Right Where I Belong (13 page)
“So I hear.”
Natalia’s front door opened and her stepmother’s face appeared through the crack in the door.
If you don’t want me sitting in a parked car with a boy, Maureen, you shouldn’t give him permission to take me home.
“I’ll pray about it, okay?”
“So will I,” Brian said. “But I already know the answer.”
Natalia opened the truck door. “And what if you’re wrong?”
“Then I’ll owe you a trip to Dixie’s Diner. How about that?”
A vision of the carbohydrate-filled lunch popped into Natalia’s mind and she grimaced.
Brian threw his hands up. “Sorry. I was just kidding.”
He thought she was disgusted at the idea of going out
with him. Natalia considered correcting that assumption.
No, better to let him think that. The less I encourage him, the better.
She didn’t know why he would be interested in her, but she knew why he shouldn’t—her family was far too messed up to drag anyone else anywhere near it.
“Thanks for the ride, Brian.” Natalia shut the truck door. “I’m sure Maureen will be able to take me home from now on.”
B
rian watched until Natalia was inside her house. Then he hit his steering wheel as hard as he could.
“Ouch.” Not the best idea.
He pulled out his phone and punched in Addy’s number. The two of them had gone to school together since kindergarten. He wouldn’t classify them as best friends, but until her stint on the TV show, both were among the class “outcasts.”
“Hey, Addy. Is this a bad time?”
“Brian?” She sounded tired.
He looked at the clock. It was after nine o’clock. “Were you asleep? I’m sorry.”
“No.” Addy cleared her throat. “I was just reading. Is everything okay?”
He sighed. “I need some help.”
“With what?” She sounded alarmed.
“Natalia.” Brian pulled out of Natalia’s neighborhood and drove home.
Addy laughed. “Oh, that kind of help.”
“No, not that. I mean, not that I wouldn’t mind it being that. I want to be friends with her, but I keep getting mixed signals. She’s amazing with the ESL group. She has connected with them so quickly. And when we’re in class, she’s happy and talkative. But when it’s just the two of us, she clams up.”
“She is an amazing person.”
“I know,” Brian said louder than he intended.
“And she needs friends. Things are tough at home right now.”
“I know that too. And I want to be her friend.”
I’d like to be more than that, but no use pushing it.
“But it’s like she won’t let me.”
“I think it’s really hard for her to open up.”
“But I just want to help.” Brian turned onto his street.
“Then keep doing what you’re doing. Just be yourself. She needs to laugh.”
“And I’m the class clown.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Sometimes I’d like to be the class hunk. Or the class brain. Or the class jock. Being the class clown gets a little old.”
“Oh, Brian, you’re growing up.” Addy had a smile in her voice.
“All right, Grandma.” Brian laughed. “Now that you’ve got a boyfriend, you think you’re all mature?”’
“We are talking about Natalia, not me.”
Brian threw his car into Park. “Does Natalia have a boyfriend? Back in Spain?”
“Oh no. She doesn’t seem to think she’ll ever date.”
“Ever?”
“Her family’s so messed up, I think she’s afraid she’d be messed up too.”
“I’ll let you go.” Brian locked his truck and walked up the sidewalk to his house. “Thanks. I feel a little better.”
Brian ended the call and thought of Natalia. Something he had been doing a lot lately.
She needs to spend some time with a healthy family.
He opened the door to his house.
I think I know just the one.
A
re you ready?” Addy stood at Natalia’s doorstep in her school uniform.
“I just feel so underdressed.” Natalia smoothed her skirt. Again. “You’re sure none of the others will be wearing a blazer?”
“It’s going to be ninety-four today.” Addy grabbed Natalia’s backpack as they walked to her car.
Natalia buckled up and took a deep breath. She didn’t even remember going to a new school ever. She was so used to knowing everyone and everyone knowing her.
What was I thinking, switching schools—and continents—my final year of high school
?
