Chapter 26

-Jorge-

I HAD AN AFTER SCHOOL club to go to for music. Sure, I'm no Santanna on the guitar, but I guess I'd say I'm a pretty good guitarist. My sister... Eh, she dabbles in the music department just a little (she 'plays' the flute), but she's mostly focussed on her art.

    Anyways, it was just my luck that Mason had the same club with me! I never really noticed because we were put into different rooms, but today me and him ended up sharing one band room since more people joined. 

"Hey man, I never knew you could play the piano." I complimented him 15 minutes into the class time.

He looked up at me from the piano keys and replied, "Ha, not really. I'm just learning."

Sure, that's what they all say. "How long?" 

"A little less than a month. But I played around with it during the Summer."

     I started jamming onto my guitar, playing a sweet guitar solo (if I say so myself) from Bohemian Rhapsody (my fave song form my fave band). I noticed that Mason kept watching me, or perhaps how fast my fingers moved around the frets. I went from a C to a D back to a C minor and added my own little flare to the ending shred. None of these guitar terms make sense to you, probably, but hey, I've increased your vocabulary.

     After replaying the solo 3 or 4 times, I kind of got tired. I had to think of something else to play, maybe put down the electric and pick up the acoustic for a second. Which I did.

"Oh.." Mason let out a sigh when I unplugged my guitar.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to hear more."

He does?! "Serious, man?"

"Yeah, you're good."

"Heh, thanks. But I was just gonna get my acoustic and try something slow."

"Oh," he sounded embarassed. "well then go do it."

     So I got my acoustic out and played all the songs I could possibly play in 17 minutes. Then I let Mason take a turn on the piano. He only played for 7 minutes (apparently he wasn't kidding when he said he was knew to this; he only knew 2 songs!). Finally class was over and he and I walked outside to wait for our parents.

     We could hear the crowd cheering from the football field. That's right, today was homecoming.

"I hope we're winning." Mason said.

"Yeah me too. I'm pretty sure we'll win. I mean, we won the last 3 games."

"That's true, but Crook County is pretty good. And..." He put on a thinking face face; I know were this is going. "Technically, if you think about winning the game mathematically, the probability of winning is 30:70, since there are 10 games the first season and we only won 3, at least Junior Varsity did. And the exponential reasoning would be that if we're winning right now, chances are the team will catch up by the second quarter, but if they're already caught up before the second quarter, we'll lose hands down."

Damn, this guy is smart. "Oh, really?"

    And here was the normal way of thinking about it: We won the last 3 games, and one of those games were against Crook County at their homecoming, so they probably want to smash us at our's for revenge.

    We continued standing in the cold, listening to the cheers, boo's, and aw's, coming from the field. I totally felt like going to watch, but standing here next to Mason is alright.

"Hey, are you going to the dance after the game is over?" He brought up unexpectedly.

"Oh, nah," I said nervousily. "I don't go to dances. I cant dance."

He laughs.

"And besides, if our team lost, which we probably will, it's going to be a terrible dance."

Mason adjusted his backpack, the continued, "Well you're right."

"Are you going?"

"No. I didn't have any one to go with. I would go, but all my friends have dates and I'd look weird going by myself."

      Call me crazy, but I took this as an oppurtunity to ask him to go with me! I mean, not with me as like, a couple but with me as a friend! I don't care much for dances but he wants to go, and what kind of friend am I if I don't go too.

So I let it out. "How 'bout you go with me?"

Mason turned around so fast you couldn't blink. "What?!" He replied.

I took in a deep breath. I'm not the freaking-out-oh-my-god kind of people. "Not like a date or anything,"

"Uh huh, yeah of course not!"

"But like, as buds, you know?" Besides, I'm pretty sure Mason is straight.

"Buds, huh?" Then there was silence.

"I can always call my dad and tell him to pick me up later." I added.

"Well uh... S-sure. I think that'd be cool."

SUCCESS!!!! "Cool? That's it? Hahaha.."

     So we called our parents and they were both fine with it, though it took about 10 minutes to convince Mason's parents it was ok letting him stay out 'til at least 11pm. But it was worth it, to me at least.

    Instead of waiting out front in the cold and dark, we decided to go watch the game. We didn't have enough money to go in and actually sit on the bleachers, so we stood by the gate instead. Not so bad a view, by the way.

"Crap, we're losing!" I shouted above the rest of the crowd.

