Frenemies

4

Alex walked me to and from each class, being increasingly confusing. "Here." I place a tray with a burger and fries in front of him. He looks at it, then shakes his head. "I've got my own. Just shut up and eat real food." I abruptly place down the second tray and plop down in my seat.

He glares at me, but I can tell he doesn't have his heart in it. Alex takes the food, and eats. I eat too, and we end up sitting in silence as we munch away. 

When Alex finishes, he watches me. His arms are crossed, and he seems to be judging me. "What?" I ask. 

"Nothing, you just have something on your face." I scowl at him and grab a napkin. I wipe at my chin, then turn my face side to side, expecting him to tell me if I got it. "You're clean." 

"I better be." My voice is muffled, but I'm pretty sure he heard me. I finish eating and Alex is sitting with his head in his arms. I think he's asleep, but he may just be resting his eyes.

The bell rings about twenty minutes later, and I get up and put up my tray. Alex is right behind me, silently following me. 

He hasn't been glaring as much, so maybe he's warming up to me. If I was allowed to have friends, I think we could be good friends, but that's impossible so I won't even think about it.

We get to class, and pull out our notes. Alex looks at my notebook as I pull it out. "So you never told me what part of Italy your family is from." He mentions it casually. I wonder if he's actually curious, or if he's just tired of the silence.

Instead of telling him, I grab a sheet of paper from my notebook. "When you tell me where you're from, I'll tell you where I'm from."

Alex scoffs. "That's not fair. I asked first."

I shrug, and begin to copy down some notes before class starts. "Life isn't fair."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, like I don't already know that. I'm from Savoca, a town in Sicily, which I'm pretty sure is where you're from."

"You'd be correct. I'm from Palermo." It's the biggest city in the region of Sicily.

His head nods, he probably figured I was going to say that. "Of course you are, and you were born there?" I nod, and he nods again. "Hmm."

I look at him. "What are you trying to figure out about me?" His questions can possibly get us both into trouble.

"I just figured, if I'm probably going to get beat up for being around you, I should actually know something about you." His eyes aren't looking at me, but I know he's probably got a devious look in them. Those green pools are always swimming with some kind of devious thoughts. I can tell.

"No, you don't. I'm sure this will all blow over after I'm no longer your guide. When you don't have to come to me for questions, or paperwork, then we'll have no reason to be around each other." I hope he understands that I'm just trying to keep him from losing his teeth.

He sits in silence, and the bell for class to begin rings. As we're taking notes, a sheet of paper slides over to me. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Is he wanting to get beaten up? I ignore it, and focus on class, but I can't stop looking at the sheet of paper. His handwriting is neat. I don't know why, but that short sentence makes my stomach twist into knots every time I look at it. At one point I glance at him, and he's focused on the teacher. He looks so unfazed by how unsettled I am. 

Our Chemistry class ends, and I pack up. Alex leaves before me, and I try to forget what he wrote. Although, it's pretty much impossible. I even folded up the sheet of paper he wrote on and put it in my bag. 

Alex doesn't take me to the car pick up, and my brothers don't discuss him in the car. Hopefully this is a good sign.

When we reach my father's office, I bow, and he greets me, then tells me to take a seat. Slowly, I find a place to sit. He usually just greets me and I leave after he asks me about school. My brothers also seem confused, but none of them would dare to question him. 

My father doesn't address me again, and I end up sitting, and listening to my brothers chat amongst themselves while my father does paperwork. After a while, my father looks up to my eldest brother, and asks him if someone is here yet. My brother leaves the room to go check, then comes back in a minute later. He nods to him, and my father stands. "Lelia, please follow me." 

I stand and walk behind my father. If this is what I think it is, and he's found a possible arranged marriage, I'll have to refuse it. He won't be happy, but I haven't graduated yet. 

We walk outside, and to the small gazebo in the garden. There is a man about my father's age, sitting and sipping on a cup of something, maybe tea? "Augusto." The man stands and bows to my father the moment he sees him. My father greets him, and we sit down.

"Tullio, this is my daughter, Lelia." I bow my head as my father introduces me, and the man nods.

"It's nice to meet you, Lelia. Your father does nothing but brag about you." I want to laugh, but I suppress it. My father probably brags that I do nothing against him, and that I get good grades, but anything else is probably fabricated to make him look good.

My father clears his throat. "Yes, well she is a good girl." He won't look at me. "Lelia, Tullio and I have been discussing the possibility of our two families joining together. There is a boy around your age, and we have decided that the two of you will marry each other. This will strengthen the bond between our two families."

I nod, and turn my chin down. "I’m grateful, father, but may I ask a favor?"

The nervousness building up in my stomach may make me vomit, but I'll force it to stay down, just so I can say this. "If you must, I will listen, but depending on what it is, I cannot promise that I will fulfill it." He sounds angry, I just have to get it out of my mouth.

"Yes, of course, father. I only wish to ask that you let me finish out my senior year before the marriage takes place. I know it is completely normal to marry at my age, but some people at school may not understand." I need to remember to pat myself on the back later.

"Hmm." My father looks serious. "Would you accept that, Tullio?" He asks the man across from us.

Tullio looks at me. "I believe that is an acceptable reason to wait for the two of you to get married. It'd be sad to see your grades drop because of wedding planning."

"I must admit, I was worried about that. Hmm. I'll permit this favor. Make sure your grades remain as they are now." His hands are folded together. If he had his way, I would be married immediately, but he doesn't want to step on the toes of his future partner. 

I bow my head. "Thank you, father, and thank you, Tullio, sir." I wonder what kind of power this man has. Obviously he's a powerful man. He's dressed in a suit, and his hair is slicked to the back. He also sits with the confidence of someone who clearly has no reason to be scared of my father.

"You're welcome. You are dismissed." I stand and bow before walking back inside. Thankfully father agreed to let me graduate first. I was worried he'd marry me off, and force me out of school. Maybe this man's son is still in school too. He would definitely want his son to graduate before getting married. Even if his son never goes to college, it would be a smudge on his son's record, which is probably spotless. Most mafioso kids stay under the radar to keep their parents out of speculation.

I'm just glad I have time.