I apologize in advance, I am working with high school level Spanish and am about a decade out of practice! There are translations later so please forgive the incorrect conjugation. Feedback and constructive criticism always welcome! XO
Thirteen Years Earlier
August 2005
"Nana can't I just stay home?" Amalia pouted pushing the chicken and rice around her plate without taking a bite.
"No chica, now finish your food eh? The bus will be here soon."
"Please?" she asked, the desperation that she had managed to hide for most of the summer creeping into her voice. "I'm not going to know anyone and they've all been in junior high together for a year already. Please, Nana, I don't want to." As much as the teenager tried to hide it, her large green eyes began to well with tears. "Can't I just stay home with you?"
The girl's plea tugged at Dora's heartstrings. She had let her stay home with her all summer and had not pushed her to go out and make friends, readily accepting the fibs of wanting to unpack and catch up on reading. While she was selfishly glad to keep her close those months after the accident, Dora knew that she needed to make friends in this new life to be happy. "No chica, you've stayed home all summer. And besides, if you don't go tomorrow you'll just have to go mañana to do it; just no one else will feel new too eh?" She had tried to make light of the conversation, to assuage the girl's fears as well as her own. She leaned forward and took Amalia's cheeks in between her hands. "Mira, you are smart and brave, I know that this is scary for you. A new town, a new home, but they will love you." Amalia still looked unsure. "Come here chica." Dora pushed her chair out and motioned for her to come sit in her lap.
"Nana, I'm too big, I'm going to squash you."
"What? Pft." The old woman pretended to look offended. "What, you're too old to sit in my lap eh?"
"Nana," Amalia started to smile.
"Aye Mira, too embarrassed? You no longer mi chica eh?" The old lady chuckled.
Amalia would always be her little girl, it did not matter how old she was. From the moment that the Kane's had brought her home from the hospital, all bruised, and so tiny she could fit in the palm of her hand she had loved her. Dora Santos had started working for John and Julia Kane fourteen years ago before Amalia was even a twinkle in her mother's eye. She had heard from her sister that a family from the local church had been inquiring around needing help with some light household work during the week. The couple had just moved to the area and the larger house coupled with their hectic work schedules was proving to be more than they could manage. She had arrived at the modest suburban San Diego home, unsure of what to expect. When she rang the doorbell, a rather harried looking young man opened the door.
"Eh, um eres Dora Santos?" He attempted.
She smiled despite herself, "I speak English Señor."
"Oh, um right." He looked a bit crestfallen. "I speak a bit of Spanish, took it in high school. Julia says that it's elementary level, but I think I've got it down a bit more than that. Um, por favor pasa?" He stepped back with a large smile on his face. Clearly hoping that his point had been made correctly.
"Yes, thank you," she said with a chuckle walking through the door.
"Oh, right, sorry" the man stuck out his large hand, "John Kane. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said with a huge smile.
Dora shook his hand; he had a good handshake, firm and friendly. She always judged a man based on his handshake.
"Julia!" He hollered as he walked Dora through the entrance hall still full of boxes and packing material.
As she was lead into the bright living room, she noticed a young woman making her way down the stairs. The woman was about the same height as her husband with long blonde hair that brushed her mid back.
"Ah, this is Julia, my wife," the man turned to indicate the woman with a wide smile.
"Hello, you must be Ms. Santos," she said with a smile. "Thank you so much for coming, we really appreciate you taking the time. Please," she said indicating for Dora to have a seat on one of the large sofas.
"Ms. Santos, we're looking for a little bit of help during the week." Mr. Kane began. "You see, we both work full time, Julia is a nurse over at memorial hospital and well I'm with the IRS but taking evening class four days a week to get my CPA license and well, with the new house and everything it's just a lot at the moment."
Dora looked at the young couple, they both looked happy but, she searched their faces, tired and incredibly stressed. She could see that both of their smiles were a little bit too bright, a little bit too brittle. Mr. Kane, despite his warm eyes, had dark circles below them and his young wife looked just as exhausted. She did not know much about the couple but felt pity for them. Dora's own husband had died ten years before, and her children were grown now, but she remembered what it was like starting out the first few years of married life. Trying to build a life together, trying to manage. It was hard back then and she could see from the couple's faces that it was hard now. She had not necessarily been looking to start working again. She had been a teacher in Nicaragua, but after her husband had died, her children moved to the United States and married, her sister had convinced her not to stay.