"No! We'll win, maybe!" Mason cheered. Staying positive (kinda); That's cool

     And for the next 37 minutes, it was all me, Mason, the crowd, and the game.

 

-Mason-

IT WAS A BLAST at the game! I've never been to a football game before, let alone any other sport-related events, but I was having so much fun I wish I never had to leave.

    I'll admit, it was weird when Jorge asked me to go to the dance with him. It sounded like he was asking me on a date, which is highly impossible, I probably just misinterpreted it for a second. I'm pretty sure he's not homosexual, or bisexual for that matter. And besides, Jorge is a really nice-looking guy, but just not my type.

    Still, it was great to see a game with a guy friend for once. I'm always hanging out with my gal friends, and to think of it I can't even recall the last time I had some quality guy-friend time.

"OH DAMN!!! HE'S GOING FOR THE TOUCH DOWN!!!! YEAH, GO!!!" Jorge screamed as loud as he could. And his loudest still couldn't overcome the one's of the crowd.

"He's not gonna make it!" I could tell. At the speed he's running and the guy catching up behind him, even if he threw the ball the chances of him making it would be--

"NOOO!!! DAMN!!!" Jorge and the rest of the crowd (supporting our team) pouted and whined. "YOU SHOULD HAVE RAN FASTER!!!!"

"I knew he wasn't gonna make it." I reminded him.

"Yeah yeah, mister smart guy." He smiled.

     At the end of the game we lost. Not too bad, I think. It was 14 - 25, we were down by 11. Looks like Crook County got their revenge. So now it was off to the dance. And oddly enough, the line was really long to get it!!

     We waited for at least 30 minutes. I could have been home watching a whole episode of Chain of Love than standing here. But it seemed like the people inside were having fun and the music made me want to dance (or sway back and forth).

"Have you seen your friends yet?" Jorge broke my chain of thoughts.

"Oh, now that I think about it, I don't."

     After what happened at lunch today, I'm pretty sure I wont be seeing Bea or Nick tonight. Heck, Aika and Justin might not come either. Hm, Justin... Those two sure do look happy together. Whoa, anyway... Gosh, I'm thinking about him way too much; he's Aika's guy!

Jorge leaned over my shoulder. "Oh, my sister just went inside." He stated.

I glanced over to the entrance and barely saw Carina walking down the hallway. "Does she have a date?" I asked.

"She said something about wanting to go with her boyfriend, but since he goes to a different school he couldn't come."

"Ah."

     About 20 more minutes passed until we finally made it to the front... which was a TOTAL waste.

"School ID please." An officer with a flashlight said by the door.

"What now?" Jorge responded, puzzled.

"I asked for your School ID." The man said in an even louder voice.

"What? Why?!" As Jorge said this, many of the other kids waiting in line behind us began to moan in "ID?! What ID?! You needed your student ID?! I didn't know that!"

"We need to make sure that only kids from this school are attending the dance. Without your ID, I'm afraid I can't let you in." The officer stated.

"So we waited in line for almost an hour for nothing.." I mumbled.

"Man, there's no time for this I'm going home." Jorge angrily pushed me aside and got out of line, and bunch of other kids too.

    Many could be heard complaining about how they got all ready and did their hair and makeup and chose out the right clothes only to be pushed away at the door. The line decreased by about 25 kids!

"THIS SCHOOL SUCKS!!!" I heard one student shout walking out of line. The look on the teacher's and officer's faces were ones of apology. I guess it wasn't really all their fault. It just couldn't be helped.

    Jorge and I found ourselves waiting in the cold darkness once again in front of the school. It really seemed like a waste of time. And it was already 10:15pm. My parents will yell at me when they pick me up.

"Bro, what a waste." Jorge sighed and leaned on me. Wait.. what?

"What are you doing?" I shifted slightly on bench were we sat.

"I'm just tired..."

"Oh.. Uh, ok.."

     It got quiet and it felt awkward. Usually if a guy did that to me I'd slide right on over and watch him fall down, then apologize afterwards. But with Jorge, it was alright. He's one of those cool nice guys that really are just, nice. He doesnt really talk much either so if you met him sitting in the library you'd never guess he was a popular boy.

    A lot of girls like him, like my friend Crystal, she even asked him out once. And they did go out! But it was funny how in the end she ended up breaking up with him. But then I felt sorry for him after that because I know he's not bad, Crystal is just one of those girls who doesn't want to be the dumped one.

    Sitting there in the quiet, Jorge leaning his head on my broad shoulder, I felt like going to sleep. And then I realized, he was already asleep!

