DAY
John fixes my jacket again. He's worse than my mom and I never imagined I'd think that.
I hit his hand and he looks at me, with his eyebrows up.
"Stop doing that, is bothering," I say and he rolls his eyes.
"I just want you to look perfect when you get to Drake. Man, you're going to study on Drake," John says in a sigh. He looks at a side, takes a deep breath and looks back at me, his blue eyes have a thin glass of tears, which tells me how proud of me he is. "I never had a doubt about you, Daniel. I always knew I was going to fail, but when I looked at you, I knew this family would have a chance to have a better life. Daniel, I see you and I see hope. You're our hope, my little soldier." He messes up my hair, I smile at my brother, thankful by his words.
"Thank you, John," I mumble. I feel the lump on my throat. My family never pulled pressure over me to get us out of the poor's sectors of the Republic, so it's good to know that they had faith on me during all this time.
"Now, let me fix your hair," he says as he moves his big and strong hands through my hair, pulling it back in the place where mom left it. "You never know when you'll meet a hot lady." My cheeks get red. I look away. "Oh, Daniel, don't get shy."
"There will be only girls older than me. None of them will give me attention." Even if I'm more excited by the fact that I'm going to be a soldier than the fact of seeing girls, it disappoints me a little bit that I'll be on my own in the University and nobody will actually want to be in a group with "the brain of the Republic" or "the kid that is smart". But I understand it, if I was them, I would do the same.
"Have a little faith." He finishes his work and smiles. "I can flirt with some of them now. I'll make them introduce you their sisters."
"Nobody will flirt or introduce sisters." Mom appears on the living room finishing her hairstyle, putting pins on her knot. When she finishes doing it, she points at John with her index finger. "Don't teach your little brother things like that. He's too young."
"He is not Eden. So he's not my little brother, he's my middle brother," John responds with a smirk.
"John!" She screams and Eden starts laughing, as he runs into mom.
"Sweetheart, just let them. They're boys. It's fine," dad says as he appears walking slowly on the living room. He looks at me. "Look at you, Daniel," he says pointing at me. "You remind me of me at your age—on a soldier suit, of course."
Mom looks at him and shares a smile, dad winks at her.
"I met your mother at your age. I was a boy with a dirty face," he starts to tell us. "She also had a dirty face." He sits on the couch and calls Eden with a movement of his hands, Eden runs trembling at him. He learnt how to walk two weeks ago, and since then, nobody could stopped him. "She has been always a beautiful and a fun lady. She gave my first kiss and I hope she gives me my last." Dad and mom share a smile, then she walks at him and gives him a little kiss.
"Ew," John says and dad laughs.
"Dude, you were just telling your brother to kiss an older girl," he gets up, taking Eden with him.
"It's cool to kiss girls, not to see your parents kissing. That's disgusting."
"Your face is disgusting," dad says and then hits John in the arm. They laugh and mom shakes her head, I grin.
"It's time to go, family. Or we'll be late on our soldier's first day." Mom looks at me and then opens the door.
"We'll catch you, guys. I have to give something to Daniel," says dad.
Mom nods and he, with John and Eden get out of the house.
"What is it, dad?" I ask, unable to contain my excitament. My dad always used to bring cool stuff when we lived on the poor's sector of the Republic. I always expect what he is going to give me, because everything that I have ever received from him, is something unique.
"Calm down, soldier." He turns at me, and then he walks until he ducks in front of me. Something shining is on his hand. "This." He opens his closed fist and I see a sun there, it's a little pendant. "This means day. This means that even if you go through the darkness times as the night is, you will always see the sun rise, that everything is possible again. You have to walk on the light, Daniel, don't forget it." I receive it, out of words and I put it immediately around my neck. It shines because is gold as the sun.
"Thank you." I stop looking at the pendant and I look at my dad, who is watching me attentively. "I love you, dad."
"I love you too, Daniel," he says and gets up. "It's time to go, or your mom will freak out. You know how she is." He winks at me and I smile.
