CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rest
ARLO AND ANDER walked into school together, discussing the exams coming up very soon which had the former more than worried.
"You'll be fine." The boy assured. "You're smart. You just gotta study more."
"Noted. Thank you." Arlo laughed.
As the two walked to their first class, she spotted Rafael and Miguel walking in their direction. Rafael saw her and grinned. "Arlo, hey!"
"How are you?" Arlo asked. "Oh, this is Ander, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, man." Rafael beamed, shaking Ander's hand. "Arlo's told me all about you."
"You too." Ander smiled.
Rafael jerked his head to Miguel. "This is my friend. Miguel."
"Hey." Miguel beamed, he then looked at Arlo. "How are you?"
"I'm good." Arlo nodded. "And you?"
Miguel grinned. "Well, my parents left town again so I got the place to myself. It's great. I'm throwing another party, if you guys wanna come."
Arlo and Ander exchanged a glance before the latter cleared his throat. "Um, maybe, yeah."
"Arlo! Ander!" A voice called and the two turned to see Guzmán coming up behind them with a grin, swinging his arms around both their shoulders. He then looked to Rafael and Miguel, his smile dropping slightly, but nonetheless, he held his hand out politely. "I'm Guzmán."
The two boys shook his hand with smiles, then an awkward silence settle upon them. Arlo bit her lip. "Well, we gotta go. Thanks for the invite, Miguel. See you later, Raf."
"Anytime." Miguel beamed. "Looking forward to seeing you there."
"Come on." Arlo ushered as she dragged Ander and Guzmán behind her.
"Invite?" Guzmán echoed, looking at Arlo. "What invite?"
Arlo waved her hand. "He just invited me and Ander to his party."
Guzmán nodded. "Are you going?"
"No." Arlo breathed out. "With exams right around the corner, including my guitar one and my parents leaving, I've got too much on my plate for that."
They were interrupted when Lu came strutting towards them and pecked Guzmán's lips. "You were great the other day. I had completely forgotten how good we are in bed– well in a pool."
"You did it just to brag about it, huh?" Guzmán snapped.
"It was a secret?" Lu questioned innocently, then kissed him before she turned around. "I'll see you next period, my love."
Guzmán turned to Arlo who had tensed, licking her lips. "I wasn't interrupting anything then?"
"Arlo, I–"
"It doesn't matter." Arlo interjected abruptly. "I'll see you guys later."
She practically ran down the hall and turned the corner. Once she did she leaned against the wall behind her, letting out a huge breath as a lump formed in her throat. Then the logical part of herself came through, she had no right to be mad or upset at him, they weren't together and she wasn't sure if they ever would be.
"Lo, you okay?" Samuel asked and Arlo opened her eyes and shook her head.
"No. Not really." She laughed awkwardly.
Samuel looked at her in sympathy. "Come here." He murmured before he hugged her.
Arlo cracked a smile as she wrapped her arms around the boy, resting her nose on his shoulder. "You're too nice sometimes."
"I could say the same to you." Samuel retorted playfully before they pulled away. The boy then poked her side. "You okay now?" Arlo shook her head and he poked it again. "Now?" The girl once again shook her head and he poked her from both sides. "How about now?"
Arlo chortled before she swatted his arm away from her. "Okay, okay, I'm fine. Leave me alone."
The boy laughed, nudging her playfully. "Come on. I'll buy you a coffee." Once Samuel had bought her a coffee, the two made their way to their study period. "So you wanna tell me what's wrong?"
"Well, I sort of like this guy and I thought he liked me too, but he slept with someone else." Arlo informed.
"You're talking about Guzmán, right?" Samuel wondered.
"That obvious?"
"Coming from you, no. But from him, yes. Let me just say this selfish thing before I tell you what I know."
Arlo smiled. "Go ahead."
"First off, you are way too good for him. Like astronomically too good for him."
The girl laughed as they sat down by a table. "Okay, okay, I get it. Now, tell me what you know."
Samuel exhaled. "You don't see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one's watching."
Arlo squinted her eyes at him. "Why are you watching him?"
"Shut up." Samuel remarked. "Sometimes when I'm just looking around the class, I always see him looking in the same direction and that's at you."
The girl bit her lip, shaking her head. "I don't know."
"You don't know what?"
"Do I actually him or am I wrapped up too much in the idea of being friends with him again? And if I do like him, would going down that road be a good idea?"
Samuel nodded, staying silent for a moment before he licked his lip. "What do you like about him?"
Arlo swallowed before the corner of her lips pulled upwards as she looked at table. "He's good with Diego and Izzy, for that matter. I know he may not seem like it to you, but he's caring and sweet."
