It is the first day of school after the summer break. What a time to be alive...
I take my backpack that was on the chair in the kitchen and I give my mom a kiss. 'Bye mom, see you tonight.' 'Bye honey, have a good day.'
I walk to the car, the engine is already running. The window of the driver is rolled down. 'Hola Luna, ready for the first day?' 'Sort of, is Ambar already in the car?' 'Yes, we are ready to go.' I take place in the backseat and Tino begins to drive to school.
It is a quiet drive, Ambar and I were never the greatest friends so we don't have exactly a lot to talk about every morning. Luckily it isn't that far.
Nina is reading a book in the corridor when I walk in. I walk towards her.
'Hola Nina.' I give her a kiss on her cheek. 'Hola Luna, ready to start a new year?' I sigh. 'Actually no, but that you are here makes it a little bit better.' she smiles in response.
We were discussing our new schedules when Gaston puts his arm around Nina. 'I guess my lady is ready for a new year.' She nods excitedly, Gaston and I are laughing in response. They couldn't be more opposites of each other.
Gaston gives me a hug.
'So are you already planning your escape plan?' 'Will you help me? My new schedule is a disaster. I have science and after that math. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea?' He laughs. 'But for you, there is no good solution to be honest.' 'No school sounds like a good solution.' 'Luna' Nina says appalled while Gaston is still laughing. 'Luna has a point.' 'Not you too.' she sighs. 'I need new friends.' Now we both can't stop laughing.
Gaston and I became really good friends from the moment he and Nina got together. We didn't hate each other before that but we just didn't have a reason to talk. But I am glad we found one.
We still laugh when somebody walks towards us and signs that we must stay quiet. When stands very close behind Gaston he begins to start talking. 'So does somebody wants to explain what is so funny?'
Gaston turns around quicker than light when he heard the voice.
'HERMANO!' He says so loud that the whole corridor is now looking at us. 'What the fuck are you doing here?' 'I am back bro.' Everybody goes slowly back to their own conversations but now he is the main talk of the conversations. Some are giggling with their friends while others try to eavesdrop on what we are saying.
He is back? Who the fuck is he? Why is everybody talking about him?
'You've got to be kidding me.' 'Do I look like I am joking?' 'Well, your face is pretty funny to be fair.' 'Okay fuck you.' He laughs and pulls Gaston in for a hug.
This gives me the chance to ask Nina who this is.
'Matteo' 'Matteo?' 'Yeah, you know, Matteo Balsano, the best friend of Gaston.' I still shrug my shoulders not knowing who he is but at least we now have a name.
'You also can ask me who I am though or do you want to get my attention by whispering about me?'
I look at him in shock. 'I am sorry, what?'
He comes closer and pulls his hand out of his pocket and put it in front of him for me to shake it. 'Matteo Balsano and you are?' I shake his hand. 'Luna Valente' He smiles at me 'Nice to meet you.' I nod, still not knowing what all this is about.
Gaston doesn't give me the chance to ask further about who the fuck he is. 'I missed you man, it isn't the same here without you.' 'I am really happy I am back, finally back together again.' And they do a handshake which they clearly don't do for the first time.
I turn to Nina. 'God they just like boyfriends.' Nina starts to laugh. 'Yeah, I was happy Matteo was in Italy though. Now I have to share him.' I don't really hear her last comment as I was caught by surprise about the Italy thing.
'He lived in Italy?' 'Yeah, his dad moved there for work so he had to go with. He is half Italian so I don't think it was the end of the world but I think it still would be really weird if you move across the world and have to leave everything behind.' I nod. I didn't move all across the world but still from Mexico to Argentina was difficult for me.
'When did he move though?' 'You never saw him right?' Nina asks me and I shake my head. 'Then I think it should be like around two years ago. Just before you moved here.'
'You know I am standing right here?! I can hear that you are talking about me.' 'I didn't want to interrupt your moment.' I say while pointing between Gaston and Matteo.
'Ah, right. Of course. Not because you are interested in me?' 'I just wanted to know who you are.' I shrug.
