Chapter twenty five

She was more surprised and disappointed in herself or, rather, in how weak her mental barriers were than she was surprised or disappointed by the boy with the gold polka dot. This time she wasn't supposed to let anyone take her breath away for better or worse. Well, we know who the inevitable exception is.

After he gave her away, the coordinator announces her name to the community: Natalia Sanchez. She looks at Luz with disdain and, although she leaves without saying anything, it is clear that she is going to receive punishment.

Contrary to what Luz thought, the boy with the mole approaches her and orders her with his eyes to follow him. As they walk, passing in front of the other huts, the silence between them becomes uncomfortable. Luz has only dedicated herself to look at the flora and fauna, which are not exuberant at all. There are only trees, bushes and some pigeons. What Luz always loves is to hear the pigeons singing and now they did not seem to be in the mood.

The boy with the golden polka dot starts whistling with a very melodic tone. It is evident that he does it with every intention of being nice to her again, but he only succeeds in making her nerves burn and not in the exciting sense.

"What do you think I'm so dumb that a little whistle will take the edge off? Do I look so much like a kettle that everyone thinks I'm so easily cajoled?

The worst thing is that I don't have the courage to tell you what I think. Could it be that guinea pig teeth make a mute?"

The boy with the mole stops whistling when he sees Luz's frown. Then Luz thinks about the fact of how easy it is for her to get excited with someone, that is a single-edged sword when it comes to handsome and not so handsome guys. She thinks about what her mom tells her, even though sometimes she contradicts herself when she is very happy or as clueless as she is.

"They're all the same."

Luz bites her lip and notices that he looks at her suppressing a smile.

"I had to rat you out because otherwise your other classmates would go around spreading false information about us. No need to risk us, I know you understand. I notice when a girl makes an effort to understand outside of her ego the world around her."

He has "a good lip" just like Alexis and both have great physical attractiveness. Luz looks at him out of the corner of her eye, what attracts her most is his mole because that is the only thing Alexis doesn't possess.

A curious girl like Luz is fascinated by novelties and if they come with a sarcastic bad boy smile, so much the better.

"If you've barely known me a couple of hours how can you be sure I see the world outside of my ego?"

This question could not stay inside the head of an overly curious girl.

"I had a feeling and you just proved it to me."

Luz shakes her head unable to understand what he means.

"You are just listening to me, without interrupting me; even though many things are going through your mind and you are somewhat angry with me. You are rather cross-examining me, trying to understand my attitude. Most people lock themselves up in their anger but not you."

Truly, this is sounding like the cliché of "the different girl" and Luz is thinking it too. In fact she is starting to doubt whether her beau is Alexis or the guy with the mole.

"What about you?"

He laughs and says, "Maybe I'll do better if you teach me."

Well, that was a direct hit to his convictions regarding his supposed new attitude towards boys. Now he believes that it's not that he has two beaus, rather, it's two clichés: the bad boy (Alexis) and the good boy (the guy with the mole).

Yesterday seems like history to her. After all, she didn't want to be the girlfriend of the nights and the stranger of the days. That is the future that awaits her, if she continues her obsession with Alexis, or that is her conclusion.

The boy with the mole leads her to a cabin that looks like a beauty salon inside.

"I think this baby is coming along. I'm just going to screw around here."

Luz knew Alexis was good with science. She remembers once taking apart the alarm clock her mother bought in passing, before she came to visit little Alexis' house. Luz never imagined the reaches of that childish taste.

If he wasn't pushing the screw, she would never have realized that this life-size Barbie is a robot.

When Alexis considers it ready, he stands up and admires his creation. He certainly looks proud of his Barbie.

Then he turns his head to look at Luz and the boy with the golden mole. With his beaming smile he looks down at the floor, shakes his head and when he looks up again, his gaze turns grim as he speaks:

"I guess you'll be leaving too."

He looks directly at the boy with the gold polka dot.

"Who are you to be calling me names? Beat it kid."

Luz shouldn't feel good about this, but a part of her is flattered. Though she feels embarrassed because the gold polka dot boy thinks she sees things outside of her ego.

"A boy like everyone else."

Alexis gives him a quick kiss on the hundred and heads for the exit without another word.

The polka dot boy isn't looking to make the problem any longer either.

When they are alone, he walks over to the robot and scrutinizes it like an inspector.

"Like everyone else, he wants to attract attention."

Luz says deliberately looking to push away the frustrating thoughts she has about herself.

"Your attention, but you do well not to give wings to a bird without a nest. Most girls like that because they haven't taken heed of the saying..."