“Relax.” Addy looked over at Natalia. “It’ll be fine. We’re in almost all the same classes.”
“That’s nice.”
“And the school is small, so you definitely won’t get lost.”
Natalia nodded. “Right.”
Addy stopped at the end of Natalia’s street and glanced in her rearview mirror. “You know what? Let’s pray.”
“What?”
“We’re fine, no cars are coming. Come on.” Addy closed her eyes and Natalia, with a glance at the side mirror, did the same. “Jesus, help Natalia. I can’t imagine being at a brand-new school for my senior year. Help her feel comfortable and make friends. Give her a great year this year, God. Bless her for her obedience. Amen.”
Natalia sighed. “I should have done that three hours ago.” She felt like a weight had been lifted. “Thanks.”
“You were up at four thirty in the morning?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Natalia picked a piece of lint off her navy polo shirt. “I get a little nervous sometimes.”
“I understand that. But you’re going to be exhausted by the end of the day.”
“I know.”
“But you still have to come to the Dream Cone with us.”
“Oh, I forgot about that.” Addy had told Natalia that she and her best friend, Lexi, always went to an ice-cream parlor after their first day of school. “What was the dessert you said you always get?”
“A Chocolate Avalanche. It’s amazing. Chocolate ice cream on a chocolate brownie with chocolate syrup on top.”
“I don’t know how you can eat like that and stay thin.” Natalia laughed.
“My friend Kara swears I’m going to weigh five hundred pounds someday.” Addy pulled into the school parking lot. Natalia found it difficult to take a deep breath. “We have homeroom together. All the seniors are together for homeroom.”
Natalia didn’t have time to respond because a very tall, muscular young woman ran up to Addy and lifted her off the ground. “My best friend.”
“Can’t breathe,” Addy panted.
“Oh, sorry.” The girl dropped Addy and struck a pose. “Notice anything different?”
“Are you kidding?” Addy walked around the girl. “You look amazing. You must have lost, what, twenty pounds?”
“Twenty-two.” The girl grinned. “Forget Weight Watchers. I got the Gram and Gramps Summer Vacation Program. They put me to work on their farm, fed me salads and grilled chicken. I lost fat, gained more muscle, and look out. I am going to kill on the volleyball team this year. And basketball . . . oh boy. Calvary Christian better just get ready. They are going down this year.”
Addy stopped her friend with a hand on her shoulder. “Hang on, Lexi. I want to introduce you to Natalia. She’s the one I told you about who moved here from Spain.”
“Natalia!” Lexi hugged Natalia, and Natalia quickly understood how Addy felt a few minutes before.
“Estoy muy alegre que estés aquí, amiga.”
“Muy bien español.”
Natalia smiled.
“The Gram and Gramps Summer Spanish Program?” Addy asked.
“Sí.” Lexi laughed and turned to Natalia. “They’re originally from Puerto Rico. Mom and Dad both grew up speaking Spanish, but neither have passed it down to us kids. So my grandparents believe it’s their responsibility to keep us from being too
Americano
.”
“Where do they live now?”
“They own a cattle ranch in Texas.” Lexi motioned toward the school, and the girls began walking across the parking lot to the senior high building.
“And you go there every summer?” Natalia wanted to think about anything but walking into a classroom of strangers.
“No, my sisters and brothers and I take turns.”
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Seven.” Lexi shrugged. “I’m number six.”
“What a large family.” Natalia had a half sister, but she barely saw eight-year-old Ari. Ari’s mother, Isabelle, only let Papa see her on holidays.
“You’ll have to come out to the house sometime.” Lexi linked her arm through Natalia’s as they walked out of the parking lot. “We live on a lake. Ever been waterskiing?”
“No, I’ve never waterskied. I’ve gone snow skiing, though. Is it similar?”
“Not really.” Lexi held open the door, and Natalia saw teens scrambling into classrooms and throwing their backpacks into lockers against the wall. “When you snow ski, you have to lean forward. In waterskiing, you lean back. But don’t worry. I’m a great teacher. Aren’t I, Addy?”
