Song: Mariposa, By: Peach Tree Rascals
~~~
Dom was not looking forward to walking into Mr. Rodriguez's class. She knew walking into the class meant having to sit through the entire class, and she knew that she didn't have Makani to keep her company this time around. And so she waited until the last second to walk in, paying no mind to the other person walking in seconds behind her.
Mr. Rodriguez begins speaking and acknowledging someone, but Dom pays no attention to his words. What could be so important that he has to announce it in the first 7 seconds since the bell has rung?
Instinctively walking to her usual seat, she let her bag hang off the backrest of her chair. Her body automatically slouches lazily, as if it's preparing for the fatigue to hit midway through class for her to doze off and think about, quite literally, anything else. Her peripheral vision catches someone sitting in what would usually be Makani's seat-the third seat from the left of the window in the third to last row of the classroom. Makani was picky like that.
Dom had to fight the urge to say that it was her friend's seat, but she knew seats weren't assigned in this class and Makani wasn't here, so there was no harm done-
"Dominique? Dominique?!"
Dom's head shakes out of her thoughts and she immediately looks up to the front of the class where Mr. Rodriguez is standing.
"Yeah- I'm sorry, yes?" She corrects herself. She didn't like being improper with adults. That's just how she was.
"Did you hear what I said? About our new student?" He remarked. She had not a clue. She was so busy worrying about Makani's neuroticism when it came to picking where to sit in class that she didn't pick up a single word that the teacher spoke.
"No, I didn't. Remind me?" She admitted.
He sighed and motioned to the boy sitting next to her in Makani's seat.
There sat a conventionally attractive boy with what would appear to be a bleached buzzcut under a black beanie. The hat was adorned with one small patch of a turtle near the nape of the neck, which only brought attention to the slivers of a tattoo under his crewneck and multiple ear piercings he silently boasted. He had rings pierced through his nose and lip as well as a curved barbell embellished in his left eyebrow. He had defined cheekbones and a slim look on his face and body. His full lips and nose only slightly too large for his face made him look slightly asymmetrical. She was taken aback, but only for a split second.
This boy is trouble.
"I'm assigning you an extra assignment until the end of the semester. You are going to tutor our new student, Um. What was your name again, son?"
"It's Ray to my friends, but you can call me Ramone, Mr. Rodriguez." She could see the almost unnoticeable smirk rising on his face as he spoke. His voice was deep in register and held a slight accent as he spoke back.
Oh, this boy was definitely trouble.
"Well, Dom is one of my best students. You should have no trouble picking up some Calculus with her outside of class. She should be able to get you up to speed, I know we do things a little differently here. Get acquainted and hopefully, I hear good things from both of you at the end of the semester."
Dom did not like this class, but she will admit she enjoyed the praise for her good grades. She also would rather die than fail a class, or fail at anything for that matter.
"You're one of the best? Glad to know I have someone like you working for me." His arms crossed, he had turned towards her. Is he addressing me? She thought.
"So, do you have any time after school to study? I don't mind meeting after school in the library or if it's too late, my house." Dom didn't want to play any games. She was only going along with this in hopes of maybe pushing for some extra credit or even a recommendation letter for her college applications in the next coming weeks. Enough is going on in her life, did she need to add playing the role of teacher as one of them?
"Also, don't play with me. I don't 'work' for you. I work with you. I teach, you learn. That's how this works. Unless you feel like paying me, then I'll gladly slave away for you." Dom didn't spare him a second glance. She didn't like his attitude.
Ray smiled devilishly at her indignant response. He didn't expect a response like that out of her. She had fire, and he liked that. A lot.
"Damn, I'm sorry mama. I didn't mean it like that. Yeah, the library or your house works. Any time you want." His words slightly dragged as he spoke, which only further irritated Dom.
Dom wrote quickly in her notebook her phone number and house address, ripping the page and giving it to him. "The library smells like cow piss here anyways. I usually have a full house, but we can make the time. We'll figure it out... And it's Dom. Not... Yeah, just Dom."
He takes the paper from her, neatly folding it and putting it into one of the pockets of his cargo pants. "Yes ma'am... So... how ya' doin'?" He spits out after a few minutes of silence.
"Just fine."
