Welcome back readers! I am pleased to introduce Part Two of Raquél: Through My Eyes. This will be the continuation of Raquél's life as she goes through school, her relationship, and beyond. I'll be leaving for college in St. Thomas in about a month and I don't have my own laptop but I'll try to post as quickly as I can until I receive my own. Enjoy!
Part 2 - Chapter One: No Matter What
"Come back, Enriqué. I love you! Please, come back!" Raquél pleaded as more relatives stepped in to hold her back.
Behind me I heard what sounded like her knees dropping to the floor as she continued to shriek my name. I bothered not to look. If I looked back now, I would certainly end up turning back to stay with my girlfriend out of guilt. But I had to do what was right.
Regrettably, I handed my ticket to the patient female attendant beside the gate entrance, who gently bid me a safe flight. As the last passenger to board that flight, the attendants began to slowly shut the doors of the bridge leading to the gate.
Chills continued to rattle up my spine at the fading sound of her desperate pleads for me, which caused me to clutch the locket against my chest.
It was not until I'd found my seat near the back of the aircraft that I gazed at the tiny photo of my Sweetheart in her Quinceañera dress. Her soft, innocent green eyes and wide joyful smile, both illuminated by my presence behind the photographer, reminded me of the perfect little gestures she made that made me fall in love with her more and more every day.
When I felt confident enough to let my guard down, I read the engraved message on the locket, buried my face into my palms and cried.
My Love,
My Life,
My Forever…
Raquél
I had experienced pain in countless ways during my short fifteen years of life, but nothing could compare to the pure agony I felt watching my boyfriend disappear before my eyes. Within a few minutes of boarding he was gone, and he would not be back for a while.
But it was good that he left when he did, because I would've hated for him to watch the severe panic attack I suffered shortly after he left. It was worse than the panic attack I had experienced on my first day of high school, which occurred in my mother's car moments before I entered the building.
The mayhem didn't start until my desperate screams for Enriqué gave way to fatigue, and I collapsed against the carpet. As my relatives and a few bystanders gathered around me in concern, knowledge of his absence caused me even more distress. So much so that I found myself hyperventilating and gasping for air. While my parents gently reminded me to breathe, the symptoms of my Social Anxiety Disorder caught me in its paralyzing grip. My body began to tremble so badly that one of the bystanders assumed that I was epileptic and called an ambulance. The scariest part was, I had no control over my body.
As much as I fought to keep my composure, the reality of being away from Enriqué struck me harder than ever. Also, I was still frightened at the possibility of becoming pregnant while he was away at college. Once I accepted that he wouldn't be returning until November, I was suddenly freed of the disabling spell just as the paramedics arrived.
Utterly mortified, I let my mother apologize for the inconvenience before making a hasty beeline towards the nearest exit. The ride back home was silent. It was not until my mother caught me discreetly wiping away a tear that she tried everything in her power to cheer me up. But I was past consolable.
"Would you like to get something to eat?" she asked gently.
Without a word I shook my head and glanced out the window at the heavy droplets that began falling from the sky.
"Felicia wanted you to sleep over at her house tonight, and it's totally fine by me if you want to go."
At that moment, I only wanted to be alone. Instead, I shook my head again.
"That's fine, Sweetie. Whatever you feel like doing today just let us know, okay?" my mother reminded compassionately, and reached backwards to hold my hand.
But I made it clear what I wanted to do that day, and retreated to my bedroom once we'd made it back.
Besides the dreadful feelings of gloom I experienced on rainy days, the rain also reminded me of all the afternoons Enriqué and I spent cuddling beneath a blanket on his couch, listening to the soothing sounds of approaching thunder. But since my boyfriend was not here to hold me in his arms, I wrapped myself in his varsity jacket instead and took in its lingering scent. I found comfort in thinking back on the sense of belonging and significance I felt when he would encompass me in his warmth, whispering nothing but his never-ending affection for me.
Lulled by the tranquil boom of thunder and the gentle patter of rain, I quickly succumbed to the imaginary presence of Enriqué. Upon his return for Thanksgiving, I longed for a rainy month.
~RMCR~
Monday
Going back to school couldn't have been all that bad. Same building, same lunches and mostly the same people. I had no reason to worry, right?
Wrong.
Welcoming me back with an unfriendly sneer would be the Superiors, who I knew were still seething after finding out that two of their strongest members, Carlos and Mike, were going to spend the rest of their high school years in a juvenile prison. As for the trio of remaining accomplices, Sean, Ricky and Derek, they lucked out on two years parole and would return to school in a few weeks.