'King of the piste. Nice to meet you.' He responds. 'I thought your name was Matteo?' I snap back. 'Are you sure you never heard about me?' He asks with a smirk. 'Yeah, pretty sure. Apparently, you weren't that big of a deal as you think you were.'
'You never told me who you are?' he asks me. 'I told you, I am Luna.' 'No, but I mean what your deal is. You weren't clearly here when I left'.
What is that supposed to mean? Clearly?
'I think I would've remembered you.' I really don't know what to say so I keep my mouth shut. My head is making loopings trying to understand what he is doing.
'Who would've you remembered honey?'
Of course. Of course, he is dating Ambar. I knew she had a boyfriend. I didn't know it was Matteo. But it makes complete sense.
He turns towards her and gives her a kiss.
'Luna.' 'Why?' she asks a bit offended. 'Because it is Nina her best friend. I think I would've remembered if Nina had friends.'
Gaston slaps Matteo his arm and mouths 'what the fuck man' Matteo mouths 'I'm sorry' back.
'Of course, you would've remembered that. There are still miracles in the world. But I see you met Luna. This is the girl I told you about. She is the daughter of our employees. The ones who moved with us from Cancun to Buenos Aires, because my godmother insisted, I wasn't too keen about it.'
'I remember yeah.'
'She also skates in Jam & Roller, so if you want a good laugh you have to watch her.'
'You remember who won last year's competition right?!' 'Only because I wasn't competing.' 'Keep telling yourself that.' I snap. She rolls her eyes. 'We need to go to class.' and before Matteo can something else they were already gone.
'I have to go too' Gaston says and gives Nina a kiss on her cheek. 'Sorry about them' he quickly says while he tries to keep up with Matteo and Ambar.
'Sooooo you and Matteo' 'NINA' 'What?' 'We should go to class, I don't want to be late for our first class back.' 'Oh look, suddenly she likes school.' she giggles. I roll my eyes and we walk to our classroom.
Nina and I walk into Roller, she goes directly to the lockers to change into her skates while I search for Simon.
He sits on the stage where he is strumming the guitar. Something that sounds like a new song.
'SIMON' I yell next to his head. He jumps and turns his head to stare directly into my eyes. He yells back. 'LUNA' and we laugh. I give him a hug and go sit opposite him on the stage.
'Was that a new song you were playing?' 'Yes it was, but it is far from done.' 'Can I get a sneak preview?' I look at him with puppy eyes, knowing that he normally can't resist those. But today he is strong.
'No, I want that it to be a surprise when we first play it. But we can sing something else if you want?' 'Thanks, but maybe tomorrow. I am not really in the mood for singing.'
'Tell me what happened' 'Well, not a lot. Only that a guy who calls himself 'The king of the piste' is back.' 'What? Who?' 'He is called Matteo, he moved away to Italy just before we moved here. But I guess he was a very popular guy because everybody was looking at him when we were talking at Blake.'
'Just don't let him bother you. We don't need to talk to him. Popular people never talked to us, so why would they now?'
'Well, there are two small problems I didn't tell you.'
'Oh god, you want that he talks to you. You like him.'
'What? No, fuck off. Never say that ever again'. He laughs.
'Gaston is his best friend, so yeah. How big is the chance that he will join our conversation when I am talking with Gaston? Exactly. Oh yeah, and Ambar is his girlfriend. So yeah, you can fill that one in yourself.'
'God I hope he won't come over for dinners. Or well he can but if he dares to talk to me. Like I don't want any problems with Ambar and I don't want him talking to me. God this will be awful. Should we move back to Cancun? Was a lot easier there....' I fall silent. I was rambling so much that I didn't notice that Simon didn't say a word.
'Simon' I wave for his eyes. No reaction. He also is becoming really pale.
I snap my fingers. 'Simon, are you okay?'
He snaps out of it. 'Uhm...yeah, everything is alright.'
'Are you sure? You seem sick. What happened? Did I say something wrong?'