Looking at the young couple again, she offered them a warm smile, "okay."
"Really?" Mr. Kane asked shocked. "Thank you, thank you," he said standing to grab her hands. "You won't regret it."
She never had.
She began working for Julia and John four days a week, making the hour-long commute from Santo Padre to San Diego in the early mornings and returning home in the evenings. She had helped them settle into their new home, unpacking, and cleaning as she went. After a few months when she noticed that Mr. Kane began to look skinnier, she gently chided him about becoming skin and bones. He would chuckle a tired, but good-humored laugh and say that he had forgotten to grab something. When she noticed that it was not getting better, she slowly began buying groceries and cooking dinner in the evenings, leaving the food simmering low on the stove for when Julia came home. Each morning John would tell her on his way out the door that she did not need to make the extra effort and that, he was doing just fine with slim fast bars. That he and Julia did not expect her to do more than just help clean a bit. However, he would eat nonetheless, and when her pay increased by an extra hundred dollars each week she did not say anything. The arrangement continued in relatively the same fashion for almost two years, but everything changed when little squalling Amalia had arrived. She was so tiny that instead of cry, she would bleat, almost like a little sheep. The Kane's had offered to take her on full time as a nanny and she had readily agreed.
She began living with the family Monday through Friday and returning home to Santo Padre Friday evenings. Her sister would chide her, "ya has criado tres bebés? Why number four?" But she didn't mind. She loved the little girl. She would sing to her, play with her, and feed her. As she got older, Dora was there for her first step, her first lost tooth, and her first big girl dive off the diving board. She loved her, and Amalia loved her with the fierce love that only a child can give. "Te amo Nana!" She would say when Dora would catch her stealing caramel candies out of her room. "Yo también te amo, pero dale a Mira que me dé esos dulces. Te vas a poner gordita." The little girl would shriek with laughter then run off down the hall.
Now, looking back into her large watery eyes, all Dora wanted to do was tell her that she did not have to go, but she had promised the Kanes that she would take care of their daughter, and that was a promise she would not break.
"Ah, Mira, I think I hear the bus."
A look of terror flashed across the girls face. "Eh, she said," clucking her under the chin "I see you tonight, chica."
Throwing her arms around her, Amalia gave Dora a tight squeeze, "te amo Nana" she whispered.
After Dora heard the door slam closed, she walked to the window looking at the long line of teens lined up for the bus. Her eyes grew misty for a moment as she watched the girl stand up straight and hold her head up high as she stepped onto the bus, disappearing from view. She was so young, too young to lose her parents like that. Moving to a new city, a new school, away from all of her friends. Her little one was strong though, if anyone could thrive, she could do it. "Silly old woman," Dora clucked to herself. Turning from the window, she busied herself with the house.
X
"Um, excuse, is anyone sitting here?" Amalia asked the petite brunette.
"Nope, just me!" The girl said with a bright smile.
"Thanks," Amalia said sliding into the hard seat.
"You're new right?" The girl said.
"Um, ya," Amalia replied tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm Emily. Emily Thomas" she said.
"Hi, Amalia Kane."
"Amalia, pretty. Why did your parents name you that?"
"Um, not sure exactly. I think it was supposed to be spelled differently, but my dad messed up the spelling" Amalia replied, readjusting her Jansport backpack against the seat.
"Ha!" Emily laughed, "So kinda like Oprah?"
"Ya, something like that" Amalia grinned.
"So where did you transfer from?" Emily asked.
"San Diego actually."
"Wow," Emily exclaimed "lucky! By the beach?"
"Ya, not too far. My dad used to take me surfing sometimes."
"Geez, I wish I lived out there. It's so hot out here, and too freaking sandy!"
"It doesn't seem too bad," Amalia offered.
