Unbreakable Love

by Yesenia Vargas

  “Yeah, well. They took my phone, and I didn’t get it back until last night.” She went back to staring out the window and thinking about Carlos.

  She noticed Mayra staring at her.

  “What’s that smile on your face?” Mayra asked.

  “Nothing,” she said. She turned away.

  “What’s nothing’s name?” she asked.

  Ariana sighed and smiled. “Carlos,” she said. She turned back to Mayra. “He’s a senior.”

  Mayra nodded, eyebrows raised. She was in between boyfriends right now. She had dumped her last one for being too clingy. And jealous. Mayra hated guys like that. Right now, she preferred being single and free and going out with anyone she liked.

  “Nice,” she said. “Carlos Herrera, right? I think my ex used to hang out with him.”

  “I didn’t even get to say bye to him. I just had to leave all of a sudden. He must think I’m a jerk.” She rested her head on the seat and looked up at the ceiling of the bus. “I wish I could see him again. At another party.”

  “Hello. You are the good girl who only does what her parents tell her. Anytime I ask you to sneak out so we can go out together, you freak out.”

  “I know,” she said. “But, seriously. I’m tired of being the good girl. I want to have fun. I’ve tried living my parents’ way, always asking permission, always doing what they say, wearing what they want me to wear. I’m tired. I want to go out. With guys. Have fun. Like you.”

  Mayra sat up and looked at her.

  “Well, then, don’t ask for permission. Just do it. You’re sixteen years old. In a couple more years, you’ll be in college. On your own. You might as well start making your own decisions now. They need to understand that. They can’t control you forever, you know. Trust me, if you don’t do something, you’ll go nowhere with Carlos.”

  “Yeah,” Ariana said, turning to the window again and sighing.

  “Well, if you keep doing only what your parents want you to do, you can pretty much forget about him. Because you and I both know they would never let you go out with someone like him. Older, with his own car. Totally hot by the way. No offense.”

  She laughed. She knew Mayra would never do anything to hurt her. She had a right to see and comment on Carlos’ obvious cuteness.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. You know, while doing the million chores I had to do for punishment yesterday. And I just want to be treated like an adult. Have a little freedom. They’re my parents and all, and I love them, but I need my space. I need to experience life for myself, not hear about it from them. And you’re right. They would never let me go out with him.

  “But I don’t know. I think maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself, don’t you think? I mean, yeah, Carlos is like one of the cutest guys at our school. A senior. Pretty popular. And he asked me to dance? I don’t get it. But I want to see where it goes.”

  She looked at Mayra, who nodded quickly. “Or who knows? Maybe it was nothing serious for him. I think I just need to see what happens first before I even start thinking about discussing this stuff with my parents. Especially now that I’m supposedly ‘grounded,’” she said. “I mean, I’m so excited about what happened last night. I never imagined it would happen. But it did. I guess I need to make sure that he’s thinking the same thing.”

  “Ay, Ariana. You underestimate yourself. You really do. You are so pretty. You totally have a killer body and brains. Guys love that. You’d be surprised how often I hear guys talking about you. They just see you as too much of a good girl. Like you’d never do anything out of line. You have to show them you’re not all like that. There’s another side. That even I’m starting to see come out. A wild side. And that is totally normal.”

  “Guys talking about me? No way.”

  Mayra nodded without blinking.

  Ariana thought about that and then turned back to Mayra. “So how’s your love life?”

  Mayra smiled. “I’ve been talking to this guy. He’s in college, studying marketing, I think. He seems nice. Like he’s taken me out a couple of times, but we’ll see.”

  As the bus pulled up into the school parking lot, she and Mayra scanned the lot to see if Carlos was there.

  “Looking for Carlos?” Mayra looked at her.

  “Yeah…” She couldn’t help but smile.

  “I think he’s the one that usually hangs out in the parking lot in the morning with some other guys. Blue car, I believe.”