"I find that hard to believe." The boy scoffed.
"He does whatever he can to make sure the people he cares about are okay."
"So, what don't you like about him?"
The girl hesitated. "He's arrogant, prone to anger and lil controlling."
"Only a little bit?" Samuel challenged, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay. Controlling, then."
Samuel smiled at her, then leaned forward. "Does the bad make you like him any less?"
Arlo thought for a second before she licked her lips and shook her head. "No. But it certainly makes me question my choice for company."
The boy laughed. "Look, I know you care about him and it's pretty obvious you like him and not because of some of weird nostalgia."
"Yeah, yeah I guess."
Noticing the distance look in her eyes, Samuel scratched his chin. "What else are you unsure about?"
"It could ruin our friendship and do I really wanna get in a relationship with someone who still seems hung up on their ex?"
"You're right. Going into a relationship with Guzmán could go up in flames, yeah. But it could also be the best thing to ever happen to you."
Arlo took a deep breath as she slumped back in her chair and smiled. "I thought you weren't good with people. Why are you giving me good people advice?"
"I'm not." Samuel confirmed. "But I'm observant and I tell it how I see fit...and I've watched a lot of teen movies."
Arlo snickered, the latter sounded more like him. "So your advice is based on fictional situations?"
Samuel shrugged. "Basically." He then cracked a smile. "I'm serious, though. You won't know unless you try. And as for still being hung up on his ex, if there's one thing I know about Guzmán and Lu, it's her who's more hung up on him. Marina says that sometimes she just drops by at their house."
The girl chortled as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Speaking of Marina. How was your night?"
The boy suddenly got all embarrassed, his cheeks going slightly red as he grinned widely, looking down at his lap. Arlo's mouth dropped as she poked him playfully. "That good, huh? Do you feel all tingly down there or something?"
"Shut up." Samuel uttered, pushing her hand away from him.
"So, it was good then?"
"Yeah, it was, but..." he trailed and Arlo cocked her head to the side. "She left really quickly after and hasn't answered any of my messages or calls since. I think I did something wrong."
"I'm sure it's not that." Arlo assured. "Maybe shes just been busy. You can talk to her today."
"I don't know. I think there's something wrong. Have you spoken to her?"
Arlo shook her head. "No. Not since yesterday at La Cabaña. Marina can be a little flaky at times. Just try and talk to her today and if somethings still wrong, then I don't know."
LUNCH ROLLED AROUND and Arlo was sat at a picnic bench outside with Nadia, on the phone to Izzy who had called her from the other side of the school to talk about her birthday party.
"Do you think mom and dad will come back?" The 12-year old questioned.
Nadia looked up at Arlo as Izzy asked the question. The girl had put her sister on speaker, Arlo sighed. "I don't know, Iz."
Izzy huffed through the line. "Yeah, I figured. I just thought I'd ask, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Arlo murmured. "Anyway, how many people are you thinking of inviting?"
"The whole year." Izzy answered.
Arlo's eyes widened. "Izzy, that's a lot of people."
"Thats the point, Lo. You might be okay with not throwing any parties your entire school career, but I am not."
The older Calero rolled her eyes and Nadia laughed. Arlo then pursed her lips. "Izzy, can we talk about this at home? I'm sort of doing work right now."
Izzy sighed. "Sure. Sure, fine. I'll see you later!"
When the line went dead, Arlo laughed to herself as she dropped her phone in her bag. "Sisters."
"I know." Nadia chortled. "Have you seen Marina today, by the way? She wasn't in first period."
"No, I haven't." Arlo shook her head. "Samuel's been wanting to talk to her too. She could just want a half day or something. I'll text her."
"Lo!" A voice cheered and Rafael suddenly plopped down next to her.
"Raf, hey." Arlo greeted, putting her apple down as she gestured to Nadia. "This is Nadia. Nadia, this is Rafael."
"Nice to meet you." Rafael grinned before he looked to Arlo. "We're here to convince you to come to the party."
"We?"
"Hey," Miguel said as he sat down in front of Arlo and next to Nadia. "Come on, Arlo. It'll be fun."
"I can't even if I wanted to." Arlo laughed. "My parents left too and I have plans with my siblings."
Miguel waved his hand. "Bring them along."
"They're five and twelve." The girl explained.
"Not exactly a partying age." Rafael added with a wink.
"Never mind then." Miguel said.
Arlo laughed. "I mean if you want to watch Handy Manny, then sure."
Miguel then turned to Nadia. "Do you think she should have a break and go to a party?"
Nadia nodded. "Have a break, definitely. But going to a party is her choice."