"Pfft, that's only because you just moved here. Trust me it gets worse. I can't wait to get out of this town."
Amalia just smiled, she understood the feeling.
"So," Emily continued, "what does your schedule look like?"
"Um," Amalia said unzipping her backpack and pulling out her class schedule, "Homeroom with Ms. Domingo?"
"Oh, nice! Me too!"
Amalia continued, "Algebra with Mr. Jefferies for second period."
"Algebra?" Emily asked. "Really?"
"Uh ya, that's what it says." Amalia was confused.
"Huh," said Emily "Algebra is usually a freshman class, cool, guess you'll be taking it at the high school."
"The high school?" inquired Amalia. "I thought that this was only 7th – 8th grade?"
"Well ya, technically," said Emily. "But, they're on the same campus. I mean the buildings are separate, but we share a gym for P.E. and sports ya know. So what other classes do you have?"
Amalia rattled off the rest of her course listing.
"Geez three, high school classes. That's pretty cool," Emily said after perusing her class list herself. "Algebra, Bio, and Freshman Lit. Those are all upper div. classes. You must be really smart or something."
"Ha! Or something." Amalia smirked, "not really, I mean I like to read and stuff. I think that the way that they structured classes was just different at my old school."
"Different how?"
"Well, we had uniforms for one thing."
"Gross, uniforms? Yikes, that sounds terrible!"
"It was," Amalia began to relax a bit describing how regimented everything had been. The rest of the bus ride passed in short chatty bursts as the girls discussed their mutual appreciation for music, namely classic rock bands, which coming from the fresh-faced Emily surprised Amalia a bit.
"Come on," Emily said as the bus pulled up to the front of the school and the rest of the students began to file off. "So like I was saying, the junior high and high school are sort of on the same campus but…" The rest of what Emily was saying drifted into the background as she took in her surroundings. There were students everywhere in the parking lot and loud music blasting from the different brightly colored cars. Some of the older looking guys were smoking and chatting in groups as various groups of girls hung around. "Hey, you with me?" Emily asked waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.
"Huh, ya. Sorry, it's just really different from my old school."
Emily shot her a sympathetic look, "Ya I get that."
"Do the teachers really not care that people are smoking on campus?" Amalia cringed a bit after she said it, god she sounded naive.
Emily just grinned, "trust me, the teachers have a lot more to worry about than whether or not their students decide to suck on those cancer sticks. Last year Principal Jared caught two high school students…" Emily continued with the story, but Amalia was busy looking around at all the kids hanging outside. As the two of them crossed the parking lot towards the front of the school, she noticed a rather large group of older guys and girls huddling around a few guys on motorcycles. Most of the girls seemed to be angling for the attention of the guy casually lounging against the largest bike in the center. He was tall she could tell, even leaning back against the bike he was almost as tall as some of the others standing around. The muscular arms crossed across his chest displayed a few large tattoos on his tanned skin. She continued to take him in. He was wearing dark jeans and a plaid button-down with the sleeves ripped off, his lazy smile conveying his comfort at being at the center of the attentive swirl. As they got closer, Amalia noticed him casually reach out a muscular arm and wrap it around the nearest female. Amalia could not help her automatic eye roll as she noticed the older girl giggle and put up a pretense of pulling away before settling herself across his lap like a contented cat. She had been so caught up observing the group, the guy in particular, that she hadn't realized that she'd been openly staring. As they got even with the group, she saw the guy in the middle jerk his chin down, causing his aviators to slip to the bridge of his nose. He was looking right at her.
Shit!
She immediately jerked her head away and focused her attention forward. Just as they were about to pass, however, she heard a whistle. She ignored it, but it came again, just over her shoulder. "Aye gringa!" Emily and she both stopped. Amalia turned around slightly to look over her shoulder at the source of the call. The older guy was looking at her again, only this time it was not just him. The whole group had turned to focus their attention on her and Emily.
"You see something you like gringa?" He raised his thick eyebrows with a wry chuckle.
The whole group began to chuckle. Amalia could not see, but she was sure her cheeks had turned pink.
