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Chapter Twelve: Penrith High School, Home of the Lions
"I can't do this." My eyes focused on the huge crowd of people flooding into the school as the first bell rang. How big was this high school, anyway? By the looks of it, it would be able to hold the entire world in just one classroom.
"Don't be so dramatic, Olive." Curson rolled his eyes at me. "I'll be here the whole time."
Because that was oh, so comforting.
I glanced down at Joey's attire, suddenly feeling super self-conscious and totally out of place. Elvie had done a wonderful job at my makeup, making it look super lowkey, but oddly making me look like I had more boyish features.
Makeup was whack.
Like, have you seen those videos where people can turn themselves into any celebrity they please? Talk about talent. With just a small brush and some colorful bottles you too could look like Spongebob Squarepants. I mean, maybe you're more of a Patrick fan, or maybe Sandy, or Mr. Krabbs, or-
"Olive, let's get a move on." Curson gestured to the school and I sighed, unbuckling my seatbelt.
Personally, I would want to be turned into Squidward. His lack of acknowledgement to those around him and his lovely attitude towards the world speaks huge volumes. He should be on Ellen. I really feel that he could be the next big thing that truly educates our youth. But how would I find a foundation that matches his skin tone? That could be a problem. Maybe I could-
"Olive." Curson warned. I nodded my head once again. "I'm going! I'm going!" I hopped out of the passenger seat and sighed. Well, this was it.
Curson had signed me up under a school tour where I would be shadowing Raymond Valentine for the day. Curson could really use the Thunder Bowl to his advantage. The school doesn't usually do student tours, but once Curson mentioned the Thunder Bowl the school magically had a student tour set up for me.
"Now, remember. You're my distant cousin from Peru and you don't speak a lot of English." Curson was not taking any chances with this one. I rolled my eyes. All of this was so cliché. I mean, pretending to be a guy and sneak around was the beginning of every chick flick and teenage romance novel. However, it would allow me into a boy's locker room so maybe I would get to see some nice abs.
So, who was I to complain?
"Yes, I know. My name is Julio Hernandez and I'm visiting family for a few months and need to find the right school. I love to watch American football, even though I don't understand all of the words. And that's all the English I know." I finished proudly. Curson nodded.
"Now try the accent."
"Hola, Yo soy Julio Hernandez y me gusta el fútbol americano." My Spanish was a little rusty because I hadn't taken it this year, having not needed the credit. Curson nodded in approval.
"Vámanos!" Curson exclaimed, fist pumping the air while I wanted to fist pump myself in the face.
"You know, I once dated a Spanish girl. I know all types of Spanish words, only they're quite dirty because she used to scream them in the bedroom." He smirked and I choked on my own spit.
"Ew! I didn't need to know that!" I screeched, throwing my hands in the air. "You shouldn't just go around telling people that, especially your innocent, little sister." Curson only chuckled in return. Soon enough, we reached the front office and the front office lady batted her eyelashes at Curson, which he completely ignored.
"Have a nice day, Julio." Curson patted me on the back and the front office lady, whose name was Jannet, ushered me to follow her to another part of the office. And that's where I saw him. He was sitting on his thrown in all of his glory. My mouth watered at the sight.
"May I have one?" I spoke, deliberately deepening my voice and gesturing to the lovely cookies laid out in front of me. Jannet nodded. "Of course, Julio. We want you to have a big Lion welcome here at Penrith High." I eagerly grabbed two and Jannet made a face, but said nothing as I happily munched on the sugary goodness.
"Principal Hagg is so excited to meet you, you know. It's not everyday we have a new student from such a unique background. How's the weather in Peru this time of year?" She questioned and I shrugged.
"Muy Bonita." She nodded, as if understanding what I meant. "Anyways, Mr. Hagg will introduce you to Raymond Valentine, he's going to be your tour guide for the day. I typed up your map in Spanish and the rest of your welcome papers to make it easier." She smiled, proudly, as if she didn't just make my life ten times harder.
Stupid Jannet.