    Wha-? What the heck? He fell asleep! He totally fell asleep! And, he's not faking it either! That just made the situation feel odder. But before I knew it, I was nodding away into a soft rest.

 

 

"What's this?!" A familiar voice shouted and shocked me out of my blissful, short, nap.

"Heh?!" Jorge and I screamed in unison. Then we looked at eachother in puzzlement.

"Was I just-?" I slid away from Jorge.

"Uh, yeah! Was I just-?"

"Yeah!" I jumped up. "Did we-?"

"Fall asleep together!" He finished my sentence.

"We did!"

"Crap! Sorry man!"

"You two, seriously?!" The familiar voice called out again. Now it was very familiar, I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Aika.

     She stood in a blue mini-dress kind of thing with black leggings and high heels. It's funny because she hates stuff like that, but homecoming was a semi-formal event so I guess it's not too shocking.

"Heh, you guys, I guess I didn't know you two that well." She winked.

"No no no no no! You got it all wrong!" I started freaking out. I'm sure she thought we were getting.. close. Ughhh, why me?

"Well well, hey cutie." Jorge teased.

Aika put her hands on her hips. "Haha, hi Jorge."

 

     The 3 of us ended up sitting on the bench waiting for our parents. Aika told us of the boring dance and envied us for saving our 5 bucks.

"I totally could have spent that 5 dollars on something else," Aika complained, "but I just had to spend it on this!"

"Haha, it's alright. So how did that kiss go?" Jorge asked. Yeah, Aika even told us about the, how she describes as, the magical yet absolutely unexpected quick peck on the lips. Rather long name, right?

"I guess it was ok. I felt great, for how quick and short it really was. But now... I'm no longer a kissing virgin! WAAAH!!! I was waiting until I got married!"

     Jorge and I laughed. Aika is so secure about things like that. Hugging and holding hands is all good, but kissing just makes her freak out and run away. You should have seen her when this one guy in our class out-of-the-blue pecked her on the cheek during lunch... It was hillarious! She jumped back and slapped her hand on her face and rubbed her cheek like she just got touched by a disease. Then she ran outside all the way across the campus.

     But she should have stated her boundaries with Justin at the beginning, then he wouldnt have just kissed her like that... WAIT!!! That doesn't make sense... Justin would ask first about her boundaries, not just come up and kiss her knowing how uptight she is!

    He's a caring guy, and shy about things like that, or that's how he came across. The only way he could have acted that cooland sly is if... He was Kevin! Makes sense... Plenty of times today she kept calling 'Justin' Kevin instead. She said it was just a mistake, but knowing Aika, she couldn't keep in a secret for so long, so that means she's really going out with Kevin! What the heck? Then where's Justin?!

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go to Justin's house this weekend. He met my mom already, so it should only be fair for me to meet his parents."

Justin's? Or Kevin's?

"Oh, take me with you!"

"Hahaha, yeah, no." Aika and Jorge were engaged in their conversation.

Jorge straightened out his back. "Wait a sec, you said he met your mom. What about your dad?"

"Right... Let's not go there."

    Yeah, good call. Her dad is pretty... cautious, whenever she brings up guys. I was scared just saying hi to him at our middle school graduation. But I know he means well.

 

    Funny, our parents all picked us up at the same time. I got home at around 10:50, almost 11:00pm. I got a 20-minute lecture from my parents, mostly my dad, about staying out late and not even doing anything and how to better myself next time something like this comes up. It's usually the same things every time, so I didn't really listen to them.

    I went to my room, changed into my sleeping clothes (a plain shirt and basketball shorts) and crashed on my bed. My room was dark and the only light in it was from the moon shining between the cracks in the window blinds. I turned my stereo on and listened to some k-pop.

"Let's see. If I'm correct, and Aika really is dating Kevin, then... what about Justin? Where is he? I bet he must be lonely, since he really liked Aika." I rolled over onto my left side. "If I can just talk to him, maybe I can meet some ways with him, and cheer him up. No offense to Kevin but," I paused, thinking someone might hear me, then I continued in my head...

   There's nothing wrong with Kevin, he's cute. He's gorgeous actually, and so is Justin (duh, they're identical twins!), but Justin just gives off this aura to me. I dunno... I thought about how jealous I felt when I saw him and Aika together at Starbucks, holding hands, on their 'date', which is exactly why I didn't want to tell Aika how I felt; I thought I'd end up losing a friend. It's so hard being bi.