'No, no, I just zoned out for a bit. I am sorry' 'You know that is kinda my thing' I laugh. 'But you don't have to say sorry. Are you sure you alright?' I check again. He nods.
'It will be alright though. It will become another Ambar situation. Not fun, but we will survive it. Together.' I smile and nod.
He is right. Together, like we always do.
'Thank you Simon, should we go skating for a bit?' 'Maybe later, I want to go further with the song. I'll see you later okay?!' 'Of course, see you later' I give him a hug and jump off the stage.
'Well, well, well, look who we have here. Is this your boyfriend?' Matteo walked towards me and is pointing at Simon.
I sigh, not this again.
'No Matteo, he is my best friend.' Simon is already turned around when he heard me talking and is now standing next to me. 'Hi, I am Simon.' He put out his hand. Matteo looks at it and goes further.
'Hola, I am Matteo.' He says but he is already looking at me again. 'So, your best friend? Really?' 'Yes, my best friend. What do you want?' 'I don't need anything, but it looks like he likes you.' I raise my eyebrows.
'Sure, yeah I think so too.' I say clearly sarcastically but Matteo chooses to ignore that. 'See, she sees it too.' He says to Simon. We both roll our eyes.
He steps forward to me so we stand really close to each other. I look into his brown eyes. Damn, they are really brown though. 'You don't believe me, do you?' he says. 'No, I don't. Glad you finally got that. If you excuse me, I will go skating now.' I set my hand on his shoulder and push him away.
'Bye Simon' Simon gives me a quick smile and I walk away.
'Ah yes, you skate' Matteo says while he follows me towards the lockers. 'I want to see that.' I abruptly turn around. 'No, you don't or at least I don't want that.' 'It is a public place. So too bad.' He shrugs his shoulders while he smirks and walks towards the piste.
Great.
I skate to the rink to see Nina and Gaston already practicing a bit for the competition. I wave and we skate to the corner.
'You started early this year. Simon and I really have to step our game.' They laugh. 'What?' I ask confused. 'Nothing, it is just that you two are almost telepathic at this point. I don't think you need a lot of practice.'
'I mean we still have to practice, we can't expect that we will win again only because we won last year'. They nod.
'Do we already know when the competition is starting?' 'Tamara didn't say anything about it yet. I think it will be any day now.' Gaston notices Matteo on the stand next to the piste. 'I will see you two girls later.' He skates away.
I roll my eyes when Matteo smiles at me. 'God, I can't stand him.' Nina raises her eyebrows. 'What happened? You only know him for a few hours.'
'He is Ambar's boyfriend, that can't be good. He said that Simon liked me. He doesn't even know him or us. And I just don't like his attitude. He is such a fresa' I sigh when I am done.
'A fresa?' Nina asks. I sometimes forgot she doesn't know Mexican sayings. 'Yeah, a fresa. A guy who is really full of himself. Chico Fresa.' 'Aaah, I should add that to my Mexican sayings book.' I smile. 'But back to the subject,' she says. 'he is also Gaston's best friend. Do you think he will befriend assholes?' 'I don't know, but I don't trust that boy.' Nina smiles softly. 'It is because he said Simon likes you right?!' I look at her offended.
'You've got to be kidding me.' I roll my eyes. 'I mean, you two act more like a couple than Gaston and I do sometimes.' 'We are best friends!' 'I know, I know' she tries to calm me down. 'But for people who don't know you, it maybe can look like it?!' I take big breaths to calm myself down.
She could have a point. I shake my head. She doesn't and Matteo shuts his mouth about it. I don't even want to think about it.
Nina looks worried at me, seeing that I have a whole conversation in my head. 'Are you okay?' I laugh. 'Yeah, yeah. But please can we stop talking about Matteo and Simon?' She smiles and we start skating.
As usual, I race home because I forgot the time. When I run inside the table is already set and my parents already started. 'I am sorry I am late, I forgot-' '-The time' my mom finishes. 'We already figured. Please quickly wash your hands, the food is still warm.'
Up in my room, I decide to call Simon, hopefully, he is doing better.
Hola Simon
Hola, for what do I owe the honor that you call me?
