by R.H. Proenza
THE NEW GIRL
Ray started noticing Lori, the girl that had come with his cousin Lillian the longer she stayed. A dark one-piece bathing suit, dark hair in a ponytail, decent figure, but a ninth grader after all -- kind of young for a tenth grader. Still, he became more aware of her as they all played in the pool, but kept being yanked away to do other things by his other cousin that lived there. There was something compelling about Lori that kept pulling at Ray.
She had the cutest Cuban accent and was having a good time in the pool jumping, boy-like, off the diving board. All the while she kept making surreptitious looks at Ray. He had already been doing the same. Conversations between them were awkward and meaningless, just chatter between friends. But the real communication was all subliminal.
The afternoon lingered with lots of dives and splashes from the pool and attempts at brushing up against Lori. The time came for everyone to leave. Just as suddenly as they had arrived, Lillian and her cousin Lori departed. Ray's disappointed thoughts lingered on the new girl knowing she was just visiting Lillian. He would never see her again and had to brush his feelings aside. Oh well, he thought, I'll have to forget about her... she was just a cute visitor anyway.
Summer vacation ended and school was back in session. Eleventh grade was fun and band activities kept Ray busy. The memory of Lori was eroding away as time has a habit of doing. In school, his shyness kept him from creating romantic attachments with girls. This made him feel lonely, especially when he saw other couples together. It was at those times that Lori would cross his mind.
One day walking the halls during a change of class he saw a girl across the way that looked so... much... like... soooo much like… WAIT! IT WAS HER! LORI WAS HERE... AT HIS SCHOOL! SHE WAS HERE! His heart jumped; but why was he reacting this way? Ray hardly knew her or anything about her? She had been talking to a friend, a short blonde girl. Just as he spotted her, at once she was gone, disappearing down the hall. Later he tried at every free moment to catch sight of her again, but it was always in vain.
In the hall during class change, someone at once stopped in front of him. It was the girl that Lori had been talking with. She came up to Ray from out of nowhere. She said her name was Aleci [ah-leh-see], and told him with an accent like Lori's that she had a note from Lori. She thrust the note at him then took off in a hurry. His heart skipped a beat as he grabbed and unfolded the wadded note.
"Hallo. This is Lori. Do you remember from pool from your uncle? Maybe you forgot? Just to say hallo to you. By –Lori." Her cute accent seemed to carry into her note as well.
Ray read the note 3 times not believing the words. He whirled around to find Aleci to respond “Are you kidding me? YES, I REMEMBER YOU...of course I do!” The friend was gone. But WHY was he so attracted to Lori? Even so, it would have to wait until the next day, maybe about 10,000 hours from now!
THE START
The next day could not arrive fast enough. They finally spotted each other in the halls. Lori and Aleci huddled together giggling and glancing toward Ray. They each walked toward him, Aleci seeming to hold back a respectable distance. The meeting was a little awkward, "Hi..." "Hi..." After a series of hesitant “Hi’s” and a slight gap of silence, she began in her cute Cuban accent.
"I didn' know if you ['jew'] remember me, you ['jew'] know, from jur uncle pool that day? Was so much fun, I love it."
Ray held in his emotions at bay so he would look like a cool eleventh grader. Did she just say ‘Remember me?’ "Sure I remember you. How are you?"
They chatted for a few minutes before they had to rush off to their next class. Later, Lori would try to catch glimpses of Ray at a distance between classes. To Lori, he was an upperclassman and ran in different circles. But just seeing him from far away was a thrill that lasted the whole day.
The time passed between more exchanged notes, deep looks, and quick conversations. They grew closer and more comfortable with each other, spending time after school before Lori had to go home with her cousin Lillian. The first time they held hands was electrifying. Just touching her was an experience. Sometimes they held hands long enough until they got damp from perspiration... but that didn't matter. That seemed to make it more... intimate, somehow.
The month passed and both waited with terrible anticipation for each brief meeting. Standing close to each other and putting his arm around her waist and touching bodies was always wonderful. When Ray was with her he saw her eyes sparkle. He noticed his self-esteem improving because of Lori. No girl had ever shown any romantic interest in him. She always made his heart race. Hormones being what they were, when he would get up against her he had to keep glancing down at the front of his pants lest he would embarrass himself.
Surely by now, Lori knew what happened to boys when they were this close to a girl they liked, he thought to himself. She must know! Or was she too young to know? Anyway, school books came in handy for that and so did sitting down.
Ay Dios mio [oh my God], she was thinking. If Ray only knew what he did to me... in my stomach? Será posible que este muchacho esté interesado en esta cubanita con un accento tan malo? [How could it be possible that this boy would be interested in a simple Cuban girl with such a terrible accent?] Lori felt tingly sensations, everywhere, every time he even put his arm around her. It always brought a little color to her pretty face.
Finally, Ray found the courage to ask Lori for a real date even though his shyness was still an issue. He knew she lived with her cousin Lillian, not with parents, and wondered how difficult it might be to get permission. After all, she was younger than Ray... but not by much.
His spirits soared when she accepted. The date was to be at Palisades Park, wonderful ‘Funland Park' Fairgrounds with scary rides and popcorn and candy apples.
He was already waiting at the park when her cousin drove up with Lori. They were so excited at being there... together... almost alone. Sparks were almost jumping between the two. They walked hand in hand, then closer together with arms around the waist, and ended up on the big Ferris wheel.
Ray's stomach was doing flips because knew he had to kiss her. He just HAD to. He had planned it and this would be the place if he could gather up his courage. At the top of the wheel would be the place. They would be alone up at the top. The wheel started, and with his heart pounding, he leaned over, hoping she would not turn away. Instead, she welcomed him as she realized his intentions and turned toward him. Their lips met, they sizzled together, and the moment was magical. They both lost all awareness of their surroundings, of the music, the screams from the roller coaster, the movement of the wheel. Her lips were sweet, soft, warm, and moist. His fingertips caressed the back of her neck and she shivered at his gentle caressing. His heart was about to break out of his chest.
She leaned toward his ear and whispered in a breathy voice, "Ray, I'm… I'm in love with jew [you]. I had to tell jew [you]! I never know somebody like jew [you] are." His stomach finished doing a flip as he took in those beautiful words.
The kiss lasted only a couple of minutes but they got lost in each other. Ray was definitely glad he was sitting down. How he was feeling about her would be obvious about now!
Ay, ay... he's driving me loca ... ay mi madre... [oh my oh my...]. Si él supiera lo que está pasando aya abajo... [If he only knew what was happening... down there...]
