20

Chapter 11.A few weeks had passed since the beginning of winter vacation. The cold air that was always present during that time of year still remained, despite the fact that the temperatures had dropped significantly in recent months. This made me very uncomfortable, especially since I couldn't do many outdoor activities such as playing baseball on the field. It made the situation even worse, though, because if I fell ill, I wouldn't be able to play baseball anymore!However, I also found that being sick wasn't really that bad either: the doctor said that if I could get better within the next few days, I should feel good enough to go back to school and play baseball again.This meant that I had no choice but to endure the discomfort for a while longer.However, it didn't take me long to start missing the fun of baseball. During the past few weeks, whenever I practiced catching, I found that the only thing I got were bruises all over my body. I had to stop playing because it hurt so much when I hit a homerun or missed a home run. So, I decided to stop practicing altogether. However, even then, a part of me was still disappointed because after all, it was fun playing the sport, unlike basketball which felt more exhausting and boring than playing basketball.It's funny how sometimes when things seem to be going wrong, they can turn out quite well.I'd rather enjoy my life, however, than force myself to play the sport just to make myself feel better. That's why I tried spending my free time studying in the library, although the library usually contained mostly books about magic and other supernatural subjects. As far as I knew, no one was studying spells.However, I couldn't help feeling that something big was going to happen that would change everything, which was probably why I had been staying in school as much as I possibly could.After studying, I always went to class to study some more, which helped me relax. But then something interesting happened at lunchtime: Javier showed up, looking as gloomy as ever.When he walked into our classroom, he glanced around at everyone, but he stopped when he saw me. He walked up to me and sat beside me, making me flinch.He put his arms around me and hugged me."What are you doing here?"he murmured in my ear. "Is Javier bothering you again?"I shook my head."I have to study. I'm taking the finals today.""You don't have to do anything except listen to me," he added, hugging me tighter."But I want to finish studying. You know I always pass every test. And, besides, I love to study.""Well, maybe you'd want to quit studying for now and concentrate on enjoying yourself.""That would be nice," I admitted.He looked up, his eyebrows furrowing, and he suddenly let go of me, leaving a shocked expression on my face. I blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what I had just seen and felt."Javier?"I asked uncertainly.He stood up slowly."Sorry, I just can't concentrate right now," he said, sounding exhausted. He didn't look at me and hurried out of the room, not even waiting for a response from anyone."Hey. I'm not finished."He turned around and smiled. „Good, because if you're done studying, I'll give you permission to leave early.""You did that?"I asked in amazement, staring at him. "Yes, I did. Now, come on," he urged gently.I nodded my head."Okay."Then we left the classroom. We walked through the hallways, Javier constantly glancing at me, making sure I was okay."Did you enjoy your time in school?" he asked.I nodded my head. "Yeah."He smiled."Good."I noticed that we were getting closer to the main gates of the school."Aren't you afraid that they might catch you?," I asked him."They won't be looking for me."We reached the large doors at the entrance, and he placed both hands on them, preparing to push them. Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming towards us from inside the building. A student appeared. His brown eyes landed on Javier and a smile spread over his face."Hey there, Javier!"The student walked right up to us, and I noticed that he was wearing a green shirt and black jeans.He extended his hand to Javier."Nice to see you."I stared blankly at him."Hey," I greeted in surprise."Who is this?"I glanced up at Javier and he shrugged, not saying a word."She's my girlfriend, Miguel," he finally answered. Miguel chuckled."I didn't know that you guys were dating," he said amusedly."Oh please, we're not." I blushed furiously."Oh yeah? Then why are you hanging out with her?" Miguel grinned."Because she's cute and she knows how to cook.""And you have no problem with that?" Miguel chuckled slightly.Javier turned to me and held my arm."Let's go."I started to protest but stopped when he gave me one of his infamous puppy dog eyes. "Alright."We arrived at my house right after school. I told Javier goodbye at my front door and went into my house."Miguel was there," I said to my mother. My sister frowned."Really? Is there a reason why?""He wanted to congratulate me," I explained. "And then we stayed outside talking for a while. He seems nice, actually."My sister rolled her eyes."You're not gonna tell me anything else about him?""Nothing," I repeated."Fine, if you say so. Well, I've prepared dinner. You go eat and we'll talk about all this later," my sister said, turning her attention back to whatever she was doing.I nodded my head and went upstairs to my room, grabbing a book on magical theory. After reading several chapters, I heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in."I turned off the light and looked toward the door, wondering who was calling me, when I saw Juan standing in the middle of my room."Hey, are you alright?" he asked me worriedly."Sure," I assured him, giving him an awkward smile."Are you really sure, Elena?""Uh huh. I'm fine.""How was your day at school? Did anything special happen?""Not really.""You can ask me about it. You know that, right?""Of course. Thank you."I paused. "Actually, something else happened.""What?""Some of our classmates invited us to their party. Do you wanna come?"I didn't expect him to react like that."Are you serious?! Of course I wanna go!" he exclaimed excitedly."I thought you weren't going to come," I said teasingly."But I'm not going to miss an opportunity to go on a party!"He jumped up and down, obviously thrilled by the news. We agreed on meeting up at five o'clock the next morning. I watched as he ran away happily, then I closed the door, smiling to myself.I got dressed in a blue dress, applied some lipstick, and straightened my hair, fixing my bangs in front of the mirror before walking downstairs where my family was sitting at the dining table. I kissed each of my parents on the cheek. My mom raised her eyebrows in surprise."Wow, Elena, you look beautiful," my father said. I smiled and sat down."Thanks. Are we going to go?''My dad nodded. ''Okay, let's go,'' I said. "Bye, honey,'' my mother said, giving me a hug. I grabbed my backpack and left the house together with my parents. On the way to my apartment I kept thinking about what I was going to wear. Should I wear jeans? Would pants be too formal? Or maybe a dress?

*******

As we drove across the city, I started to feel very nervous. What if someone recognized me? No one seemed to recognize me on the streets, thankfully. I hadn't met anyone else during the entire trip except for my parents. I could only imagine what it would be like if I ran into an old friend, especially in this kind of environment.I was sure I wouldn't remember who he was, and it wouldn't matter anyway. At least, not for now. As for the party itself, it wasn't that bad. We ended up being invited to the same party as everyone else, even though there was a small difference between them and most other teenagers I had never met. The people at the party were very pleasant. I managed to avoid anyone I didn't know, which was pretty easy. Most people knew my father, so most of them treated us politely despite knowing that they shouldn't. In a way, the party was like a second chance at starting over, a fresh beginning, as opposed to the last parties I had attended. Everyone was nice, there was food, and I got to spend a lot of time chatting with my parents.