"Ey come on man don't tease the jail bait." One of the lanky guys behind the first said as he took a puff on his cigarette.
"Aye Coco, how's it?" His attention immediately averted to the lanky man behind him.
They turned back around, "asshole, I think that guys a junior." Emily said as once more they were pulled along in the crush of students.
"Yea?" Amalia asked.
"Ya, he's a starter on the basketball and baseball team. Remember I was saying earlier how Principal Jared almost caught two students in the Chem lab going at it?" Emily raised her eyebrows suggestively.
"Ew! Gross!" Amalia exclaimed. She had not been paying attention the first time Emily recounted the story. I guess he almost got expelled but somehow managed not to. I think it's because the team wouldn't do as well without one of their starters, but that's just me. Oh! I think he has a younger brother, my friend whose mom works in the cafeteria was saying that he went out for the football team and they want him as a starter! Apparently, he is the only freshman who has ever made it. Cool huh. Do you play any sports? We only have volleyball, basketball, and soccer in junior high, but in high school, there's baseball and softball."
"Yes actually," said Amalia. "I played volleyball at my old school and soccer, but I'm not sure if I'm going to go out for any teams this year."
"Oh come on," Emily said. "You definitely should! The volleyball team is ok, but our soccer team is really good! We won the junior regional last year. It's co-ed, but there are a couple of girls on it."
"Ya maybe," Amalia replied. Emily continued to chatter as she rushed Amalia along to homeroom, smiling and saying high to a plethora of faces as they walked down the hall.
Maybe, this year would not be so bad after all.
X
Amalia had been wrong. It was bad, and it was definitely going to get worse.
Homeroom had been great though, she sat next to Emily and Emily had introduced her to several other kids in their class. Everyone seemed nice, and they had all made plans to sit together at lunch, everyone curious about the new girl who was a surfer from San Diego. She had tried to correct Emily before she got going, however just as she tried to explain that she had only gone out a few times with her dad, the bell rang for second period. As she was rushed out the door in the crush of students, Emily said goodbye and ran off. It took Amalia a panicked moment to realize that she did not have the slightest clue where she was supposed to go. Her next class, Algebra was on the high school side, and to her, it seemed massive. Realizing that she only had ten minutes she hustled across the expanse of lawn that separated the two campuses. Looking at the class listing in her hand, she tried to figure out which room was 312.
However, she soon realized that the door numbering would not be much help, as only one in five seemed to have anything resembling a number inscribed.
Shit!
She began to panic. Panic in that way that only those on the first day of class panic when they realize that they will be walking into class late and everyone would stare. She quickly realized that the crowd around her was thinning and if she did not hustle, her nightmare would be fully realized.
Just then the second bell rang, heralding loud and clear the beginning of second period. Maybe she could figure out where the front office was. She could have them help point her in the direction of Mr. Jefferies Algebra class. However just as she turned around to start walking in the direction she reasonably believed to be the front of the high school, she saw two regrettably familiar figures sauntering down the corridor.
"Great," she muttered under her breath. There was nowhere for her to go.
Just then, the taller one took off his glasses and smiled, a lazy grin spreading across his wide mouth. "You following me gringa?"
"I think she is man," the lanky guy from earlier replied smiling.
The tall one continued to smirk. "Lost chica? You're a long way from elementary school."
Amalia rolled her eyes. "Heading to Algebra, thanks."
"Ohh smarty pants ya?" said the one she had heard called Coco. "Aye, maybe she can tutor you so you can count to more than just ten," he said clearly teasing his taller friend.
"Shut the fuck up," countered the tall one, his attention shortly diverted.
Amalia took the opportunity to step around the two and move down the hall. However, a second later the tall one called out to her again, "ay, gringa you taking the long way to Jefferies or what?" He asked still smiling.
"No, why?" queried Amalia, conscious of the minutes ticking by.
"Because you were standing right in front of his door a second ago," he laughed pointing to her right.
Annoyed, she could not help calling out a retort as she moved towards the door he had indicated, "Let me know if you need help counting to twenty, I hear the number after ten is eleven."