"Dad, you're my day," I suddenly say after we started walking at the door.
His eyes shine.
"No, Daniel. You are my Day." I hug him, just reaching his stomach, because he's taller than me. He hugs me back. "Don't tell John, okay?" He asks and I smile.
"Okay." I get away and he smiles at me, closes the door behind us and we walk down the stairs.
JUNE
"There you are, Junebug," Metias says appearing in front of me. "Where you were?" He asks and I smile.
"I was counting how many floors the building has. I was thinking on how to get to the ceiling if something happens. I should jump from here to the window of there." I point to a window. "And then just jump from one to the other. If I'm fast, I should be at the ceiling in less than five minutes."
Metias laughs.
"Damn, June. You don't change."
"Should I?" I ask looking at him scared. He shakes his head.
"No, you don't." He ducks in front of me. "Junebug, this is your first day on the university. I need you to take care about yourself. I need you to have a good behavior."
"I know, you told me." I roll my eyes.
"Junebug, I'm talking serious." And when I look at him, he looks like he mean it. "Don't get in trouble, okay?" I nod and he kisses my forehead. "I have to leave you, but you have to wait for me at the end of the day, understood?"
"Understood," I respond, placing a hand on my forehead, to greet him as soldiers do.
"Good job. See you then." He smiles and waves at me, as he starts to walk away. After a few steps, he turns around.
"Metias!" I scream and I run at him. "I don't want to be alone here." I hug him, scared.
"You'll be fine, Junebug. Trust me," he promises, hugging me. "Do you trust me, right?" I nod, not wanting to let him go. "Then let me go, Junebug. You'll be alright. Remember you are a soldier like me." I look up and I let him go, slowly. "I love you," he says.
"I love you too, Metias," I say back. He starts to walk away again, and this time I don't stop him. Instead, I turn at the other side and I walk at my first class. I'm a soldier like him.
The classroom is full of teenagers. They look at me and some of them whisper, the others laugh. Nobody tells a joke, but I know they're laughing at me, I know they're thinking stuff like: "Look at that girl! Just a little kid playing to be a soldier" or maybe "she probably thinks she's the best for being at the university at a young age".
"Hey, girl," one guy calls and I look at him. "The kindergarten isn't here." My cheeks get red.
"I thought it was, since you're here," I respond and he laughs.
"Oh, shut up. You're just a kid." A kid that is more intelligent than you. A kid that is better than you.
The words are itching my tongue, but then I remember what Metias said.
"Where are your parents?" Somebody ask and I feel how the lump on my throat appears. The angers fills my body, but the pain is more. I run out from the classroom, and when I get outside, I discover myself crying.
I could accept everything, but something related to my parents.
Maybe I just can escape from here. I start to run and I fall on the floor, my face full of dust.
I cry harder. I feel like an idiot and I don't like feeling in that way.
Then I sit on the ground and I clean the tears. I take a deep breath.
You must have everything in control, June.
"It is hard, uh?" Somebody asks. I look around, but nobody is there. Can I get insane so fast? "Up, girl," the voice says and I look up. A kid is there, in the ceiling, one leg hanging out of the building.
He's… Beautiful.
And intelligent too. And I think we had the same idea of how getting in the ceiling, because he left a footstep on the first window you have to jump in.
I smile.
"Can I get there with you?" I ask. I'm not sure he heard me.
"Sure!" He screams and I look at the windows. If Metias knows about this, he will punish me until I'm old.
But just if.
I jump at the first window. They have a little molding where I can land every time I jump.
He cheers me and I like it. Is the first time that there isn't people screaming at me to stop what I'm doing.
When I get to the last window, the molding breaks where I land my feet—a little near to the corner—, when I think I'm about to fall, and die, and I can only see Metias face full of pain and disappointment, he catches me.
"I gotcha," he says, as he holds me by the wrist. I blush.
With his help, I get to sit on the ceiling.
He passes a hand through his perfectly coiffed blond hair. "My name is Daniel, but you can call me Day," he introduces himself. I look at him. "What's yours?"