I nodded, accepting the papers and staring at the gibberish that was the map. How was I supposed to sneak off and explore the school all on my own? I would have to spend at least twenty minutes deciphering this mess and another twenty finding the locker room, praying it was unlocked.
She lead me to what I assumed was Mr. Hagg's office, opened the door, ushering me inside. I came face to face with an old, balding man with a genuine smile greeting me from ear to ear.
Oh boy.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Mr. Hagg exclaimed, making his way around his desk over to me, bumping his knee on his desk in the process. He hissed as his knee made contact and Jannet rushed over, looking worried.
"Mr. Hagg, are you alright?!" He clutched his knee with his bony hand. Jannet helped him sit back in his seat and tried to make him comfortable. I heard her mumble something about getting an ice pack and how clumsy old people were as she was rushing past me.
And how did I help the poor, old man, you ask? Well, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing at the whole situation. Which, kept his pride in tact, so I was very and I mean very useful in the situation.
Jannet returned a moment later with one of those instant ice packs and helped Mr. Hagg apply it to his knee. He grunted in response, but when the ice pack was placed on his knee he released a sigh of relief.
Was this the great lion welcome every new student received? Because maybe it was time to trade in the great Pennsylvania school system for the knee-bumping Massachusetts school system. Ha! Get it? Or maybe it would be knee-slapping? Or desk-bumping. Or-
"Uh, Mr. Hagg, are you alright?" A deep, male's voice questioned from behind me. All eyes moved towards the doorway, including mine. And girl, were my eyes blessed by the brown-haired, muscular snack in front of me.
Raymond Valentine could break my heart any day.
"Ah, Raymond. Come in! Come in!" Mr. Hagg beckoned him inside with the motion of his hand. "I'm quite alright. Just a bump on the knee." Jannet snorted, causing Mr. Hagg to glare at her and she took that as her cue to leave.
"If you need anything, I'm right outside." She patted me on the shoulder and closed the door on her way out. Mr. Hagg gestured us to sit down, to which Raymond and I both complied. After Mr. Hagg readjusted himself, he got right down to business. And when I say business, I mean attempting and horribly failing to speak Spanish.
"Hola...Me soy Mr. Hagg and...I mean y..." He trailed off and I'm sure my eyes only held amusement in them at his failed attempts, which probably didn't give him much courage to continue on. Raymond only shook is head in amusement at the balding man and turned to me instead.
"Do you speak any English?" He questioned, his brown eyes holding nothing but curiosity in them. I nodded my head, clearing my throat.
"I love..." I croaked out in my horrible Spanish accent, which caused Raymond to encourage me further by repeating my words.
"You love...what? Music, dogs, cake...football?" He listed random things off the top of his head and I nodded my head eagerly at the mention of football. His smile broadened and he looked extremely pleased.
"I think we're going to be great friends, Mr. Hagg." Raymond gave him a million dollar smile. "Julio loves football." Mr. Hagg only shook his head in amusement. "Only you would manage to find someone that hardly speaks any English and loves football, Raymond." Raymond simply shrugged in response.
Mr. Hagg rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat. "Well, I mustn't keep you kids waiting. There's a lot to see here at Penrith High, Julio. I hope you enjoy your time here."
Oh I plan to, Mr. Hagg.
+++++++++++
"And that's the science hallway, or la ciencia."
Raymond pointed to the last long hallway of the school that finally concluded our three hour tour. As soon as we left Mr. Hagg's office, Raymond took me on an extremely detailed tour, leaving no room for any kind of break. I had briefly seen the boy's locker room and Raymond said that we would be back for his gym class later, which meant that was my chance to snatch his jersey.
"Ready for lunch?" Raymond questioned, leading me towards the other end of the school again. My small steps trailed far behind his long strides and I was most certainly out of breath and most definitely ready for lunch. I nodded my head vigorously, causing Raymond to laugh. If I wasn't pretending to be Julio, I would've went all psycho ninja on him because no one and I mean no one laughs at the fact that I am hungry. I could eat a whole plate of Olives right now if I had the chance.