"Ha! Learn them smarts girl scout," the one called Coco said over his shoulder as the two continued their stroll down the hallway.
God what an asshole, she thought. The school was big enough, why did she have to run into him twice in one day. Glancing back towards the door she peeked through the glass window. Great, the teacher was already lecturing. With a steeling breathing, she pushed the door to the classroom open, "here goes nothing," she thought as the teacher stopped lecturing and every eye in the class turned to stare at her.
"Can I help you, Miss….?" He waited, his annoyance clearly conveyed.
"Kane. Amalia Kane." She said looking straight at him and avoiding the giggles from the rest of the class.
"Ah, well Ms. Kane, so nice of you to join us. Seeing as this is the first time that you've graced us with your presence, I will not mark this against you, however," he said looking at her pointedly, "do not make this a habit."
Amalia nodded.
"Now, please take a seat." He turned back towards the whiteboard. "Mr. Reyes, please get Ms. Kane up to speed," he said without sparing her another glance.
Amalia looked around, there was only one open seat towards the back next to a tall boy with short-cropped brown hair. He thankfully offered her a reassuring smile. She grinned in return and set her things down next to the small desk.
"Hi," he whispered, "I'm Ezekiel, but everyone just calls me EZ. We're on page 9, problem three."
"Thanks, EZ, I'm Amalia."
After her first initial mortification, the class passed by without incident. Mr. Jefferies lectured, providing examples to underscore his points and walked the students through several practice questions. She fell into a comfortable rhythm, and before she knew it, the bell rang signaling the end of second period. Bending to gather up her books, Amalia glanced over at EZ who was just slipping his backpack on.
"Hey EZ?" she said over the general chatter.
"Uh, ya what's up," he replied looking at her.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Ms. Gonzalez's bio 101 is? Do you?"
"Sure, I have her class next."
"Think you can point me in the right direction?" She asked with a grin.
"Ha, ya sure. Come on."
Slipping her backpack on, she followed him out the door. "Sorry bout Jefferies, he can be a bit of a hard-ass," said EZ, navigating his way around the crush of students.
"No worries, I figured that he would probably be a bit pissed. Walking in late wasn't exactly what I had planned my first day," Amalia said falling into step next to him.
"You're new right? You weren't in any of my classes last year." He replied with what Amalia thought was a twinkle of mirth in his voice.
"Ya, I just moved to Santo Padre about a month ago," Amalia replied opening the building door for him.
EZ shot her a quizzical look before walking in first, "isn't that supposed to go the other way?" he joked with a nod towards the door she was holding.
"Call me a feminist," Amalia teased as she followed him through the door.
EZ smirked. "So where did you move from?"
"San Diego," she said trying to pay attention to the doors that they were passing. She was a bit worried it would take her a few tries before she would be able to retrace her steps back here with ease.
"Why in the world you come here?" he asked, sending her a puzzled sideways look.
"Uh, it's a long story." she did not offer any further explanation.
"Ya well, maybe I can hear about it sometime," he smiled.
The two stopped right before a door she imaged was Bio, "ladies first" he grinned opening the door for her.
"Cute."
Entering the room Amalia saw that it was set up with multiple two-person tables all facing towards the whiteboard. There were quite a few empty seats and she was curious to see where EZ would sit.
Giving her a nudge, EZ glanced over, "partners?" he asked indicating a table in the back.
"Ya sure," she smiled walking toward the back of the classroom.
Much like Algebra before it, Bio passed in a breeze of listening and note-taking. Amalia noticed halfway through class that she was one of only a handful of students who actually seemed to be paying attention, the others either staring blankly at the teacher or texting covertly on their Nokia phones. Glancing over at EZ, she was surprised to see that he seemed just as interested as she was in what Ms. Gonzalez had to say. Glancing sideways, she took a moment to observe him. Objectively speaking he was kind of cute, tall, and though he was wearing a bagging Santo Padre Regional sweatshirt, she could tell that he definitely had some muscles hidden under there somewhere.
"Hey what?" she suddenly heard him whisper looking at her quizzically.
"Oh, what did she say the reading was for tonight?" Amalia fibbed beautifully.