I wanted to check on you. You looked so pale this afternoon, are you really feeling okay?
Yeah, I am fine don't you worry.
I smile.
I am glad
That was it?
Well, yeah
See you tomorrow then
Yeah, see you tomorrow
I say slowly and before I finish my sentence he already hung up.
He sounded so rushed. I shrug my shoulders. I am way too tired for this. I lay my phone on my bedside table and fall asleep.
The next morning I awoke with fright. I look at my phone. Shit. A quarter for 8. I need to be ready by 8. I jump out of bed and rush to make myself ready. Because of that weird, short conversation, I had with Simon last night, I completely forgot to set my alarm.
I also dreamt really weirdly about my moon necklace and somebody called me Sol instead of Luna. But there is no time to think about that now.
'Luna, are you coming? Everybody is waiting.' 'Yes, I am coming. I am sorry I overslept again.' I run downstairs to give my mom and dad a kiss on the cheek. 'But your breakfast.' My mom says while I run to the car. 'No time.' She shakes her head and I get in.
'We can go.' I say out of breath. 'Finally, why are you always late?' 'I am sorry okay? I forgot to set my alarm.'
Ambar sighs in frustration. 'Matteo is waiting now because of you.' I roll my eyes. 'Poor Matteo, 5 minutes.' I sarcastically. 'I am glad you understand.' She answers. Always the same...
At Blake, I can't find Nina so I walk to Gaston even though he is talking with Matteo.
'Hola Gaston' I give him a hug and ignore Matteo. 'Hola Luna. How are you?' 'A bit tired already but fine.' He laughs. 'Already?'
'I overslept' Now they both laugh. 'What?' I ask.
'I wouldn't expect anything else from you' I now also laugh. He has a point.
'Are you that distracted?' Matteo joins the conversation. 'Oversleeping has nothing to do with being distracted. But yeah I forgot to put on my alarm last night.' 'That has everything to do with being distracted.' He says still laughing.
'But yeah, that is me. The distracted one of the bunch.' I shake his hand. 'Nice to meet you' 'We keep on introducing ourselves to each other. Is there more I should know?'
'She was a delivery girl in Mexico' Gaston burst through. I look at him upset. 'What the fuck man. That isn't exactly the first thing I would tell somebody about me.' Matteo is also a bit perplexed by this information.
'Well, I guess I should call you chica delivery then.' 'I don't think you should, but you will probably do it anyway right?!' 'I see that you already know me.' He smirks.
I turn to Gaston who smirks at me while I give him ''the dead eyes''. He will know about this. But not now, I want to find Nina. He tells me she is already in the classroom so I say my goodbyes and walk away.
Just in time because I hear Ambar talking to them. Something I am never in the mood for.
After school, I see Simon called me.
Hola Simon
Hey Luna, can you come as fast as you can to Roller? Tamara has a special announcement to make.
Yes, I will be on my way.
I put my phone in my pocket and walk to Roller. It isn't that far from Blake.
Slowly everybody starts getting in, it takes a few minutes before everybody arrived.
'Great that you are all here. I wanted to say something about the yearly competition between rinks. Of course, as every year, the competition will last 2 months with 2 weeks of rehearsal time between the rounds.' Stuff we already know but it is nice to hear nothing has changed.
'But I thought maybe it is nice to change things a little bit this year.' No, no, no. We are not doing this.
'My idea was that I make this year the duo's, for the last couple of years we had the same couples and I just want to switch things up and take you out of your comfort zones.' Everybody sighs. 'I know you probably won't like this, but trust me it will make you a better skater.' I want to trust Tamara, but I don't know about this. I don't like change that much.
'I already made the couples so I don't have to keep you all in suspense. The couples will be: Nina and Gaston, Delfi and Ramiro, Yam and Nico, Yim and Pedro, Ambar and Simon.' Wait what?! Simon looks at me. No, no, no, no, no.
'And the last duo willbe Luna and Matteo.' He looks with a smirk at me. I bury my face in my hands. You'vegot to be kidding me....