There was a story behind the looks the girls gave each other, but Natalia didn’t have time to hear about it. As soon as they walked into Mrs. Stevenson’s classroom, Natalia remembered the story Brian had told her, when he had fallen asleep and dreamed about algebraic equations.
You are not going to start thinking about him first thing, Natalia Lopez
.
“Over here,” Addy said as she found a top locker and
began unpacking the contents of her backpack. “There are three top lockers in a row. What are the chances of that?”
“Jesus loves me.” Lexi opened the locker next to Addy. “Good thing you’re my best friend. Come on now, Natalia. You better claim this one fast.”
Natalia opened the locker and looked inside.
At least this is the same as back home.
She dug through her backpack to find the magnetic whiteboard she had purchased. She stuck it to the inside door, and Lexi grabbed the marker from her hand before she could snap it into place. Lexi pushed Natalia aside and wrote in huge letters: WELCOME TO TCS!!!
“There.” Lexi returned the marker to its place. “Now you are officially welcomed.”
The locker next to Natalia’s opened, and she turned around.
“Hi, Natalia.”
Spencer Adams. Natalia tried to turn back, but he stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “We’re neighbors. Isn’t that a coincidence?”
“Yes, I suppose it is.” Natalia stepped back as Spencer stepped closer to her. But she miscalculated and bumped into Lexi, who lost her balance and bumped into Addy.
Natalia turned around to apologize and found both girls falling to the ground. She tried to stop Lexi by giving her a hand. But Lexi, weighing about forty pounds more than Natalia, just pulled the lighter girl down with her. Before she knew it, Natalia was on the floor beside Lexi and Addy, the former laughing hysterically.
“Now
that’s
how you begin a senior year, ladies.” Lexi
stood and Natalia tried to do the same, hoping that, in her fall, she hadn’t flashed anyone.
Spencer turned his broad smile on the girls. “Here, let me help you.”
Lexi sat back down and held a hand out to him. “Why, certainly.”
Spencer grunted as he heaved Lexi up, then put a hand out for Natalia. She scrambled to her feet in an attempt to avoid having to hold the boy’s hand.
“Don’t be shy.” Spencer grabbed Natalia’s arm and pulled her up.
“Senior year, Spencer.” Lexi smiled at the dark-haired boy. “You ready for it?”
“Of course I’m ready.” He waved Lexi aside and looked at Natalia. “You have any questions, just come to me.”
He walked to his seat and Natalia watched as Lexi’s eyes followed him. “Could I be you? Just for a day?”
“What?”
“To have Spencer Adams drooling over me. Just for a day. I could die happy.”
Addy nudged her friend. “You can do so much better than Spencer.”
Lexi raised her eyebrows. “Okay, Miss First Girlfriend. Whatever. I lose weight, get in shape. And does he notice? Do any of the boys notice? No. I’m still just plain old Lexi.”
Lexi’s skin was a beautiful caramel color, her hair was dark brown and curly, pulled into a tight ponytail. Her uniform hung loose on her, but Natalia could tell beneath that was a strong physique.
“I love fashion,” Natalia said to Lexi. “And I’ve always
wanted to give someone a makeover. Head to toe—new clothes, new hair, new makeup.”
“I’m listening.” Lexi smiled.
“Would you let me make you over? We’ll make you so stunning that Spencer will be dying to ask you out.”
Lexi’s grin widened. “You know what? You’ve got a deal.”
Natalia shook Lexi’s outstretched hand as the bell rang. Natalia followed Addy to a desk near the front when Brian rushed in the door.
“You’re late.” Mrs. Stevenson pointed to the clock above the lockers.
“Sorry.” Brian ran to the back of the room, looking for a locker. “Truck wouldn’t start. I had to get a ride from my mom.”
“I’ll let it slide today, but this better be the last time.”