"Uh 10-30," he said. Apparently completely oblivious to the fact that she had been appraising him.
"Huh," she thought, was he really that clueless? She offered a smile, "thanks."
Soon enough the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. As students began packing up, Ms. Gonzalez circulated a sign-up sheet for the students to confirm their partners for the semester.
"Thoughts?" Amalia asked picking up the sheet and glancing at EZ.
"Hey, as long as you don't make me dissect anything sounds good to me," he said taking the sheet from her and scribbling his name.
"No promises," she said grabbing it and signing her name next to his.
"So uh, what class do you have next?" he asked smiling again as they headed toward the door.
Amalia cringed.
"What was that for?" he asked, noticing her wince.
"Computer tech?"
He shot her a puzzled look, "isn't that an 8th-grade class?"
"So, I may or may not have forgotten to mention that I'm technically in 8th grade."
"Wait what?" he asked looking horrified.
"Seriously?" She asked giving him her full attention.
"Ha, give me a break," he said giving her a grin. "I'm not that much of a dick."
"The jury's still out," Amalia replied skeptically.
"Ouch. I'm nice!"
She just glared at him.
Truth?" he said.
"Please."
"Jefferies announced that some whiz kid 8th grader was joining this year and some of the class was taking bets to see how long it would take you to find the classroom."
"Ah," she said still looking annoyed, "hence the giggling?"
"Ya," he said pretending to look pained.
"Perfect."
"Relax, I don't think you were exactly what everyone had in mind."
"Huh," she said cocking her head to the side.
For some odd reason, it reminded EZ of a befuddled owl. "I dunno," he replied evasively.
"What?" She said more forcefully.
"Well, I think people were expecting some sort of nerdy dude with a junior Stephen Hawking's complex."
Amalia gave an overly dramatic gasp, "you know who Stephen Hawking is? I guess the pretty boy is smart after all!" She could not help the sass.
EZ smiled goofily, "aw you think I'm pretty?"
"I don't," she said" but they certainly seem to think so" Amalia smirked pointing towards a group of girls up ahead who had caught her attention a minute earlier because of their pointed giggling in EZ's direction.
Just as he glanced up, a pretty blonde with shoulder-length hair glided up towards them, "hi EZ," she said completely ignoring Amalia.
"Uh hi Crystal what's up?" he asked giving her an uncertain smile.
"So, I heard that you're first string starter with the varsity football team this year?" She batted her eyelashes dramatically and Amalia had to resist the urge to gag.
"Uh, yeah," EZ replied smiling stupidly.
"Can't wait to watch you play," she said with a suggestive smile before sauntering back to her friends who all looked over and whispered excitedly.
Amalia watched EZ who was still grinning like an idiot.
"So eloquent," she said sarcastically after the girl was out of earshot.
"What?" he replied. "She's in my brother's class and she knows who I am!"
Amalia rolled her eyes.
"You wouldn't understand," he said walking again, "you're only in 8th grade," he chuckled in her direction, clearly intending to annoy her.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Maybe, but unlike you, I'm still in command of English language basics when talking to someone of the opposite sex."
"I wasn't that bad, was I?" he asked a little self-consciously.
Amalia laughed, "you were fine, just maybe less 'uhs' next time ya?"
"Whatever."
"More importantly," Amalia said after a second had passed in silence, "you're the freshman that everyone is talking about?"
"Huh?"
"The freshman who made varsity?"
"Ya, how did you hear about that?" he asked looking at her.
"You're famous pretty boy, even us lowly junior high-ers heard about the freshman making the team."
"Guess you're lucky we're friends then huh?" he stated shooting her a grin.
"We're friends now?"
"Well, you have to help this 'pretty boy' pass bio right?" continuing to smirk.
"Funny," Amalia replied. "I distinctly remember you taking furious notes in both Algebra and Bio, so don't play the dumb card. I'm wise to you already."
"Guilty, I actually kind of like school." EZ pretended to look embarrassed.
"What a nerd," she deadpanned.
"Whatever Stephen Hawking."
"See that was my tip-off, "Amalia replied. "Brainy references for the win."