"I usually have plans with my siblings too, but they're gonna be staying round their friends' house." Miguel informed.
Arlo's eyebrows pinched together. "You have siblings? How old are they?"
"I have three. One is older, he's at university in Yale. My younger brother is eleven and my little sister is seven. I would never throw a party if they were home and I lock their rooms so no one can use it for sex or smoking purposes."
"Smart." Arlo nodded.
"Listen, Arlo, from what Raf's told me, you work yourself too hard and that's understandable. But take it from someone who's in the same situation you're in, you need a break." Miguel advised.
Rafael nodded in agreement. "He's right, Lo."
The two boys then stood up, Miguel squeezing the girl's shoulder. "Think about it."
Once they walked away, Nadia leaned forward. "They have a point. You work yourself too hard."
"So do you." Arlo countered.
"I work to get a scholarship, you work to make sure everyone in your house eats while working to get to the same goal I do. You need rest."
"I get rest!" Arlo exclaimed. "When I sleep."
Nadia looked at her, unamused. "That's not what I meant."
"Yeah, I know."
When lunch ended the two of them went back inside and into the hallways where Arlo spotted Guzmán waiting by her locker. The girl inhaled a sharp breath before she hesitantly walked towards her locker. He saw her approaching and instantly straightened up.
"Hey." He greeted softly.
"Hey." Arlo muttered, opening her locker. "What are you doing?"
"I know you get some back pain at times and like to stop by your locker after every period and I wanted to talk to you." Guzmán admitted.
Arlo shook her head. "Guzmán, I don't have anything to say. Not right now. I'm sorry."
"Then let me talk. I swear, it meant nothing. Lu and me– that's in the past."
"Guzmán, I already told you, you have nothing to prove to me."
"Yet you can't look me in the eye." The boy whispered.
"I gotta go." Arlo mumbled. "Or I'll be late for tutoring with Martín."
As the hour went by slowly with Arlo and Rafael sat in Martín's empty classroom, someone abruptly burst into the door, making the three of them jump. It was Nadia who looked like she had seen a ghost. "Martín! Martín, help! It's Marina! She's been hurt!"
Martín shot up out of his chair immediately, followed by a worried Arlo as the two jogged after Nadia into the girl's locker room. When Arlo halted to a stop, her eye widened at what she saw, Marina was on the floor, on the verge of unconsciousness with blood dripping from her mouth.
"¡Joder!" Martín hissed as he crouched down by the red head, moving Carla away and lifting Marina up. "Can you hear me? Look at me. Look at me. Follow my finger, please." When Marina didn't, Martín rapped the girl's face. "Marina!" He placed his hands around her eyes and scanned her face. "Fuck, look at those pupils. Damn it! What did you take, Marina? What did you take?" Once the man had finished rummaging around the red head's pockets, he pulled out a bag of pot.
"Fuck." Arlo whispered.
"You know this means immediate expulsion?" Martín questioned sternly. "We have a zero-tolerance drug policy."
As Martín tried to lift the girl up, she protested. "No, don't."
"I'm taking you to the nurse!" Martín insisted.
"Let him!" Arlo yelled.
"I don't want to!" Marina continued to yell. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine."
Martín looked up at Arlo. "I'm taking her to the hospital. Tell administration."
Arlo nodded but before she bolted out of the room towards the front desk. Marina screamed for her to stop before whispering something to Martín that made him recoil. The red head stood up, snatching the pot back from him as she slowly walked out of the locker room, Carla and Arlo following her.
"What are you doing?" The latter wondered. "Marina, you're bleeding."
Marina waved them both off. "I'm fine."
Carla rounded her and blocked her way. "You're bleeding."
"Let us take you to get help." Arlo insisted.
"No. I'll be fine."
Carla and Arlo shared a frustrated glance as the former ran a hand through her hair. "At least let us help clean up the blood."
Marina looked between both girls and reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Just don't tell anyone, please."
"Marina, you can't just expect me to not say anything. You're bleeding and who knows? You might have a concussion, I can't just–"
"Arlo, for once, don't go all Mom mode on me and just be my friend. And trust me when I say I'm fine, please." Marina pleaded and Arlo licked her lips before nodding.
Carla helped her down the hallway as Arlo ran to get her bag where she had a mini first aid kit. She left the room and walked down the hallway. She looked up at one of the open-windowed classrooms to see Guzmán looking at her from inside in confusion. His eyes then wondered down to the first aid kit she carried and he cocked his head. While she was trying to decide between being loyal and doing the right thing, Guzmán was trying to search her for a sign that she didn't hate him. Arlo swallowed before she continued walking and he got his answer.
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