You know what they say, you are what you eat.
Anyways, walking into that cafeteria was probably the best thing that had ever happened in my life, besides trying pasta for the first time. I mean, it's like heaven on a plate. You have not truly lived until the little noodles drowned in an amazing, red sauce pass your lips. But, considering I had been starved for the past three hours, the school cafeteria looked more and more like heaven.
"So, what would you like to eat?" Raymond questioned me while we stood in the lunch line. My eyes roamed around the room, focusing on all of the delicious food on display. My eyes immediately landed on some chicken nuggets and French fries and boy did they look super delicious.
"Pollo." I pointed to the display and Raymond nodded. "I'll have the same." We made our way over and Raymond grabbed two plates and grabbed us both a water bottle. We then waited in line to pay and the lunch lady behind the register smiled warmly at Raymond.
"Why, hello, Raymond." He responded with a warm smile of his own and reached into his pocket for money. I quickly dug into my pocket and pulled out a twenty, handing it to Raymond. He immediately shot me down and paid for my lunch.
"My treat, Juilo. Don't worry about it." He grabbed our lunches and we walked in a comfortable silence towards a table in the back full of a bunch of rowdy boys. Raymond pulled up two chairs and as soon as we sat down I snatched a fry and plopped it into my mouth, enjoying the crispy treat.
Raymond shook his head in amusement and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. All heads at the table snapped towards us and Raymond wrapped his arm around me pulling me into his side.
"Guys, this is Julio. He's visiting from Peru and he loves football. Let's make him feel welcome." All eyes focused on me and most of them held a large amount of curiosity in them. One boy with sandy blonde hair cleared his throat.
"Nice to meet you, Julio. My name is Matt and I'm Ray's best friend." I smiled at him and gave a small wave, considering I was still being held by Raymond. The other guys went around and introduced themselves, but there were so many of them and I'm already bad with names, so I remembered like two at most.
After lunch, it was time for gym and time for my plan to go into action. I had to find a way into that team locker room. But how was I going to get in when Raymond was practically attached to my hip? He was actually really sweet and always made sure I was ok. He just met me today and he treated me like I was one of his really good friends. I felt kind of bad that it was all an act and that I would be walking away with his jersey.
Today in gym we were playing basketball and I never wanted to die more. I absolutely hated basketball. Throwing a ball into a net wasn't all that exciting to me, but to the boys in the class it was like catnip for them. They just couldn't get enough of throwing the ball into the net and hearing the satisfying 'swish' sound. I watched in amusement at two boys arguing over who would get to shoot next. I really wanted to hit myself in the head with a basketball.
Thank god Curson called me that very moment, or I could've become a squashed Olive. I gestured to Raymond that I was going to go into the locker room to take the call because it was way too noisy in here. He nodded, too engrossed in the pickup game he was playing.
Finally.
I pushed open the wooden door and sighed in content when I heard it close behind me. I clicked the answer button and pressed the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I answered cooly.
"Olive! You're supposed to speak with an accent! You could reveal yourself before you get the jersey! Speaking of which, he's number 29." I rolled my eyes at Curson's outburst.
"Relax, I'm in the locker room now away from prying eyes. Gotta go, ninja out!" I hung up, shoving my phone in my back pocket. I walked slowly through the room, looking for the team's locker room. I squealed when my foot came in contact with a dirty sock.
Disgusting.
My eyes finally landed on the small wooden door at the back of the locker room and I happily ran over and pulled the handle. I expected the door to open, God to be inside holding the jersey with angels singing in the background, and for God to hand it to me.
However, it was locked.
LOCKED.
I sighed in frustration, stomping my foot on the ground. My eyes scanned the room, hoping to find a key somewhere. I walked over to what I assumed was the coach's office and to my surprise that door was unlocked. I stepped inside and prayed that there was a key in here somewhere. I made my way over to the desk and opened the desk drawers, quickly flipping through a bunch of random stuff.
Paperclips.
Stapler.
Pen.
Pencil.
