hour out, and far from the ocean.

After that, we visited the second house. It was pretty, with stone walls and a small pool. I could see myself living her. The bad part, the house was not that big, and I couldn't comfortably fit a room where I could play music. In the end I decided to not put a bid on it. Alecia agreed with my decisions, and I was incredibly grateful to have her here with me. Looking at houses was exhausting, and I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own.

We stopped for lunch before going to look at a third house. This was the green one that I had seen before. After a tour of the place, I knew I wanted to live here. It was close to the beach, far enough from the city center, but still close enough to visit. There was a pool in the yard, and a basement which I would use for my music. The best part was that it was a gated community, which meant that it was harder for fans to find my house. Without even looking at more houses, I put a bid on it.

It was getting late, and I wanted to relax on the beach before going out for dinner. Could I even find a place where people wouldn't recognise me? Maybe Mapi or Alexia had one.

Odette
Know a beach outside Barcelona which not a lot of people know about?

Mapi
Yeah Platja de Garraf is pretty good, so is Cala Morisca. I can give you more if you want.

Odette
Thank you Mapi!

Mapi
But why are you in Barcelona?

Odette
Looking for a vacation house. It is my mom's favourite city and I thought it would be lovely to have a house here.

Mapi
That is so sweet, you have to take us all on a tour when it is all decorated. I think Alexia would to see the house.

Odette
I promise I'll do that.

I put the address into the GPS and started to drive there, not before making a stop at the hotel to bring a bikini and everything else I needed for a swim. Alicia decided not to join me today. She had brought her family to visit, and they were going to Barceloneta Beach. I was envious that she could do that without being recognised. Fame was costly, but it was something that I happily paid to be able to live while doing what I loved.

Before arriving at the beach, I made a quick stop at a supermercado as they called it here. It was a word I understood since the English word for it was almost the same. In school I had a chance to choose an extra language to learn, instead of choosing the smart option, I chose German. Now, I was standing alone in Spain, having almost no clue what anyone said.

"¿Necesitas una bolsa?" the lady at the till asked me. "I'm sorry, I don't understand Spanish" I apologized, almost asking her for a translation. "Bag?" she said while holding up a plastic bag. I nodded at her and got out my money to pay for the food. A few different types of cheese, bread, chips, chocolate, water, and butter was what I had bought. Everything I needed was bought there, and I finally made my way to the beach.

Being here alone was torture, but it was also peaceful. I stayed until after the sun had set, driving myself to the hotel in the car I had rented.

It was a peaceful night, something that I hadn't experienced for a long time. My thoughts were quiet, it was long since they had been that. I had missed it more than I ever knew.

I fell asleep quickly, relaxed from the calming evening I had at the beach.

The next day I looked at a few more houses, but none of them stood out. I wanted that green house from yesterday. I wanted it so much that I asked the realtor to keep me updated about other bidding, just so I could put a higher bid myself.

A quick trip to Barcelona was great, and I returned to London on a Monday. The next day Spain would play Germany and I would be there to watch. Wearing the shirt Alexia had given me. What? A girl had to do what was best for her. And for me that was wearing Alexia's shirt.

That was something for tomorrow, and today I had some time to do a workout. Tiring my legs out and feeling that high when I was finished was something I looked forward to.

I spent over an hour in the gym. First, I warmed up before doing some cardio, then I moved on and worked on my strength. After that I stretched and did some yoga.

Then, I could finally take a long shower. As always, I washed my hair and then shaved my legs. I needed an appointment to colour my hair again. I wanted my hair to be a lighter brown, and not as dark as it was now. Lighter hair always gave me a summer feeling, and it made the sadness I always felt more bearable.

Alexia
Want to go out for a coffee tomorrow afternoon?

Odette
Of course. I'll watch the game with you if you want me to?

Alexia
I want that. I was going to sit in the stands anyways. And everything will be way better with your company.

Odette
Let us meet up for coffee and then watch the game together.

Alexia
Deal

Alexia wanted me to watch the game with her. I might need to do some research on how football actually was played. It would be a bit embarrassing if I knew nothing, at least I had learnt some things, like what a false nine was. This was all thanks to Jana, and Alexia's family at the game I had watched with them there.

Odette
Can you make a hair appointment for me? The usual salon, early September, both colour and cut. Thank you!! I love you Alicia!

Alicia
How do you want it?

Odette
A lighter brown with layers.

Alicia
Send me a pic and I'll forward it to her.

Odette

-One attachment-

That was easy. Now I could colour my hair lighter. What was I supposed to do now? Sleep might be good, but I needed dinner before I could go to sleep. A small order of dumplings was enough to satisfy me.

I fell asleep soon after, just a few minutes after eight.

Fourteen hours of sleep later I felt more refreshed than before. Alexia and I had agreed to meet up around three in the afternoon. Firstly, we would go out for coffee, then some dinner, and after that we would make our way to the stadium.

I changed into a white tank top and a pair of vintage jean shorts, the blue kind. Gold jewellery always looked amazing with the red Spanish shirt. I found a pair of red sneakers in my suitcase, and grabbed them, along with a pair of higher white socks.

Still, there was almost three hours until Alexia and I was supposed to meet each other at a small café. I knew I needed one hour to fix my hair and makeup, but there was two extra hours. Lunch would take around an hour at max. What would I do now?

I sat an alarm on my phone for ten minutes and decided to write whatever I thought about. After those ten minutes I read through it and started over again. I did this about five times and ended up with several small texts. My teacher loved this way of getting ideas and it worked. When I had left the text alone for a while I always went back. Some of my songs had been written like this, and it brought back memories of my childhood days, where I wrote songs on the bus and then looked through them as I waited for school to start.

After that I did my makeup and my hair. Going for a natural look, but still wanting to look a bit shiny. I packed my bag with something to snack on during the game, a water bottle, a Spanish jersey, and some makeup. You never knew when you would need a touch up and I wanted to look good.

The sun was shining as I walked towards a restaurant. Deciding that a halloumi burger would be what I wanted to eat. I sat in the sun, gaining some attention from the people who passed by. Some came and asked for a photo, but I had to decline. All I wanted to do was to enjoy my lunch, and I did not want to be disturbed by people who wanted photos. I think most people would agree with this, that they also wanted to eat the food warm and not take photos with other people as it turned cold.

Tomorrow it would probably be all over twitter that I had did not want to take photos with fans. They would see me as rude when all I wanted to do was to eat my lunch.

I had a book by my side, reading in it while I waited for the food to arrive. But I also had to send a good luck text to Mapi.

Odette
I wish you all good luck today! Hope you win!

Mapi
Thank you Odette! I'll make sure to tell my teammates. They are a bit jealous that Alexia and I know you.

Odette
They shouldn't be, but I mean you all can come and say hello after the game.

Mapi
You are way too nice Odette! A real superstar! Be prepared for them to ask for photos, they are just like regular fans, even though they are famous themselves.

Odette
No need to worry Maps. It's nothing.

Mapi
Appreciate it, Etts!

I found it strange that I was someone people wanted to know and hang out with. A person that other people looked up to. It made feel self-conscious about what I did. At times I wondered why people saw me as some kind of superstar, and how they would blindly trust everything I did.

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Had a big test today and forgot how to write which was great. My sentences were not making sense at all. Also voted which was strange, but the next time there is an election I can vote for real which is sick!

How was your day?

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