Tony’s POV
“I think it’s nice that you invited Evie and Donny to come tour Charleston with us today,” my mom says while washing the dishes. I take a plate from her and dry it off. “It’ll be fun for all of us.”
“Yeah,” I nod. “I love being with them. Plus, Emily will have someone to hang out with too.”
“Es la verdad.” (That's true.) We finish up the dishes and my mom helps Emily get ready for the orientation and tour at Charleston today. Everyone that’s been accepted will be there today and so will their families. Since it’s such a nice school, everyone is expected to dress just as nice.
I go into my room and slip on a pair of slacks. I put on my new button-down shirt, tuck it in, and try to tie my tie. It takes me three tries. In the end, it’s still a little crooked but I leave it that way. Finally, I brush my hair. Evie made me cut it and I’m glad. I look kind of professional.
“They’re here!” Emily screams from the living room. A few seconds later, I hear her and Donny laughing and my mom talking to Evie. I throw on a pair of dress shoes and go into the living room.
When I see Evie, everything freezes. She’s in a light green dress, the same color as my shirt, and the top half is covered in flowers. Her hair is flatironed and it’s the first time I’ve seen it straight. It reaches past her shoulders and looks so much longer.
“Hey you.” She smiles at me and walks over to me. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me softly on the lips. “Can I fix your tie?”
I nod because I don’t know what to say. We’ve almost been dating for a year yet I’m always amazed to see her body. Her dress is flowy but it holds her snugly uptop. She looks incredible.
“There,” she says, caressing my face. “And I like your shirt.”
“Thanks,” I finally say. “My girlfriend bought it for me.”
“Your girlfriend is a genius.” Evie kisses me once more. “It matches your eyes.”
“And it matches your dress.” I wrap my hands around her waist. “You look beautiful Evie.”
Her dark cheeks get a little red. “Thanks.”
I reach up and run my hands through her hair. It’s so… soft.
“You like it?” She asks.
“It’s beautiful,” I say. “I think I like the curls a little more though.”
“Really?” She smiles. “I thought you’d like this.”
“It’s beautiful. The curls are just more you.” I let go of her hair.
“I’ll remember that.” Evie kisses me again.
“So I was thinking that after Charleston, we could…” My mom trails off when she sees us kissing.
“Sorry.” Evette pulls back, embarrassed. My mom just laughs at us and goes back down the hallway.
“I feel like an idiot,” Evie covers her eyes with her hand. “That was so embarrassing.”
“She understands.” I smile.
Donny and Emily follow my mom back up the hallway a few seconds later. Emily is in a yellow dress and Donny has on a light blue polo shirt and dark jeans. Their clothes are already wrinkled.
“Were you guys playing in the room?” Evie bends down and tries to straighten out Donny’s shirt.
“Yup,” Donny responds, backing away from Evie. “We made a tunnel and crawled through it.”
“I see.” Evie stands up and shrugs.
“You guys ready?” My mom slips her shoes on. “We have to be at the bus stop in five minutes.
When we get to Charleston, there are balloons everywhere and signs pointing to us to a giant building in the middle of the campus. Emily, Donny and my mom are way ahead of us and I’m holding Evie’s hand.
“This place is beautiful babe,” Evie squeezes my hand. “I’m so excited for you.”
I haven’t stopped smiling since we got here. “Thanks babe. I’m super excit—
A kid bumps into Evie, hard.
“Watch where you’re going, nigger.” The kid smirks and tries to walk off but not before a grab his shoulder and turn him around.
“Excuse me, but that’s my girlfriend you're talking to. I think you owe her an apology.”
The guy looks me up and down and laughs. “Or else? What are you gonna do? Make me into a tamale Mexican boy?”
I get face to face with him. “I’ll beat the crap out of you to start.”
“Tony, don’t.” Evie grabs my arm. “He’s not worth it.”
“You better listen to your little girlfriend back there,” the blonde kid says. He’s a little shorter than me but pretty buff. He looks like some of the kids that go to school on the West Side. I want to punch him in the face so bad.
“Come on babe,” Evie says again. “Everyone is probably waiting for us.” I decide to listen to Evie. I shove the guy with my shoulder and walk with Evie.
“I wanted to hit him so bad,” I say, frustrated.
“I know, babe. But he was stupid and some random guy. He’s not worth risking your time at Charleston.”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry that he said that.”
Evie shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. But thanks for sticking up to me.” Evie wraps her hand around my arm. “It was pretty hot,” she flirts.
“Thanks.” I raise my eyebrows and smile. “I try.”
We get to the main building where they’re getting ready to start the orientation. There’s probably about 1,000 people squeezed in here. Long, rectangular tables are everywhere and they’re covered in white table cloths.
My mom waves at us when we walk inside and we go sit at a table near the front. The table settings have our names. It’s pretty cool. Waiters come out from the kitchen and serve us all with crepes, juice and fruit. We start eating and soon, the presentation starts.
It’s really interesting. The lady speaking is Krystle Fay. She’s the Dean of Admissions and the one that sent my admission letter. For some reason, I expected her to be some blonde-hair, blue-eyed lady but it’s actually a Spanish woman.
She starts the presentation with a welcome and that the brunch is courtesy of current Charleston students. The waiters come back to pick up our plates and hands all the students schedules for the upcoming year. Mine isn’t that bad.
My classes at Charleston don’t start until 1:00 p.m. So that means, I have class at St. Monica ‘til noon. My first class at Charleston is Food Ethics, then I have Hospitality at 2 and I get to choose a final class for 3. I’m actually really excited to start. There’s a bus pass paperclipped to the bottom of my schedule and I read the note underneath it.
This is your transportation to and from Charleston. It covers your travels through the entire school year.
I show it to my mom and she smiles. “Nice mijio.” We listen to the rest of the presentation then get ready for a tour.
“I like this place TT,” Emily says, taking my hand. We’re back outside and following a small group on a tour around the campus.
“Yeah?” I can’t stop smiling. “I like this place too Em.”
The tour is about an hour and after picking my third class, Latin Dishes, we head home. Donny falls asleep on my mom’s shoulder as soon as we get on the bus. Emily is in my lap and Evie is sitting next to me.
“I had so much fun,” she says softly. “Even though it’s not my school.”
I laugh. “I’ll be sure to bring you home leftovers. I’m sure I’ll have a ton.”
“Yes, please.” Evie closes her eyes and I rest my chin on her head the rest of the ride home.