We tried to keep our cool and think what was the most rational thing to do.
Since my father was a car mechanic he taught me to change a tire.
I rummaged around in the trunk in hope of finding a spare tire, but all I found were empty plastic bottles, a blanket, a flashlight and other useless things.
Elly: "Who doesn't keep a spare tire in their trunk? It's like the one thing you really might need."
Jasmine: "Apparently me."
Elly: "And what are we supposed to do now?"
Jasmine: "We can call your father. He's a car mechanic. I'm sure he has a tire to spare. Get it? Spare tire, tire to spare."
I rolled my eyes.
Elly: "Seriously? Now with the puns?"
Jasmine: "Sorry. When I'm stressed I make jokes."
Elly: "And we can't call my father."
Jasmine: "Why?"
Elly: "I'm grounded. I'm supposed to be in school with you right now doing a project."
Jasmine: "Well, then we are screwed."
I thought for a moment.
Elly: "Not necessarily. I have another idea."
I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number.
Elly: "Hey, Sad Eyes. It's me, your favorite German girl."
Sad Eyes: "Who said you are my favorite German girl? Maybe I have some others lined up."
Elly: "In your dreams, maybe."
He laughed.
Sad Eyes: "So, why did you call me, gorgeous?"
Elly: "Sad Eyes, my favorite of all Santos. Strong, good-looking man with a heart of gold."
Sad Eyes: "I sense that you need a favor."
Elly: "You know me too well. Jasmine and I are kind of stranded somewhere. Our tire burst. And we don't have another one."
Sad Eyes: "Got it. Send me the address and I'll be there in 20."
Elly: "Thank you so much!"
We hung up and I sent him the address. Then we waited.
After some time a car stopped next to us. It was Sad Eyes and another Santo. Sad Eyes got out of the car with a big smile on his face.
Sad Eyes: "Hola chicas."
Jasmine smiled awkwardly and I waved at him.
He went to the back of the car and lifted a tire out. As he lifted the tire, you could see the muscles in his arms tighten.
He rolled the tire over in our direction. The hit against my leg pulled me out of these thoughts.
He leaned inside the open window of the passenger door. And immediately my gaze went down to his ass. I had no idea what was going on with me today. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have sex or any action since a really long time, I thought to myself.
Sad Eyes: "You can leave. I'm fine here. I'll help the pretty ladies and catch a ride with them."
The other Santo nodded and sped off as soon as Sad Eyes pulled his head out the window.
Sad Eyes walked towards us and changed the tire himself.
Ultimately, the flashlight I'd found in the trunk wasn't that useless after all. It had gotten dark quite quickly and I held it for Sad Eyes so that he could change the tire.
I looked up in the sky. It was almost black. Only a few stars broke through the blanket of street lamps and car headlights that cast over the city.
My parents will kill me. They'll never believe that my school project took this long.
Sad Eyes: "Okay, all done."
We dropped off Jasmine at Ruby's place. She wanted to bring him the food before the sauce gets lumpy.
After that I drove Sad Eyes to Oscar's place because that's where he was headed before I called him.
My plan was to bring the car back to Jasmine's place quickly after and to rush home.
I stopped the car directly in front of Oscar's house. The Santos were sitting out in the front yard like they do it always. Oscar was between them, like always.
I tried my hardest not to look at him, but to be perfectly honest I risked a few glances.
He was starring at us. While I thanked Sad Eyes with a big hug. While we said our goodbyes. While Sad Eyes left the car. While he walked towards the others smiling like an idiot.
And I sped off, scared that my parents would extend my house arrest.
I opened the door quietly and tiptoed towards the kitchen where I heard my parents talking. They didn't notice I was even there.
Of course they were talking about me.
I had two options right now. I could come clean, be very apologetical and hope for the mercy of my parents.
Other option, I could come up with a really good lie.
I decided for the second option because the talk of my parents didn't sound like they were in the mood to be merciful right now.
I rush tiptoed to my room. Which is tiptoeing, but very aggressively.