  The bus pulled into the school parking lot.

  As they gathered at the window, Ariana tried not to look too conspicuous while Mayra practically shoved her out of the way to see if Carlos was indeed at his usual spot. They were disheartened to see that he wasn’t. Ariana’s heart dropped. Great, she thought. I got all dressed up today for nothing.

  “Maybe he’s late,” Mayra said. “Or skipping. I would be if I wasn’t failing math class.”

  Ariana shook her head and rolled her eyes. But then she smiled—and tried to get Carlos out of her thoughts for the rest of the day.

  ***

  At lunch, Mayra and Ariana grabbed trays, loaded them with as much edible-looking food as possible (which wasn’t much, by the way), and headed to their usual table.

  Ariana opened her soda and took a big swig. After the trig formulas they had supposedly learned, she needed a big dose of caffeine.

  A few other girls they knew were already at their table. They were in another class.

  “Take it easy there,” Mayra said.

  Ariana looked at her. “After all those formulas, I need this. My brain hurts.”

  “Which is why I tuned it all out.” Mayra smiled and began eating. “Hey, Alex, who was that guy who was walking with your class to lunch. Is he new?”

  Alex laughed. “Kinda. He’s Coach Henderson’s student teacher this semester.”

  Mayra’s eyebrows rose about two inches.

  “I know,” Alex said. “All the girls in our class can’t stop staring at him.”

  Natalia, a tall, thin girl who was in a couple of Ariana’s classes, began talking about the quince. “So how many of you guys went? There were so many people there, I only saw a couple of you.”

  “I was there in an amazing purple dress,” said Kathy, drawing out the word amazing. Everyone else tried not to roll their eyes.

  “I was there too. I hung out with Kathy and my boyfriend,” said Julia.

  A couple of the other girls affirmed that they had been there.

  “What I definitely didn’t miss, though, was Ariana dancing with Carlos Herrera. I didn’t know you were into him,” Julia said, teasing. “I didn’t know you were into boys at all.”

  “Well, she’s not a lesbian, if that’s what you’re saying,” said Mayra.

  “Mayra!” Ariana said, staring at her. Trust Mayra to give blunt comments.

  She turned back to Julia, trying not to blush. She should have known people would be talking. “We just danced a few songs. I hardly know him. He’s probably not even interested in me.” She went back to eating her apple.

  “Hmm,” said Alex. “When Carlos dances that many songs with one girl, it’s because of something. Girl, he is so into you. What did you do to snatch such a fine guy? When you guys start going out, you better hook me up with that cute friend of his, Miguel.”

  “Alex, come on. He has a million other girls he can have. He’s not about to choose me,” she said, taking another bite of her apple.

  “Ariana, I think he already did,” Alex said with a smile.

  Julia was just staring at her. Ariana looked away and pretended not to notice.

  “Did you guys see Regina’s dress? And the baile sorpresa?” Mayra asked. Thank goodness for the change of subject.

  “It was so pretty,” said Kathy.

  “The dance was kind of slutty, in my opinion,” said Julia as she continued eating some fruit.

  “No, it wasn’t,” said Mayra. “It was edgy and cool.”

  Julia just shrugged her s
houlders. “I guess.”

  Everyone kept talking about the party, but Ariana and Mayra hurried through their lunch and cleared their places as quickly as possible.

  “Being in math class is actually preferable to eating with Julia,” Ariana said as they left the cafeteria.

  “Think she’s jealous much?” Mayra shook her head.

  “You think that’s what it is?”

  “Duh. I mean it’s Carlos. He’s pretty hot. And well-known. Of course Julia would like to go out with him.”

  That made Ariana think about Carlos choosing Julia over her.

  “I know what you’re thinking and stop.” Mayra stopped her in the hallway. “You are way prettier than her. Not to mention you’re actually nice.”

  “You think so?” Julia was pretty popular.

  “Of course,” Mayra said as they walked back to class.