He nods his head a few times and starts fiddling with his lip ring, "Sounds good, sounds good... Are you good at math? I mean, do you like it?"
Dom subtly rolls her eyes at this. What if she felt like paying attention to implicit derivatives today? To be frank, she just didn't feel like talking but he makes it impossible if he's opening his mouth every two seconds to talk to her.
"Hey, we really don't have to talk to each other outside of the whole tutoring thing."
"I'm just trying to practice my English, Dom." Dom turns her head and looks at him when speaking this time. "Why would you need to practice? It sounds fine already to me."
He smiled, liking that she was engaging in conversation with him. "Well, I only know English 'cause I went to International school and watch American TV. I know I don't speak it like a master, like you."
She slightly scoffed before debating, "I only moved back to the States a few years ago. When I first got here a few years ago, my English was pretty bad too. So, I know what it's like." His eyes lit up a little, excited knowing he wasn't the only immigrant around. "You are not from here? Where did you come from?"
"Dominican Republic." She stated blankly, now wanting the conversation to end. That social battery she thought she had moments ago, depleted in a matter of seconds.
"We're neighbors! Que lo que, mami! Oh my gosh... And we sit next to each other now! We're neighbors by countries and seats in class. I came from Puerto Rico a few weeks ago. What's that thing you Americans say? Born and raised, baby." (What the what, mami! That's a direct translation, it's actually a Dominican slang, it just means what's up.)
Her face turns to a scowl and she turns towards him, her whisper subtly raising in volume, "Don't say 'you Americans' as if you're that different. You were born an American citizen, y'know that right?" She wasn't even offended by what he said. She simply felt the need to correct his words and let him know that he was not above her in any capacity. She didn't understand why she felt as though she had to argue, it didn't warrant a debate.
"Dommo, you're so much fun to talk to. Y'know, in another world-" Their attentions turned towards the teacher who was now shouting to get their attention.
"Dominique! Ramone! Coordinate schedules after class, please! I want to know how Dominique will be able to catch you up to speed on the topics if she isn't paying attention to them in the first place." Dom's cheeks immediately got red and she apologized. "Sorry. Keep going with the lecture, please."
Her face turns to Ramone in an angry scowl. He was already turning out to be trouble for her. She wanted this tutoring to start and be over already.
~~~~~
Dom was at her locker, texting Makani to see how she was feeling, or if she was even awake. When she went to check on her and Tomas in the morning, he was sitting with her and rubbing her back, but she didn't look to be feeling too well. Maybe the food wasn't sitting right or she just woke up with a small cold.
Me: Heyy girlie u awake yet? How are you feeling?
Sent.
She missed Makani in class and was sad she wouldn't have her there today. She even hated to admit that she missed Tomas in the car ride to school too.
Right after she heard the reverb sound of the message sending, someone shoulder-checked her, and hard.
"Yo! Not cool!"
She immediately closes her locker and sees the person turn in her direction. "Mi profe' favorita." (My favorite teacher.)
Ramone leans against the locker that Dom just shut, their distance lessening as he does this. His arms are crossed and his face looks as cheeky as ever. She held her laptop in her hands, bringing it close to her body. Anything to put a little distance between them. "You only met me today, I-I can't really be a favorite."
He smiles and just looks down at her, "You're definitely one of the more interesting people I've met since living here."
"Wherever you were in Puerto Rico is probably more interesting." He laughs at her and then just stares into her eyes. He tries to get a read on who she is. He knows she's a fiery girl, he knows that she gets annoyed at him, but he wants more.
"Well... If you're done... I'm gonna just... go to class. See you later, Ramone." She quickly passes his side and starts striding away, not before he catches up and walks beside her. He had no idea where she was going, but maybe she could help him find his way around.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't leave me alone. You're my only friend, so you have an obligation to help me around now. I don't even know where I'm supposed to go next." He pulls his phone out and shows Dom a blurry picture of his schedule. She squints looking at the screen before pulling down her glasses from the top of her head, hoping it will enhance her vision enough to see the blur of letters on the screen.
It did not. Did this boy not know how to take pictures?
"Yeah, I can't see anything. What does it say, genius?"