"My name is June," I respond and he offers me his hand. I take it and he shakes it.
"Why you were crying, June?" He asks and I don't know if I should tell him or not.
"Why are you here?" I ask in response. He smiles.
"I like being in ceilings. I have a better view, it's peaceful."
"But you should be on class," I refute and he looks at me smirking.
"You too."
I stay in silence and I sigh.
"I would, if those mean guys weren't there. I mean, I can take it, but one of them asked for my parents—" I stay in silence. His glance is deep. He is interested on what I'm saying. "They died."
He lets go a breath and then he puts a hand on my shoulder.
"They're idiots, June. You're intelligent, and beautiful," I feel how my face burns.
"Thank you," I mumble and is the first time that my voice is not strong.
He smiles.
"Do you like chocolate?" He asks. "Chocolate makes people feel happy. Always."
"What is that?" I ask back. He looks at me surprised.
"Wait, you have seriously never seen or taste a chocolate before?"
"No," I respond. "In my sector, we can't eat anything out of our diet. They send us the rations."
"Take, then." He takes out of his pocket a little piece of something brown.
"What about you?" I ask when he gives me the whole piece.
"I have eaten it. You don't. Let me bright your day, June." I accept it and when I bite it, my mouth waters.
"This is the best thing I have ever eaten," I say and he laughs.
"See?"
Daniel starts to talk about stuff I don't know. He teaches me new words. He tells me stories about his brother John and him and I tell him about Metias and how amazing he is.
Daniel is fun, and he makes me laugh to cry. He seems to shine like the sun with that golden hair.
"My brother calls me Junebug," I tell him.
"Because you're half bug?" He asks, I shake my head as I chuckle. "That would be awesome. You'd be a superheroine."
"What's that?" I ask frowning.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you about that. My father used to bring things he found from the United States—please don't tell anyone." The smile I have been seeing this whole time disappears, turning into a preoccupation face.
"I won't," I promise. "But you'll show me those superheroes?" I ask and he smiles again.
"Of course I'll do."
Then, for the first time since I sit with him on the ceiling, we stay on silence. Daniel gets closer.
"I didn't tell you a history," he whispers, I'm looking at him interested. "My dad met my mom and they both had a dirty face," he starts his narration, then he passes a hand through my cheek and puts the dust on his own cheek. "He said she was her first kiss and he'd hope she'd be her last." I feel how my eyes get bigger and bigger. "I want the same," after saying this, he seems to doubt a little. Maybe is because I'm not saying or doing anything. "But if you don't want it, I totally understa…"
I interrupt him, I press my lips against his. Our eyes are opened and he closes them first, then I do it.
My hands are fists on my sides, until his hands find mine and he holds them, intertwining our fingers.
Is this how it was supposed to feel? It was weird. Really weird but comfortable. I actually like the warm of his lips against mine.
I get away and I look at him.
"That was good?" I ask. He laughs.
"I guess." He shrugs and then we're smiling.
The ring sounds and I look down. Metias would be here in any moment, and if he found me on the ceiling, with a boy, that I just kissed—he would freak out.
"I have to go. Fast."
"Here, June." He jumps down and opens the window. "We'll go down the stairs."
He enters on the classroom and helps me to get into it without hitting myself with some desk or falling hard. Then he cleans my face with his sleeve and we run down, at the first floor.
"Daniel, there you are!" Screams a man guy that could be his twin, if he wasn't taller. Behind him, there are which I suppose, Daniel's parents and his little brother that he told me, learnt to walk a weeks ago.
"John!" Daniel says, I let go his hand and he looks at me. "I'll see you tomorrow, June." He kisses my cheek fast and then he runs at his brother.
I search out for Metias, who is standing near to the door with his eyebrows up, his arms crossed on his chest, looking at me and then at Daniel.
I walk at him, ashamed.
"What was that?" He asks taking my bag. He has this mocking face.
"Just call him Day," I respond shrugging and he takes my hand as we leave the university.