NUTMEG, CHAPTER 9: A SCRAPPY NEW YEAR

6^th JANUARY 2019, 01:10 AM

Making sure everything was in place, he paced toward his kitchen to prepare a quick cup of coffee before the game kicked off in 5 minutes. As the milk simmered, he quickly ticked off his mental checklist to be ready – TV recharged, bean-bag placed at the favorite spot, got the blanket from the bedroom. As the first sip of steaming coffee touched his lips, Parth realized he had been shivering – not sure from the drop in the temperature outside or just due to excitement preceding this game. The game was after all Barcelona’s first of the new year, after nearly a fortnight of winter break which had deprived him of the footballing action, much like an addict without his daily dose. However, he was still grateful for the eventful festive break, for all the happiness and hope it brought into his life. On a personal level and professionally, he had entered 2019 contended. Barcelona, too had had headed into their break riding high on back of four consecutive victories without conceding a single goal, on top of the 5-1 drubbing of eternal rivals Real Madrid in late October. The new year brought new hope for the team as they looked to continue their form against Getafe tonight, who had been playing competitively this campaign to be 7^th in the 20-team league. He switched to the right channel just in time to watch the players walk into the field, dressed in their salmon pink alternate kit and he felt a familiar warmth fill his heart as the game kicked off.

It had hardly been two minutes on the clock, when Ousmane Dembele continued his rich vein of form prior to break with a mazing run past oppositions defenders. Lately, he has been in the news, primarily because of his punctuality issues for reporting to training late due to alleged late night video games. Parth had felt that though the treatment meted out to him by sections of the media had been unfair, considering he is still a young lad of 21, Dembele would do justice to his vast potential by leaning from his experienced team-mates who have won it all and his recent performances have reflected the positive shift in his attitude. While Parth was still immersed in that thought, against the run of play, Getafe got the ball into the back of the net for the first goal. For a moment, it felt like Parth’s heart stopped, only to kickstart into action again as the referee disallowed the goal due to a foul of Barcelona’s defender Clement Lenglet in the run up to the goal. Despite being in the opposition for the night, Parth felt Getafe were unlucky in not being awarded the lead, for the challenge on Lenglet was a soft one. Luck rubbed Getafe the wrong way again few minutes later, when a foul by Aturo Vidal in the penalty area went unspotted. Barcelona quickly regained control of the game again as Parth spotted the shrewd tactic employed as Dembele was coming towards the middle despite staring out wide in the wings to allow Jordi Alba to make his trademark overlapping run against a much slower opposition defender. The events took a hilarious turn when Vidal gave a rather freak back pass to the keeper Ter Stegen, which he had chested down with the composure of a striker and continued with the game.

Christmas was eagerly awaited by Parth and his colleagues, for it signaled the onset of the annual office party – a frivolous night away from the cubicles and technical talks which allowed everyone to end the year on a high before heading out for year-end shutdown week. Dressed in his neat blazer, he had entered the venue to find the crowd already tapping their feet to the latest Bollywood hits. He joined in with a few steps of his own but froze right in his tracks when he spotted that lady in the ravishing red gown. Navya was looking breathtakingly stunning and Parth couldn’t take his eyes of her as she giggled something into her friend’s ear. He moved in her direction to compliment her but was stopped short as he saw her talking to Akhil, for whom he always had a strong dislike for due to his self-centered attitude and couldn’t even bear to be in his presence since he had unapologetically injured him few months ago. Parth distracted himself in joining his other mates but found himself stealing a few glances in her direction every few minutes, only to feel a pang of jealousy hit him whenever he saw her enjoying the conversation with Akhil. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t enjoying the party he was looking forward to so excitingly with his mood being affected by somebody else’s actions.

The flashbacks in his mind were interrupted by the cheer of the commentators shouting out, “Messssiiiiiiiii”, as the little maestro had controlled a falling ball between two defenders who were more likely to get hold of the ball, moved it past the rushing goalkeeper and slide it into the net from an acute angle. Parth was overjoyed for it marked another year in the running when Messi scored the team’s opening goal in the new year and that too in style as he marveled at how the ball was attracted to his feet as if guided by a magnet. “Not bad for the fifth best player in the world”, he smirked, taking a subtle jibe at the results of the latest Ballon D’Or award for world’s best players. Being almost invisible since the opening minutes, it was as if Messi decided to turn up a notch, dancing through the maze of defenders. Another brilliant pass from Messi to Arthur, who found Pique, who’s shot was saved valiantly by Getafe’s keeper. A darting run from Sergi Roberto was thwarted by a foul on him and the resulting free-kick from Messi found the head of Vidal who headed it into the path of Suarez, who unleashed a thunderous volley from the edge of the box into the goal to hand over Barcelona the command of the game. However, it was Getafe who ended the first half on a high, snatching one goal from a quick counter attack by dispossessing Dembele off the ball.

As he waited for the game to restart, Parth’s mind wandered back to the night of the party. Reacting to the burst of emotions, he had found his solace in gulping down multiple tequila shots back to back. After that everything after that was a blur to him, the venue was spinning with flashes of disco lights. Every time he opened his eyes, he remembered seeing a different scene before his eyes – his friend, Roshan, carrying him out when he was unable to walk, him throwing up in the garden outside and being seated at the front seat of the cab. He finally came to his senses, with a strong breeze of the chilly night air hitting his face. The landscape seemed familiar as the cab came to a slow halt and only when everyone alighted did Parth realize that he and Roshan weren’t the only passengers. Navya had shared the ride back with them and while he was still registering the fact, Roshan walked away mentioning that he was going to get his bike from the parking. Embarrassed to the core, Parth broke the silence, “Hey, thanks for helping me out tonight. I drank more than I could handle”. “No Problem!”, she replied, maintaining a warm smile on her face. “Listen, there’s something I have to say….”, he blurted out not being able to hold back any longer. Navya slowly moved towards her side and placed her finger over his lips, “Ssssh…. This moment is beautiful. Let’s not ruin the sanctity of the silence”, pointing towards the right full moon in the sky. Parth realized it truly was the perfect moment, as they stood there, fingers intertwined together, gazing at the stars above in silence when the roaring sound of Roshan’s bike broke them out of their spell. “Let’s talk tomorrow”, Navya mentioned with a wide smile pasted over her face as Parth and Roshan were about to leave.

The second half of the game had put Barcelona on the backfoot. Buoyed by their goal and another effort hitting the goal post prior to the half-time break, Getafe were firing on all cylinders to crawl back into the game. Coach Valverde brought on Sergio Busquets to get more control of the ball in the midfield. Busquets had started the game on the bench, with a minor injury in the training sessions being reported as the cause. Once that control was achieved, Barcelona forwards were trying their best to extend their lead and kill the game off with a third goal. One golden chance was spurned when Messi lashed a powerful shot from outside the box and the rebound from the keeper’s save fell to Dembele who squared it for Suarez waiting at the near post position, only to be cleared by the defenders in time. Parth realized the efforts the team had put into earning a hard-fought victory as most of the players seemed exhausted and relieved at the final whistle, resting hands over their knees. Though it wasn’t a vintage performance, he realized that it is such scrappy wins, when the team isn’t at its best, that become the minor difference between winning the league or not. The clock had already drifted past 3 AM when Parth glanced towards it, remembering his commitments at work next morning and yet he curled snuggly into his blanket, feeling the warmth of Barcelona’s winning start and the new relationship in his life.