With less muscle this gave Maya the chance to attack in a much more personal way. I was relieved that she knew nothing of my engagement to Enriqué, or she would certainly have my head. But my two best friends Felicia and Eva reminded me that I did not have to face her alone.
"Good morning, Princess. How are you feeling today?" Eva asked me once I met them outside the building that morning.
"A little better. Enriqué called me as soon as he landed and we talked for the rest of the night. He told me that he's confident I'll do great today, so I have to make him proud."
"You are going to do great. Just walk into that school with your head held high and show those preppy robots
who's boss. All right?" Felicia encouraged.
"Okay... I'm ready."
As I gathered my books and advanced towards the front entrance, the only worries I had about that day circulated our unknown class schedules. I did not have to worry about being alone in gym, since the attendance would remain the same during all years of physical education. Unfortunately that only meant that I had to endure another three years of Maya and whatever was left of her clique.
Posted outside of the main office were the envelopes containing the class schedules of every freshman and sophomore student. We were expected to find our name labeled beneath the homeroom number and open the envelope to find out what kind of classes we were assigned to. I had no such luck in having any of my friends in homeroom, so I became extremely nervous when it was time to take a look at my schedule.
Both Eva and Felicia were the first to open their envelopes, and burst into squeals after discovering that they were sharing a class. Once they told me what kind of classes they had, it was my turn.
With quivering hands, I tore open the crisp seal and pulled out my folded schedule as the girls watched.
"So...?"
"Licia, you said that you had AP Calculus for period 4, right?" I began, just to make sure.
"I'm not sure... I could've sworn it said period 3."
Try as she may, Felicia couldn't help but release a playful giggle and wrapped her arms around me.
"That's not funny! You had me so scared."
"I was just messing with you, Sweetie. Come on, what other classes do you have?" she asked.
"I have all AP classes except for gym, of course. So there's Italian 4 AP, AP Art, AP Physics, AP Calc, Gym, AP Music and... AP Literature."
"Wait a minute," Eva suddenly gasped before taking a second look at her schedule.
"Ahh! I have AP Literature for period 7! This is gonna be an awesome year!"
"I know. I have one class with Licia, one class with you, and we all have gym together," I grinned.
From then on I was no longer worried about the first day. Even facing Maya and her clique didn't seem like much of a threat anymore.
~RMCR~
Later that day as I headed to the locker room with my friends, I couldn't help but notice that a lot had changed about Maya. Her already slim body had become thinner and almost frail, and her features displayed nothing but stress. She spoke to her friends in a much softer tone and her overall demeanor was less threatening.
Even as we passed each other on the stairs she didn't bother to insult me. I could talk to my friends openly about my boyfriend since we decided to dress at the opposite end of the room.
"Did you see that?" I asked them just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.
"Yeah... That's weird, right? I was expecting her to freak out when she saw you," Eva replied, equally perplexed.
"Do you think that Maya, of all people, is starting to change her ways?"
"I seriously doubt that. But it looks like something traumatic must've happened to her over the summer. She's so much more suppressed."
We nearly jumped out of our skin as a head peeked around the corner.
"Ellie, you scared us! We thought you were someone else," Felicia hissed quietly.
"Sorry, guys. But are you talking about Maya?"
"You heard us?"
"Not from where I was, but I heard you when I was passing the lockers. Do you want to know what my sister told me about her?"
"What?" we gasped, leaning forward in unison.
"I heard that she got pregnant and didn't want anyone to know, so she tried to get an abortion from some back-alley doctor and nearly died. She spent the last two weeks of summer in the hospital. And trust me, this is totally true because Linda volunteers at Lenox Hill and she actually saw the paramedics wheeling her in on a gurney. She said that there was blood everywhere."
If there was ever a time I empathized with a bully who almost died, it was after I'd listened to such a terrifying account. Although I had always dreamed that Maya would be taught a lesson, I never meant for her to face a near-death experience. She was a human and even she didn't deserve to die in my eyes.
"Is she okay?" I whispered, which caused my friends to give me strange looks.
"Okay? She looks like she was dropped from Mars. This might sound mean, but I'm glad she's not acting like herself. For once she isn't barking at her friends or torturing anyone. Plus all of her guy friends are in jail. They deserved it."
In somewhat of a trance, I pulled the rest of my clothes on before following my friends upstairs. As I exchanged another glance with Maya she said nothing, but sent me a dark glare. Her hatred for me hadn't completely faded unfortunately.
Once we were in the gymnasium, Ellie glanced at my finger and smiled.
"Did someone have their Quinceañera over the summer? That's the most expensive Sweet 15 ring I've ever seen!" she said.
As I exchanged secretive glances with Felicia and Eva, they silently encouraged me to tell her.