  ***

  Ariana grabbed her books and headed to English class. She maneuvered her way through the hall, nudging past the stragglers. She was just skirting around a couple when she saw Carlos headed her way. Their eyes met, and she slowed down momentarily before she realized he hadn’t changed his pace at all. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at her anymore. She glanced back as she kept walking and realized her mouth was slightly open.

  She wished Carlos had at least waved. She didn’t know what to make of it. She rounded the corner and walked into English, setting her books down on her desk as she slid into her seat. The bell rang, and the teacher came in and immediately began talking.

  Ariana could hardly make sense of what she was saying. Finally, she asked if she could go to the bathroom.

  She needed air, a few minutes to think. She paced in front of the mirror for a few seconds, fixed her hair, washed her hands, and headed back out.

  As she walked out of the bathroom, she found herself returning a smile. Carlos’ smile. She blinked a couple times, not believing they’d run into each other like this.

  “Hey, Cinderella,” he said, stopping in front of her. His student agenda was in his hand, and he had a pencil behind his ear. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to the elbow.

  “Cinderella?” she asked with a smile. She would have been happy with any nickname, really, she realized. As long as it came out of his lips. “What are you doing here?”

  Not that his presence was a bad thing.

  “Just needed a break from science. Took a little detour. Didn’t think I’d run into you.”

  She nodded.

  “I never got the chance to say bye to you at the party. You ran out on me. Didn’t even leave a glass slipper behind for me to track you down with.”

  She smiled.

  How the heck was she supposed to reply to that? She begged her mind to come up with something witty.

  “Sorry about that, Prince Charming. Something came up. And if you missed me so much, why didn’t you say hi earlier?”

  He looked away before looking back at her. “Couldn’t work up the courage.”

  Good enough.

  “I should get going,” he continued. “But you think I can call you some time?”

  Carlos pulled his phone out, and so did she. “Switch?” he asked.

  She nodded and gave him a half-smile.

  She noticed his phone was much nicer than hers. She added herself as a contact. They switched back.

  “I missed you.” He was looking at her straight in the eyes. She couldn’t hold his gaze, so she looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Dancing with you was amazing.” He lifted her chin.

  His face was inches away from her own. Her mouth was slightly open.

  Somebody coughed behind him. They both turned. The assistant principal.

  “Get to class, Mr. Herrera,” Mr. Sandhill said. He knew Carlos by name?

  “Yes, sir. Was just on my way,” he replied coolly. He began walking away. He turned to Ariana and waved.

  “Young lady.” Mr. Sandhill crossed his arms.

  “Yes, sir.” She began walking in the opposite direction, towards her class. Her heart pounded all the way there, and she wasn’t sure if it was from being so close to Carlos or practically being reprimanded by the assistant principal.

  Probably both.

  chapter three

  Ariana put most of her school books in her locker, took a couple out that she needed that night for homework, and slammed the door shut. She remembered her encounter with Carlos, smiling. She thought she must really look like an idiot, just smiling all to herself, but she didn’t care.

  She walked to the parking lot outside, where it was too hot for it to be fall, and climbed the steep steps into the school bus. Ariana managed to squeeze her way to her and Mayra’s usual seat towards the back. She passed Jimmy, who was sitting with his buddy, Ryan. She hadn’t even sat down when Mayra, who had gotten there before her, said, “Spill.”

  “Spill what?” She put her book bag in her lap and looked at the back of the seat in front of her instead of at Mayra.

  “You’re practically radiating puppy love. Come on. Tell me!” She waited a few seconds.

  “Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. She figured the cheesy smile on her face had probably given her away. “We ran into each other in the hallway during fourth period. We exchanged numbers.”

  Mayra gasped. “Yay!”

  “And he said he missed me… And he even has a nickname for me.” She turned towards Mayra and sighed.

  “Go on.”

  “Cinderella.”