They both laughed.
"Ha! You're not too bad Kane."
"You neither Reyes."
"Shit!" Amalia said suddenly glancing up at the clock on the wall, "I gotta run."
"See you later junior high," he smirked.
"Ha, funny." She said beginning to walk off.
"Oh, wait! Hey EZ," she yelled after she had taken a few steps.
Hearing his name, he glanced back with a quizzical look.
"Any chance you know where English lit is?"
EZ just smiled, "6th period?"
"Uh, ya?"
"Guess we're destined to be friends then," I'll meet you back here after 5th period.
Amalia just smiled, "see ya!" She waved as she bounded off towards the lawn separating the junior high from the high school campus.
X
The rest of her day went smoothly, at lunch she found Emily with a group of students who were in her homeroom class. They talked about school, music, life in Santo Padre, and peppered Amalia with questions about San Diego and her life before Santo Padre. She was friendly, though evasive when it came to questions about her life before, however, no one seemed to notice and by the end of lunch she, Emily, and two other girls, Letty and Sarah, had plans to go to the movies that Friday.
After lunch, on the way to 5th period with Emily, Amalia remembered to tell her about EZ. "Oh hey," she remarked as they walked into Theater. "Remember that freshman that you were talking about? The one that made varsity?"
"Yea?" Emily replied curiously.
"So I actually have all three of my upper division classes with him."
Emily squealed. "Omg really?"
"Whoa."
"I heard that he was really cute," Emily said excitedly.
"I mean, I guess?"
"What do you mean you guess?" Emily pushed.
"I mean, I dunno, objectively speaking sure."
"So…you're not interested?"
"Jeez no," Amalia replied.
Emily just stared at her, clearing hoping for more of an explanation.
"He's really nice and friendly and we're partners in bio."
Emily continued to look at her.
Amalia laughed, "I'm just looking for friends at the moment."
Emily looked unconvinced.
"No, just friends, besides," she added as an afterthought "anyone who's interested in him is going to have to contend with a lot of other girls who think he's attractive."
"Oh," Emily said looking deflated.
Not wanting Emily to lose her earlier excitement, she added, "Maybe I can introduce you?"
Immediately Emily brightened. "Really? That would be amazing."
"Sure," she said with a grin.
A few minutes later, the teacher walked in and called for everyone to settle down.
X
Before she knew it, her first official day at Santo Padre Regional was over. For the most part, it had been good. She had really enjoyed theater, at first, the idea of emoting in front of thirty other students scared the hell out of her, but it soon became clear that no one took themselves too seriously.
Later, as he had promised, EZ found her out in front of the bio classroom and the two had walked to Lit together. She liked the teacher, he seemed nice but way too sincere to be teaching a bunch of DGAF high school students. However, their first assignment was analyzing a passage for Shakespeare so she was hopeful. EZ had given her shit about being a nerd, but she shot back once she realized that he was already taking diligent notes concerning the assignment and due date.
As the class was wrapping up however the teacher, Mr. Haley had asked her to stay for a moment. He had ended up talking to her for over forty-five minutes about how she was settling in and if she thought that, she could handle the upper division course work. Though she had tried to assure him that she would be fine, he had insisted and as ten minutes stretched to twenty and then to thirty, she realized that she would miss the bus.
Thus it was that she found herself walking home.
Thankfully, it was pretty much a straight shot from campus up the main street and then a few turns to their quiet cul-de-sac. She had paid attention to the route as she was running errands with Nana earlier in the summer and was grateful. As she stopped at a light to cross the street, she heard a honking sound behind her and someone calling her name. Turning in the direction, she scanned the cars. After a moment, an old model brown pick up pulled up alongside the curb. She was wary at first but as the car came to a stop next to her, she saw EZ's face lean over an older man in the driver's seat. "Hey!" EZ said, "Need a ride?"
"Hey," she said. "Sure!"
"Climb in."
Quickly, she walked around to the passenger side and got in as EZ slid over to the middle.
"Thanks!" Amalia said turning towards him.
"No problem," he said as the older man started the car and they merged into traffic.