    After a while I got hungry (at 1 in the morning), so I went downstairs to grab something to eat. That's when I heard my dad on the phone. I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear, I just happened to walk in at the wrong (or right) time.

"Phracêā ch̀wy!!!" My dad exclaimed into the phone. "That's great, cousin! How much money?"

"What?! Henri got some money?" My mom got excited.

Ohhhh, Uncle Saowaluk.

     Last year my Uncle, Henri, went bankrupt and almost lost his house. He worked for this big company for the last 12 years and was REALLY rich. He owned this big estate in the Oregon country. But then the company he worked for shut down and he lost his job.

    He's always been mailing us letters asking for money and my mom always gave him at least $30, and then dad always got mad whenever she gave him money.

"Chæ̀ng!! Over a million dollars?!" My dad screamed.

"No way, that's great!" My mother jumped up from the couch. "Nả p̄hụ̂ng, ask him if he'll share with us!" Typical mom. Always wanting money.. Hold on, what?!

    One million dollars? No way! I tiptoed slowly down the stairs, trying to listen more on the conversation. Ok, now I'm eavesdropping.

"Oh come on now, what do you mean you don't have it yet? Are you doing something illegal?" Dad's voice became concerned.

"What?! Put the phone on speaker!" Mom demanded.

I heard the phone click, then my dad saying, "Hey, Henri, you're on speaker now."

     Come to think of it, I've never heard his voice before. Or, maybe I have, but I don't remember.

"It's nothing illegal, cousin, I promise you. It's just uh, long process."

"It better not be illegal, I dont want to put my family at risk with the government."

"Oh come on now. Even if it was, how would I be putting you at risk?"

"Well think about it, you'd be a criminal and we'd end up being an accessory to a criminal."

Uncle Henri just laughed. "Right. Listen, it's all good. My son is getting the money.'"

"Your son? The one that doesn't even go to school? Ha." Dad seemed to roll his eyes. "He's got no education, how's he going to get 1 million dollars?"

     That's right, I always knew he had a son, I just never met him before. And they're not even blood related, so I guess he's only my cousin by marriage.

"Several months ago I found out from my wife that her first husband's brother's son was a big heir to a lot of cash. Apparently, that was suppose to be a secret and somehow it was leaked. A bunch of other families have been trying to track this kid down and get the goods. But my son just got to him first."

I, dad, and mom gasped. "No! That's not right! You set the kid free right now!" My mom begged. "I don't want his money!"

"Listen, cousin, he has over 1 million dollars all to himself! Technically, he's related to my step-wife and step-son, they're family, and it's almost like family giving another family money. And the money will go to good use!"

"Chæ̀ng! That's it, lā korn." Dad raged.

"Wait, what? You don't want some of the money--?"

"No, not that way, lā korn!" Dad finally replied and hung up.

    That was enough information for me. I headed back to bed, but then my parents started up another conversation that just wanted me to stay and listen.

     I heard my dad walk into the kitchen. "I can't believe him, resorting to taking some inocent child's inheritence. It's not right."

"I hope he's ok, and they let him go. And why would he assign his own son to such a hasty task? Is that why he's not in school?" Mom began to walk after my dad. Their voices dropped as they walked farther into the kitchen, so I stayed as silent as I could to hear their conversation.

     I heard the coffee machine turn on then my dad saying, "Heh, well that's his step-son of course. And I don't think Toma wants to do it either."

Toma! That's what his name was. I think we met once at a wedding, but that was pretty much it. I don't even remember what he looks like.

"It's so sad," mom started saying, "how Toma was always isolated from everything."

Isolated?

"Yeah. Ever since Henri got married, he always kept Toma hidden in the house. He told me he never enrolled him in school, I don't see why since at the time they were filthy rich, and he even told me about hiding all of his birth-father's files from him. Just not right."

No way.. Uncle Henri was that bad a person? Poor Toma, though I don't know him that well..

"I was talking to his step-wife, Mai, one day during the summer. She told me that Henri wanted to turn Toma into an elegant young man, for certain purposes. He signed him up for waltzing classes, bought him very nice and expensive clothes, and taught him how to speak 'politely'."

Huh... too bad for him, I couldn't last a week doing that.

    Now that was all enough for me that night. I decided to just go to bed. Now I tossed and turned more than ever; I had more to think about anyway. My friendship with Aika, my concerns for Justin, whatever happened with me and Jorge and why, and how I hardly know anything about my family until I have to eavesdrop on them to find out.