I took off my clothes, threw them in the corner and put on a baggy shirt and soft sweatpants which were my stay home/sleep attire.
Then I took out my ponytail and messed up my hair a bit, so it looks like I was in bed.
While walking towards the kitchen I just prayed to God that my parents weren't in the room the last hour. Because that would have been the end of my lie.
I trotted in the kitchen sleepily, rubbed my eye and yawned. Nonchalantly, I walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of water.
Before taking a sip, I turned to my parents. They a had a confused look on their faces.
Elly: "Hey. All good?"
Before they could answer I kept going.
Elly: "You should have woken me up earlier. What time is it anyway?"
I looked at the clock on the fridge.
Mother: "You are home?"
Elly: "Of course I am."
Mother: "We thought... we thought you are still outside. When did you come home?"
I needed to be careful. I couldn't be too detailed because I didn't know if they checked my room anytime before.
Elly: "I don't know. One, two hours before. No idea. School was so exhausting today. And then the project. We tried hard because we need a good grade on it. I was tired when I came home so I went to take a nap."
My father still looked sceptical.
Father: "Why you didn't say hello when you came?"
I acted offended.
Elly: "I did! When I entered, I shouted hello, but got no answer, so I thought you guys are out or busy with hooking up or whatever."
Father: "Elly!"
Elly: "Sorry."
Apologizing for saying that was better than them finding out I sneaked inside just now.
Mother: "Well, okay. We are happy you didn't stay out longer than allowed. Maybe we can even talk about you not being grounded anymore."
My eyes lit up.
Elly: "Really?"
Father: "Not so fast. She said we could think about it. Not that it would happen right away."
After our conversation, I quickly went to my room before anything could go sideways.
I took my phone from the charger. The power outlet had a stupid position in my room and my cable wasn't long enough for me to lay on my bed and use my phone at the same time. It was annoying.
I opened my messages and searched for Sad Eyes.
Elly: "How you doing?"
I was waiting for his reply like half an hour, hoping we could chat a little. But he didn't answer.
Also the next morning I didn't find a reply. I saw that he wasn't even online since I dropped him off at Oscar's place.
I was worrying, but there could be thousands of reasons why he doesn't answer, so I didn't want to panic.
Also the next days I didn't hear something from him. I started to worry.
One morning I was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal out of the box with my hands, thinking about what I could do to find Sad Eyes.
My father sat down next to me and let his newspaper fall on the table. The noise pulled me out of my thoughts.
Father: "So, I heard tomorrow's the Valentines Day dance at your school."
Elly: "Well, not for me."
I was trying to make him feel guilty. Since they said they'll think about me not being grounded anymore, some days passed and nothing happened.
My mother appeared behind me, took the box of cereal away and laid a banana right in front of me.
I rolled my eyes, but opened the banana and bit off a piece.
My mother put a cup of coffee in front of my father and one for herself, before sitting down with us at the table.
Father: "About that, your mother and I talked and we think we punished you enough."
I jumped from my seat out of excitement.
Elly: "Really?"
Mother: "Hold up, there are some rules."
Rules. That didn't sound too good. I sat down again.
Father: "You'll always tell us where you are going, with who and when you'll be home again. No more lies."
I nodded.
Mother: "And no more alcohol, or drugs of any kind. Understood?"
I nodded again.
Father: "Okay, get to school then."
He slid me some money over the table.
Father: "For the ticket to the dance."
I smiled very much and hugged my parents.
Elly: "You are the best."
I grabbed my bag, the rest of my banana and quickly took a handful of cereal out of the box. Then I rushed out.
On my way to school I walked with Jasmine. She was telling me all about some kind of competition she set up to find out who'll be Ruby's date for the dance.
I didn't care about it too much, so I concentrated on eating my cereal without dropping any.
Over the day I fully realized that I was really able to go out again. Not tied to home anymore. I had missed the outside world. I needed to figure out what to do with the rest of my day.
Jasmine: "You want to color coordinate for the dance tomorrow?"
Elly: "He?"
