Felix - "best buds"

I SIT NEXT to Julio and Busk. Mrs. Lazini is a very real teacher. She acts like a student.

"Is Busk here?" Julio asks and sits down next to me.

"No, he had things to do. Family drama."

"Oh."

The teacher sits on one of the desks in the front row. I sit in the back with Julio, Busk, and a smart, quiet girl. "We will be having group work on how Joanah perceives Jake as a friend," then she has a yikes expression on her face, "friend-zoned."

We laugh.

Then she tells us a story about how she had to reject someone in high school. Then, she has us read pages 35-40 and write down six comprehension questions. The bell rings as we go to lunch. Charlie says as we walk to our table, "Bro, I heard that you and Alaska broke up."

"Yeah," to switch the subject, I murmur, "so, I finished the questions--"

"Yo, I haven't! Send them to me," Julio says.

"Okay," I say with a shrug in my voice.

"H-hey," Julio stammers.

"Yeah?"

He waits until Charli leaves.

"I-I," he shudders as he presses his lips against mine.

Instant shock runs through every bone, every muscle, and every vessel in my body. My eyes widen with both confusion and astonishment, "I-I." I'm incredibly speechless, but I do manage to squeeze these words to inform him, "I'm not gay, sorry." He walks out as I call out, "Are we still cool?!"

He doesn't answer me as he walks out of the cafeteria doors.

Slam.

After school, I go to the jailhouse. I go up to the information chief to talk to Maria.

Her voice is sharp and grounded, "Officer 1B," she calls as a buff dark dude comes out of the back room with files in his hands.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take this young man to his cousin Maria."

"Got it, boss."

He swiftly shows me her cell number. 232. The door opens with a metal scraping against the ground sound making my ears want to run away as she gasps. She has a brown stained outfit, the one she wore the first day there, and handcuffs on her hands so she wouldn't go anywhere. I hug her humble some and wholesome, not wanting to let her go.

"I haven't seen you in a while," she says smelling like mud, dirt, and muck. But that doesn't matter, as long as I have my cousin. As long as I have the cousin who helped us, was there for us, even when our grandparents couldn't be there; she was there. Maria, my cousin, was there. So, I want to get her out, I want to rip the walls from brick to brick and hide her into a safe, nice, warm home that she provided us with even when she had shit going on in her world; selfless and suttle. That's what she is, and that's what I want to be.