He points to random blurs on the screen before assuring, "That says AP Spanish Literature. Room 1130B. You really can't see that? Maybe I don't want you as my teacher after all. How would you even be able to read the textbook to me?" Dom rolls her eyes, simultaneously grabbing the phone from his hand and zooming in. Her knuckle leans up to push her thin-framed glasses up the crook of her nose, making sure to keep her laptop secure in her arms.
"No way you got all of that information from this picture of shit. 'Cause that's all you're showing me here."
He laughed and took the phone back, laughing at her vulgarity. "So, you had that class already or what?"
He put his phone in his pocket and lazily draped an arm around Dom's shoulder while letting out a long sigh, "Nope, I'm on the way there now, I guess." Before she could maneuver away from his arm around her, she stopped in her tracks. "You have... Spanish Lit... Right now?.."
He looked at her, confused. "Yes? Problem, Dommo?"
She waved him off and shut him up, "It's Dom, and you said Room 1130B?" He nodded, a smirk now slowly creeping its way up to his face. "Everything is working out for me today, isn't it? I should play the lottery."
She closed her eyes, rubbing on the bridge of her nose under her eyeglasses. "This can't be the day that I die. God, please tell me you have something else planned for me today. Anything else. A snowstorm. A tornado."
He put a hand on her shoulder and further guided her down the hallway, "We don't want to be late to our second hour together. Let's go!"
Dom moved out of the way of his touch and groaned as she led the way to the classroom.
~~~
"Do you have an off-switch? You're not even annoying, you're just so loud."
Ramone slapped a hand to his chest, seeming to take offense to Dom's statement. "Well, that's a rude stereotype, Dommo. I thought we were friends, what the hell?"
She laughed a little and continued to walk beside him. She had lunch block now, and continued to walk with Ramone. As much as he aggravated her, she still thought he had the potential to be fun and consistent company. She figured he would make his way somewhere else eventually.
"It's not that much of a stereotype. I mean, let's be real. My brother and I are only half-Dominican and I don't know anybody, besides maybe my mother, who's louder than we are." He laughed at her joke and when it died down, they walked in silence for a few moments. These were the first actual moments of silence they shared since they had even met.
"So... I will be going to lunch block. I'll see you tomorrow in class, I guess." Dom started to walk in the opposite direction of Ramone before he stopped her in the hallway. "Dommo, wait. This is a little embarrassing... I kinda don't know where to go next." Dom rolled her eyes and motioned for him to give her his phone again. She pulled her glasses down and zoomed in again on the picture. Once she had gotten a better look at it, she could make out some small blurs of words and numbers.
"Block... Free... Oh... So you have lunch now too." His smile grew exponentially and he dragged her by the arm in no specific direction. "Let's go!"
~~~
"Hey, Dom!" Kevin waved over to her from the other side of the outdoor courtyard, the rest of the group already sitting along with him. Dom internally cringed, realizing she is approaching with a certain stranger attached to her. She doesn't like attention.
"Hey!" Ramone waved back to the group with his free hand, he picked up their pace slightly and approached all of Dom's friends with no shame in his body language. Eli's furrowed brow did not go unnoticed by Dom, and she shrugged her shoulders in response to him.
"Ramone, friends. Friends, Ramone. Monet, what are you eating?" Dom unraveled herself from Ramone's hold, and he immediately goes to Kevin and Eli. He gave them casual handshakes as he introduced himself to them, "Ramone, but you guys can call me Ray. I'm Dom's new boyfriend."
Kevin bent over in laughter, "She should be so lucky." Ramone dabbed him up as they both laughed, along with Eli, who was still getting used to him, but found him charming nonetheless.
"The three of you are unbearable. You guys barely even know him, yet you're laughing about me? I'll remember this, don't worry." Dom makes herself comfortable. Kevin pulled Ramone to sit down next to him and threw an arm around him. "Boyfriend, huh? Tomas isn't gonna like that. Lucky he ain't here today."
"Who's that?" Ramone furrows his brow at Dom while she takes a bite from Monet's buffalo chicken wrap. "My brother."
That was a way better answer than Ramone was expecting.
He took a second look at Dom, trying to read the blank expression on her face. His body was pulled towards Kev, as he yanked an arm around his shoulder. "It's okay! Tomi isn't as scary as we make him seem! I promise!"
~~~
love you guys! vote vote vote!