Jasmine: "I want to know what you'll be wearing for the dance, so we don't clash."
Elly: "I have no idea yet."
Jasmine: "How you got no idea till now? The dance is tomorrow."
Elly: "Can I remember you that I was grounded for the last weeks."
Jasmine: "Well girl, then you need to figure that out quickly, because with this" She pointed me up and down "You won't get some."
I laughed.
Elly: "How about going shopping today?"
Jasmine: "I wish I could, but I need to take care of my papá. Sorry."
Elly: "No problem. I'll figure it out."
The next period, I texted Tanja and Keisha. I didn't see them anymore since our night out, but we still stayed in contact.
Elly: "Someone in the mood to go shopping?"
Tanja: "☝🏼"
Keisha: "Always"
Tanja: "What we shopping for?"
Keisha: "Must there be a reason to go shopping?"
About an hour later they picked me up from school to go to the mall.
I took pretty long to find something I liked. I wasn't in the mood to wear a dress. Amelie's braveness from the last dance impressed me, so I went with a suit all in red. Pretty bold, but it'll be dark in there anyways, so it was fine.
After our shopping spree, Tanja and Keisha drove me home.
When we passed Oscar's house, I saw the Santos sitting outside. Between them, Sad Eyes.
I was so surprised that I shouted.
Elly: "Hold on for a second."
Keisha stopped the car abruptly.
Keisha: "What the hell's going on?"
I opened the car door and stepped out.
I was surprised to see him after he disappeared on me all these weeks. But I was glad he was okay. Still I wanted to know why he ignored the ton of messages I sent him.
Keisha and Tanja tried to stop me from going any further, because they thought I was about to confront Oscar, who was sitting on a couch in the front yard with his ruca.
Little did they know I couldn't care less about what he was doing.
They left me to my fate and watched the spectacle from afar.
I walked over to Sad Eyes. It took much willpower to don't look around, especially not in Oscar's direction. But I managed.
When he noticed me he stood up from the stairs and walked in my direction. We were standing in front of each other quiet for some seconds.
Then I hugged him. He hugged me back but very reluctantly.
Elly: "Why you disappeared on me like that? I worried half to death. Didn't you read the approximately 1000 messages I wrote you?"
He blushed and looked around, like he was scared somebody else could hear what I said.
Sad Eyes: "Let's not talk about that here, Elly. Not right now."
He backed off a bit.
Elly: "Is that a joke? What's going on?"
Sad Eyes: "Listen, I'm sorry, Elly. I didn't mean to ignore you-"
Oscar cleared his throat loudly. Sad Eyes heard it, looked to the side a bit and sighed softly.
Sad Eyes: "Let's just keep some distance, ok?"
With these words and without an explanation he went back to the stairs where he was sitting before.
I understood that the conversation was over and I didn't want to make a fool out of myself, so I turned around, went back to the car and closed the door behind me.
Keisha drove off.
Tanja: "What are you thinking walking over there like that?"
Elly: "What's the big deal?"
Tanja: "What's the big deal? The big deal is that these are Santos. Who knows what kind of weird honor or claiming shit they have going on and you sure as hell don't want to be in the middle of that."
Elly: "Fucking Santos. I truly start to believe they are all mentally restricted. Did you hear what Sad Eyes said? Being all up in my business one day, then ghosting me the other."
Keisha: "Fuck them. You better off without any of them gangbangers."
Tanja: "Yeah. You'll be out of here sooner than later anyway."
Keisha: "And you have something better to worry about. Tomorrow's the dance and you have a bomb ass outfit."
Elly: "Yeah, but I don't even have a date to rip my bomb ass outfit off when the evening's over."
We all laughed.
Keisha: "Well, that's a problem possible to fix."
Tanja: "Yeah, I heard your history teacher, Mr. Ransberger, is very touchy."
I laughed, Keisha looked repelled.
Keisha: "Ew, that's disgusting."
Elly: "At this point I'm not even picky anymore."
We kept going joking and talking till we were home. Of course I was still thinking about what happened with Sad Eyes before, but I couldn't let it dictate my thoughts and feelings.