"Oh hey, this is my pop's. Dad this is Amalia, she's in a few of my classes at school."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Reyes, I really appreciate the ride," she replied.
The older man offered her a slight nod.
"I thought you were taking the bus?" EZ inquired after a moment.
"I was," she said grimacing, "however my chat with Mr. Haley lasted almost forty-five minutes."
"Yikes," he said sympathetically.
"He wanted to double check that I could handle the course load."
"Hey pop," EZ said acknowledging his dad again, "Amalia's in 8th grade, but taking a few high school classes with me."
At this the older man looked at her fully, his gaze was not unkind, however, the critical assessment he gave her made her avert her eyes.
"She just moved here from San Diego," EZ continued. "She lives…" He stopped for a moment. "Come to think of it, where do you live?" He asked.
"Oh," Amalia replied, "I live with my Nana, Dora Sanchez."
"Abuelita Sanchez is your grandmother?" Mr. Reyes spoke for the first time.
"Ya," Amalia replied tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I thought she only had four grandkids?" Mr. Reyes questioned again.
"Um, it's a long story," she responded after meeting the man's eyes. Thankfully, he seemed satisfied with the explanation.
"You know," EZ said after a second, "that's the second time you've said that today."
Opening her mouth to respond, she was cut off before she could speak by Mr. Reyes. "So, how is Dora? She hasn't been by the shop in a few weeks." She caught Mr. Reyes eye before responding and offered a small smile, she had a sense that he could feel her discomfort with the subject of her move and had diverted the discussion away intentionally. He nodded in return before directing his attention back to the road.
"Good," Amalia responded.
The conversation drifted on for a few minutes while EZ explained that his dad owned the local meat shop in town and his mother was a preschool teacher's aid. Without instruction, Mr. Reyes navigated the few turns down their street, and before she knew it, his truck had parked in front of their modest home.
At the engine's rumble, the door opened and Dora shuffled out onto the front porch. "Mira is that you? I was getting worried, you were not on the bus" she called.
After a minute Mr. Reyes called out, "Hola Señora!"
"Mr. Reyes, hola! Como estas?"
"Bien," he responded as Amalia grabbed her books.
"Sorry, Nana! One of my teachers wanted to talk to me after class and I missed the bus," she explained.
"Aye, I hope you weren't in trouble on your first day Mira." Giving Amalia a critical look.
EZ chuckled before stepping up to her defense, "No, Abuelita, quite the opposite, she's very studious," he said seriously.
Amalia felt sure she could not be the only one that picked up on his sarcasm, however, Mr. Reyes did not seem fazed and Dora was beaming. "What did I tell you, Mira, eh? You would have a great day."
Amalia smiled,
"Ezekiel, you looking out for mi chica eh?" She asked, shooting EZ an assessing look.
"Yes, ma'am." He replied seriously.
Amalia bit back a snort, which brought what looked to be the beginnings of a grin to Mr. Reyes face.
"Good," Dora replied.
After the men offered their goodbyes, Mr. Reyes called out to Amalia before she disappeared into the house. "I take EZ to school every morning on my way to open the shop," he said. "We leave about forty-five minutes before the bus, but I'd be happy to take you too." He gave her a kind look.
She smiled at him tentatively, "that would be amazing," she said. "Thank you."
As she would learn to be his custom, Mr. Reyes just nodded in acknowledgment and headed for his truck.
Dora had been watching from just inside the screen door and smiled to herself, she knew her little one would thrive.
When Amalia finally entered, Dora was back in the kitchen setting the table, "So how was your first day Mira?"
"Good," Amalia said with a wide grin.
"You friends with the Reyes boy already?" she asked.
"Ya, I think so," Amalia replied absently, setting her backpack down in the hall.
"Felipe's boys are good kids," she replied. "Though that older one," she sighed, " aye he can be trouble."
"Huh, he didn't mention that he had a brother," Amalia responded with her head stuck in the fridge looking for the filter.
"You watch out for that eh?" She said glancing over at Amalia.
"Uh huh," she replied.
Dora just shook her head and moved to place the plates for dinner.