"Um, actually, this is my Quinceañera ring," I replied while raising my other hand.
"This ring is from Enriqué... He kind of proposed to me."
"What?" Ellie exclaimed, turning the attention of the class toward us.
"Shh! But no one else has to know. Especially you-know-who."
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me... By the way, where's Enriqué? I was expecting to see him here."
"Actually, he's in Miami. He's going to college there," I said.
"Oh, it must be hard being here without him. But I think that long-distance relationships are romantic. He must call you every day just to say that he loves you, right?"
"Always. I can't wait until he comes back for Thanksgiving."
"When are you planning on getting married?" she asked.
"When we're a little older, preferably when I'm 18. He's only going to be 23. That's still pretty young."
"Well, congratulations. You two will be very happy together...I know it."
With a good start to 5th period, I could enjoy class with my friends without having to worry about my insecurities.
On the other hand, I couldn't seem to get Maya off of my mind. It was my nature to be sympathetic to people no matter who they were, and ironically I had the most concern for someone who could care less for me. If she hated me so much, then why did I care so much?
~RMCR~
The official end to my first day of 10th grade had arrived once the dismissal bell blared throughout the building. I was eager to get out of school knowing that Enriqué would call me at any minute.
As my friends and I headed towards the parking lot, I nearly dropped my books as my phone began to buzz in my pocket.
"Ohh! That's Quique!" I gasped, stopping in the middle of the pavement.
"That's great, hon'. But get in the car before you get hit by one."
"Hi, Enriqué."
My heart picked up speed once the sound of his voice tickled my ear through the line.
"Good afternoon, my beautiful wife," he replied, which led me to giggle uncontrollably.
"What's so funny, Sweetheart?"
"You know what saying that does to me. We're not even married yet," I said blushing.
"I know. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the term... How was the first day?"
"Today was so much better than I expected. I have one class with Eva, one with Licia, and we all have gym together."
"That does sound like a great day. I'm glad you had fun. Any trouble from you-know-who?" he asked.
"Actually, no. She seemed a little mellower."
As much as I wanted to tell my boyfriend what I had heard about Maya, something told me that it was best not to tell him. Instead I quickly changed the subject.
"So, what did you do today?"
"Well, I just finished moving in and I'm about to head over to my cousin's to get my car. Then I have to stop by the campus and take care of some last minute things," he said.
"I still can't believe you decided to rent an apartment near the campus instead of just living there. Don't you feel like you're missing out on campus life?"
"Living in dorms isn't really something I'm interested in. I like being here all by myself. I can study without distractions and have cousins over whenever I want. I can cook my own food and there's no line for the laundry room. It gives me so much more independence."
"Is it a big apartment?" I asked.
"It's a good start for me. Besides, I only needed one bedroom."
"I'm assuming we'll be sharing that bed if I ever decide to visit?"
"Eww, too much information," Eva said in disgust.
For a moment, I placed the phone down and stuck out my tongue at her.
"I made sure to get a king-size bed so that we'd have plenty of room to—"
"Enriqué!" I exclaimed softly.
"Kidding! I'm just kidding, baby. I doubt that your mom would let us sleep in the same room after hearing what we did on your birthday."
"That reminds me... Um, I made an appointment to see my doctor in two weeks. She's going to do a test to figure out if, you know, it comes out negative or positive. When my mom took me to get the birth control shot, we weren't sure if it would work because of how late I got it. Let's hope for good news," I replied anxiously.
"Sweetheart, whether the test is negative or positive it'll be good news either way. I'm prepared to support you no matter what, okay?"
"I know you will, Enriqué. You always do."
I was touched that Enriqué was willing to give up his college education if I were to become pregnant, but I knew that it wouldn't be fair for me to take that away from him. He was a man who lived up to his promises even if that meant sacrificing his own happiness.
If he decided to leave college to raise a child with me, I would be forever grateful.
~RMCR~
Enriqué
I was relieved to know that my girlfriend had done well on her first day as a sophomore. That gave me the assurance I needed to continue my day without worry.
As much as she'd try to deny it, I knew that Raquél wouldn't want me to give up my dreams if she became pregnant. She feared that I would live the rest of my life in regret because of my decision to abandon college to help her raise our child. Education was very important to me, but my family was something that I loved with all of my heart.
Little did she know that I had new dreams about our future together. If her test results came out to be positive, I'd rather spend my days taking care of her and the baby than sitting in a classroom any day. My first dream of finding a future wife had come true the moment she was assigned to tutor me.
Whatever happened, my next dream would come true either way.
I know that this was a short chapter but please bear with me. What did you think of this chapter? Let me know please and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! :)