My first dance was ruined by Oscar. So under no circumstances another Santo was about to ruin this one.
The next day, I was on my way to the dance. It was getting dark already when Jasmine, Ruby and the others showed up. Everyone looked great and we headed inside.
In the beginning I just talked to my friends and we danced a bit. But then another student offered me some of the beverage in her flask.
Despite the promise I made my parents, I took a good sip. It tasted disgusting, but it sure helped the mood. I danced more and more lively.
I danced with a few students, but mostly with my friends. When I saw our history teacher near the dance floor, I asked him to dance. That we were dancing and especially the way we were dancing was super inappropriate, but it was a good story to tell Keisha and Tanja.
After some time, I got off the dance floor to drink something and to check my phone. The first thing I saw was a message from Sad Eyes.
Sad Eyes: "We need to talk. Meet me outside the back gate."
I was not sure if I should go to him. He was stupid to me yesterday and I wasn't really in the mood for a serious conversation.
In this moment, the student who gave me her flask before walked by. I stopped her and took a good sip.
Then I went outside. His car was parked in a dark corner. I didn't see it at first till he turned on his headlights as a sign for me.
It was still very hot outside, so his windows were open. I leaned on the open window of the passenger door.
Elly: "What you want? I was just about to have sex with my history teacher."
Sad Eyes: "I- what?" He looked confused. "I'll ignore that. How about you come inside?"
Elly: "I'm not allowed to go in stranger's cars."
He leaned over and opened the door himself.
Sad Eyes: "Good that I'm no stranger then."
Reluctantly, I opened the door further and sat in the car.
It was quiet for a few seconds.
Elly: "So?"
Sad Eyes: "You look amazing today."
He looked me up and down.
Elly: "Thank you. I know. You didn't have to come all the way to tell me that."
Sad Eyes: "Come on, don't be like that, Elly."
Elly: "Like what? I was nothing but nice to you. You ghosted me. You told me to keep a distance. That's what I'm doing."
Sad Eyes: "Hey, that's exactly why I'm here. To explain myself."
Elly: "Then do explain."
He sighed.
Sad Eyes: "You remember last time we met and you dropped me off at Oscar's place?"
I nodded.
Sad Eyes: "Well, after you left Oscar got really angry. Furious. He screamed and broke stuff, including my face."
I was shocked.
Elly: "What?! Why?"
Sad Eyes: "He thought we were on a date or something like that. I tried to explain that I just helped you out with something, but he didn't listen. He got so caught up in the thought that we have a thing going on that he beat the shit out of me and threatened to kill me."
I couldn't believe what he was saying.
Sad Eyes: "After that I stayed away for a while. Didn't want my life ended over a woman. No offense."
Elly: "What happened then? Yesterday I saw you with him."
Sad Eyes: "Yeah. After two weeks or so, I showed up again. He apologized. The Santo who drove me to you this day clarified that I told the truth."
Elly: "That's good, then. Right?"
He nodded.
Sad Eyes: "But the thing is, I can't risk that shit happening again. I am a Santo, before all. That is my life. And he is my boss. I can't fuck with him."
Elly: "Maybe you would get promoted if you'd fuck with him."
He chuckled.
Elly: "I'm sorry. I'm just saying bullshit because I'm so shocked about what you just told me. I can't believe he acted out like that."
Sad Eyes: "I can. He's still in love with you and thought you are with another man. Of course he acted out. I would've done the same."
I laughed sarcastically.
Elly: "In love with me? Nah, now you talking bullshit. You don't disrespect and ignore someone you love. Hell, you are not fucking another person if you love someone."
Sad Eyes: "I'm also fucking someone and I'm in love with you."
I looked at him surprised, but then chuckled.
Elly: "I appreciate that you try to make me laugh, but don't be silly."
He looked sad for a moment, but then he composed himself and smiled softly.
Sad Eyes: "Well, I'm just saying. Maybe Oscar has a reason for all of that. I don't know. It's between the two of you."
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