" Turn to page 52 of your textbooks please." I turned to the given page. Spanish wasn't my strong suit but I had a pretty good grade in it.
" Now, what you guys will be doing for the next 10 minutes is going over the uses of por and para. You will stand in front of the class and give me 2 examples of each." I heard groans and some complaints but mostly everyone got back to work. I kind of understood. The acronym was that Para was Perfect. It was harder because my knowledge of spanish was very limited. I looked through a few of the examples half-heartedly for the next few minutes. Rachel looked over at me. She saw my slight confusion. My phone gently vibrated. I checked it.
Don't worry. It's easier than it seems.
I don't think I can do this 😣
Yes you can. And even if he-
" Ms. Delacroix. Since you seem to be happily texting away, that means you've finished and therefore present, correct?" I almost shook at how scary it was. It was as if someone was chasing me. I stood and stepped to the front of the classroom.
" Give me two uses of Por first." I gently nodded.
" No saqué la basura por que-- durmiendo." Everyone except Ethan and Rachel laughed at my flat accent. I blushed in fright.
" Compré flores por mi mamá." The teacher nodded in approval.
I almost stammered " Lo hice para ti?" It dawned on me that I had forgotten a little.
" Ir pa-para mi casa?" Everyone laughed. Mr. Martinez nodded in approval.
" That's a 95. Take a seat, you don't look so well." He did seem genuinely concerned. I froze. Everyone was confused as to why I couldn't move. I quickly left the classroom. I ran down the hall to the bathroom. I bent over the toilet, and vomited. I wiped my mouth with toilet paper and quickly flushed the toilet. My breathing was still quite off. I sat on the floor a while before I passed out in the stall.
Rachel
I had her bookbag and textbook with me. I skipped my lunch to look for her anywhere I could find her, as we usually hung out. I opened the bathroom stall. I pushed my hair back a little. Someone sat quietly on the bathroom floor. Dread filled me, because I knew it was Blaise before I even saw her. I broke the stall lock and there she was. Her pale skin was slightly gaunt. I grabbed her phone and quickly dialed her uncle.
" Hey Blaise, is everything okay?"
" Sorry. This is her girlfriend. I called because she passed out in the girl's bathroom stall after vomiting, I think. She had a panic attack during class and ran off."
The line was silent for a moment.
" Okay. She's unconscious?" I mumbled affirmatively.
" Can you bring her to the back of the parking lot?"
" Yes. I'll be there soon." I hung up. I took her phone and wallet and put it in her bag. I slung both bags over one shoulder and picked Blaise up. She was as light as a feather. I peeked out into the hallway. I ran at break neck speed to the parking lot. I knew someone was following me but It didn't matter.
I gently stepped into her uncle's car. He immediately glared at me. So it was true she came from a family of demons. We drove in silence as there wasn't much to discuss. Her head was in my lap. Her paleness discomforted me, because to me she was warm. If she was closer to my skin tone, there was definitely something wrong. I carried her into the house. He directed me to her room and told me to place her on the bed. I placed her there gently. I found a hook to hang her bookbag. I set her textbook down on her desk. I set my stuff down as well.
I smelled her blood somewhere else in the room. Her blood made my nose itch, in a bad way. I saw an old bloodied bandage on the floor. I sighed heavily. I wet some cloths with cold water and placed them at her head and neck. She immediately woke up, just as her uncle stepped through the threshold. She looked at him and than at me. Her uncle sat on her side of the bed and affectionately held her hand. I looked over in concern.
" Hey, Blaise." He whispered.
She smiled at him " Uncle... Hi." She mumbled. She sounded too strained.
" When your girl called I was a little scared. Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked gently. She seemed to think about it for a minute.
She sat up slowly " I think I freaked out at Spanish. School in general gives me anxiety."
" That's ok. I'm just glad you're safe." He whispered. I crawled up next to her. She looked over at me, giving me a small smile.
I gently smiled back. I subtly moved in to kiss her. She blushed, squealed and looked away. That made me laugh and move closer to her. I acted differently in solely her presence. That sounds vampiric but, I was technically still closeted to the rest of the school.
" I was worried when I saw you. You know I literally broke the lock on that bathroom stall to get you out." She leaned on my shoulder a little.
" Thank you." I must have misinterpreted her thank you. It seemed so genuine and almost too sure. I nodded.
" Anyway, I told everyone about what happened. Your sister is coming." She sat and looked over at her uncle. Her gaze looked hollow and empty, which looked wrong. I felt her hand on my own. She dropped her gaze.
She sighed sharply " It's just... We haven't talked in a while... And I don't even know if she wants to talk. She kind of went to do her own thing and left..." I immediately felt her sadness. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her sister. She just felt like her sister had left her behind. I gently kissed her cheek.
" Don't worry. There's nothing to fear. Babe, think about it. What's the worst that could happen?" Horror reflected in her eyes.
" M-my mom and dad. I don't think they know..." She whispered.
" I don't get it. What?"
" That I'm queer." She whispered, short of breath. I pushed her hair back and brought my head to her own.
" Close your eyes and breathe." She did exactly as I asked. Everything in her seemed to calm for a minute. She nodded, affirming me she was okay.
I sat back in position. " I don't think it would matter to your father. He loves you and all he wants to see is that you're okay." Her uncle responded, trying to ease her discomfort. She was still not ready to open up about her sexuality with her parents. My parent's didn't care very much. I was never treated any differently. I can still see why one would be anxious. A knock at the door downstairs shook us all from our conversation.
" That's Addie and Carter." He walked downstairs and let them in.