  “It’s official. He likes you. I knew it!” Mayra was practically jumping up and down in her seat.

  “I actually believe that might be true. He practically kissed me before Mr. Sandhill caught us and made us get to class. He knows Carlos by name.”

  “Hmm. Doesn’t surprise me.”

  “What do you mean?” She turned in the seat so her whole body was facing Mayra.

  “Well, I know he’s been in trouble before. Like suspended.”

  “For what?” It couldn’t be anything serious.

  “I think like skipping and stuff. Nothing major. I had a class with him last year because he failed math, and I remember him having ISS and OSS a few times.”

  In school and out of school suspension? Wow.

  Mayra nodded. Ariana didn’t know how she felt about that. She never imagined herself liking someone like Carlos. Who got into trouble in school. Who skipped school. Who was probably one of those people who didn’t really care about school. He had to be a good person, though. She didn’t get a bad vibe from him.

  “What you thinkin’ about?” Mayra asked.

  “Nothing.” She turned back around.

  “Ariana, what I’ve learned in high school is this. Don’t believe everything you hear. Because you wouldn’t believe the things they say about me. Get to know the guy first. Maybe he really is a good guy. Then, if he is, that’s great. Either way, you’ll start to see him for he truly is, and maybe there will be something about him that isn’t so great. The point is, don’t be blind either.”

  She was kind of confused, but she nodded. “I agree completely.” But she was already visualizing Carlos and the way he had smiled at her and called her Cinderella.

  ***

  About an hour later, Ariana and Jimmy were at home relaxing after a snack when their mom got home.

  “How was school?” she asked as she pulled some frozen meat out of the freezer for dinner.

  “Good,” Ariana asked.

  “Boring,” Jimmy said. They were on the couch watching television.

  “I got out of work early today, but I headed over to your tia’s. She’s been sick with the flu, and you know her kids. Like tornadoes.” Her mom shook her head and headed into the kitchen.

  Ariana couldn’t stop thinking about Carlos and she wanted to talk to Mayra about it—in person. She decided to risk asking for permission to go to her house, even though she had just been let off the hook.

  “Is
it okay if I go to Mayra’s house for a little while?”

  “I don’t know. You have to go to school tomorrow.”

  “Mom. Just a little bit.” She stared at her mom.

  She sighed. “Fine.”

  She jumped up and got her shoes on.

  “I’m gonna go outside,” Jimmy said. He already had his basketball shoes waiting beside the front door. “There’s nothing good on TV, and it’s getting dark soon.”

  “I’ll be back later,” she shouted as she and Jimmy walked outside.

  A few minutes later, she was sitting in Mayra’s room.

  “So what did you do when he asked you for your number?” she asked.

  “I felt like such a loser, trying to think of something to say,” she said. Mayra laughed at how nervous Ariana had been.

  Mayra got up to close the door of her bedroom. Her mom was actually home for once, and she was asleep in the room next door. Mayra sat back down on the bed, and Ariana absentmindedly swung back and forth in her desk chair.

  “He has to be on Facebook, right? Let’s look him up.” She went up to the desk and grabbed a little stool she had beside the desk. She sat down next to Ariana and woke up the computer. A few seconds later, she was on the social networking website.

  “His last name is Herrera, right?” she asked.

  “Yeah” she said. She watched Mayra type.

  “Hmm…I’ll just type in his name and see what comes up.”

  She typed his name and their location and clicked the search button. His picture was near the top.

  “Carlos Herrera,” said Mayra. “Cute picture. You have good taste, Ariana.”

  “Oh, Mayra,” she said. She clicked on the profile. It was private, so she could only see his personal info. She saw that his birthday had been a couple of months before. And he liked action movies.

  “I wonder if he’s friend requested you.” Mayra said. “Wanna check?”

  She shifted over and Ariana took over the keyboard. She logged out of Mayra’s account and logged into her own.

  She saw that she did have a friend request. And it was him.