“Okay, then let’s go see Do?a Violeta. She’s been asking about you.”
“Shit . . .” I haven’t had any time to visit her lately with work and everything.
“And I’m still hungry. We can go to Do?a Violeta’s and then get Takis. Nothing wrong with Takis for dessert, right?”
“True, but I have to work right now. Sorry, Cesar. Tell her hi for me,” I say without looking away from the computer.
“Okay, well, happy birthday.”
“Thanks.”
Cesar lingers for a moment, then sighs and walks out.
When Monday rolls around, I’m a little nervous. I have no idea what to expect. I get up extra early to get ready. I still have to wear my uniform, but I put extra love into doing my hair and makeup. Cesar comes into the bathroom, and he’s even groggier than usual, with dark circles under his eyes.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I ask as I put on some homemade earrings instead of my usual hoops. Beaded red heart earrings for Valentine’s Day.
He shakes his head and splashes water on his face. He’s probably bummed because it’s Valentine’s Day. Maybe he misses Jamal.
“I’m gonna ditch today with Bo and them,” I whisper, even though Mom is in her shower and can’t hear. Telling him what I’m doing is as good as an invite. He usually invites himself anyway, but he doesn’t this time.
“Oh, fun,” he says, then brushes his teeth and leaves me to finish my makeup.
The one time I want Cesar to invite himself, he doesn’t care. It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m afraid it might feel like a double date, since David and Amber are all cupcakey. I don’t know how to feel about that.
As soon as Mom drops Cesar and me off at school, I walk straight to Bo’s car in the back of the parking lot. It’s already parked, so I hop into the passenger seat and wait for Amber and David to join us.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask.
“You’ll seeee,” she sings. “It will be fun, I promise.”
We get a group text from Amber.
Amber: My mom has to gas up, so David and I are running late. Be there soon
The longer we wait for them, the more likely we are to get caught. We’re sitting ducks in the school parking lot, waiting for someone to notice we aren’t going to class. Common sense should have told them to get here early so no one would try to stop them from meeting us.
When the first bell rings, our chances of getting caught rise exponentially. I send them a text.
Yami: Um, how late exactly?
The campus police officer sees us.
“Shit, we got to go,” I say.
“It’s fine, he probably thinks we just got here. He’ll get distracted in a minute.”
I sigh. Amber and David better hurry the hell up before we get caught.
The cop doesn’t get distracted. He’s walking toward us.
“Shit, shit, shit, GO!” I yell. Bo screams like she’s being murdered instead of driving. I pull down the visors so we don’t get recognized. The cop is only a few yards away when she finally slams on the gas. Now we’re both screaming, because she’s driving right toward him. He leaps out of the way. I can barely hear him yelling over the sounds of both of us shrieking. We race over all the speed bumps and somehow make it out of the lot in one piece.
Then we start dying laughing. Bo has to pull over so we don’t crash.
“Oh my God, my heart!” She thumps her hand on her chest to show how fast her heart is beating.