Key.
Rubberband.
My eyes widened as my fingers brushed the small, metal object. 'Team Room' was messily scrawled on the top to the point where I wasn't sure if the 'M' in team was even there. It looked more like 'Tea Room,' which I assumed could be where the football team indeed spilled all of the sizzling tea.
I hurriedly made my way back over to the door and shoved the key into the keyhole and did a happy dance when I heard the faint sound of the lock turning and quickly pushed open the door. I was greeted by darkness, a few stray beams of light shined through the window landing directly on a set of lockers. I made my way over to the lockers, my eyes roaming until they landed on a familiar name.
Valentine was neatly printed across the front and and traced my finger over the letters. I don't think I've ever seen a boy's handwriting so neat, so exquisite. I could tell that everything about Raymond was even and straight to the point. You could tell by the way he talked, he was quite the intellectual. Confidence was tangled among the words that flowed freely from his mouth and he knew exactly how to get his point across. His confidence was admirable, but his intelligence was absolutely stunning.
I slowly opened the locker which produced a long and drawn out creak, well more of a squeak, either way it was a sound fit for a sneak. Now all I'm saying is, who the hell is Meek?
This rap has been brought to you by Olive's lack of sleep!
I held the jersey up in the light and admired how the orange seemed to glow. It seemed to tell a story. There was a small stain on the right shoulder and it was as if I could see the adventures the jersey has traveled upon. I could hear the shouts of praise by the crowd on a Friday night game. I could feel the sense of pride after throwing that winning pass. My eyes caught sight of a picture of a little girl that looked about three with her arms wrapped around Raymond. Their smiles were breathtaking. You could feel the happiness and warmth from the picture and I felt it travel up my arm and straight to my heart. Her bright smile took the focus away from the fact they were in a hospital room and the noticeable lack of hair she had.
"Julio?" My head snapped over to a worried looking Raymond and I dropped the jersey and the photo. The story fading away. "What are you doing?" He questioned, his wondering gaze traveled over me and I fought the urge to turn away. He should know, right? He has to know.
"I..." I was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry." I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. I scrambled to place the things back and decided that I couldn't pretend to be someone I wasn't. Plus, I had gone through his personal things. Raymond strolled over and picked up the small picture, tracing his large finger over the little girl.
"Her name was Catherine. S-She was my daughter." My eyes widened and I let out a small gasp of surprise. He smiled sadly and continued. "I was only 15 when I met her mother. We were stupid and it just happened, you know? When she was born she took my breath away. Her mother wanted nothing to do with her, so I gained full custody. When she got sick I did everything I could, but cancer wasn't too kind on her little body. She died last spring." He swallowed, eyes brimming with tears. "I promised her I would win the Thunder Bowl and go off to college. She was my little angel, but now she's someone else's angel." His gaze traveled outside the window and he sighed, placing the picture back inside.
"You can have my jersey, Olive." My eyes widened at his statement. How did he know? He rolled his eyes at my action. "I'm quite intelligent, you know. I mean, really? Julio? Cousin of Curson Bennington? That's the best you got?" His eyes showed a hint of amusement and I shrugged.
"You're just jealous I didn't use the name Raymond." He let out a light chuckle at my statement and handed me his jersey. "I'll let you win this one time, only because I know you're going to be returning it later on at the hotel." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I hope you can handle seeing Clayton in a swimsuit."
I slapped his shoulder, my face heating up. "I can't believe you just said that!" We walked out of the locker room and Raymond locked it back up, returning the key. "How does everyone know about him and I anyways?"
"Oh, Olive. Quarterbacks talk, remember?"
How could I forget that?
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Hi! I know this is long awaited, but l'm back for good now. I won't go into all of the horrible details, but last year was a hard year for me and I lost absolutely all motivation for everything, including my writing. Thankfully, I got into my dream college and the stress of junior year is long over! I hope you're all doing well and didn't give up on me quite yet!
As always, I hope you enjoyed!
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[Originally Published on Friday, January 25, 2019 at 9:05 pm]