If the saying is related to hunger or money let there be no doubt that Luz knows which one it is.

"When hunger comes in the door love goes out the window."

His sad smile makes the boy with the mole see that he is not on the right track. Then he approaches her, stands next to her and brings his face closer to smell Luz's hair tied up in a bad bun. She is paralyzed by this strange situation and, in a reflex action, moves away.

"Don't panic, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just wanted to smell every fiber of your hair."

Luz opens her eyes wide and swallows saliva because otherwise she would do something else that still seems very rash to her.

"Why should I miss me? It's too normal."

He notices her sarcastic tone and can't help but let out a nervous chuckle to lower the tension.

"It's just that this robot is guided by scents. I put into its programming the scent I detect so that it searches for the look that best reflects you."

That answer leaves Luz calmer and she purses her lip as she tries to show an expression of fake joy.

"So you are the software and Alexis is the hardware?"

They both laugh and it seems that the tension of a few seconds ago would never have existed.

In the cabin there is nothing, but not even a bed; so she finds it even more exciting to know how the Barbie robot will do to give her "a little "cat's paw".

"I have to be honest, that spoiled brat is better with machines. I'm more into animals and not so animals."

The polka dot boy takes Luz's hands between his own and stares her straight in the eyes.

"Relax, I'm just going to let go of your hair and smell it okay?"

Luz nods her head and lets him release her hair. She doesn't even want to imagine what it looks like because she's not one for treatments. Her hair if it's not wet looks like a dry tree. Let alone when she wakes up, I'll bet Alexis was laughing at her in her sleep. Her hair is like a nest of small rats before she combs her hair and that's not literal.

When she lived in another house, where she slept with her family in one bed, a rat almost ate her wrist. That house was like the house of a depressed witch who dreams of committing suicide but is content to die slowly. Well, that's how little Luz described the house where she lived with her family.

In that house lurked the small rats who, like her, were too curious to ignore the bracelet that Luz had made in art class. It consisted of a small piece of cheese in the shape of a crescent moon that she attached to her wrist with a thick thread. At that time Luz, at the age of 8, already had hair as long as Rapunzel's and she loved it. The problem was that because of her big hair that small rat was able to go up. Thanks to the terrible insomnia and the extreme caution of her sister, she was saved; she was the one who threw a couple of stones at the parakeet with her slingshot, which she kept under her jacket that she put behind her head as a pillow.

From then on, Flavia calls her hair a rat's nest and Luz believes she is right. Besides, believing that helps her not to forget that she must cut her hair and not let it grow too long, even though she is dying to let it grow free.

Yeah, I don't understand who would like to have such long hair either and I don't want to understand either. As I always say: "Each crazy with his own theme".

Remembering all that makes Luz tremble enough to let the guy with the mole know that he's had enough time to identify her scent. Although she doesn't believe that someone can detect the real scent of another being, that can only be done by dogs, or that's what Luz has always believed.

"I think the scent of the teleporter has stayed on you, which hasn't happened before or not since I've been volunteering here."

When Luz has to do something she doesn't want to do or it disturbs her she begins to imagine, except it's something as important as health.

"Do you think it's something bad?"

he shakes his head as he looks at his wrist watch.

"No, but there's no more time. I thought if you cast for the escort, the coordinator wouldn't impose the punishment on you for a week. I wanted it to be less time but we've already been beaten by time."

And just talking about a week, Luz has a question that she can't help but ask.

"How long does the camp last? We were told we came as part of a special Music and Literature class. If the punishment lasts a week, we're going to be here for more than a week."

The polka dot boy touches his shoulder giving a clear sign that Luz's question has lowered the dose to his serenity.

"That's not for me to tell you. Everyone will know when the management deems it pertinent."

No, to Luz or, rather, to her curiosity you can't deny her anything because she will do anything to find out what the secret is.

"It must be something very bad if they send us to a camp with lies."

She scratches the back of her neck a little and intertwines her fingers before answering:

"There is no such thing as evil but there is a plague called injustice."

For an instant his gaze darkens and sadness seems to loom imminently.

Luz was not going to let that happen. Imagine, Luz already has a certain degree of depression but if we put her together with another who also has some... a time bomb.

You know, what Luz is clumsy, she is not crazy about.

"What does that mean? Can there be a greater fatality than combing my hair?"

"What?"

Polka dot boy smiles and his gaze returns to its usual state of serenity.

"It's better to admit the not-so-good things we have. Can you give me a hint of what they'll be telling us soon at the camp?"

He opens his eyes in surprise and looks up at the ceiling as if weighing the idea. He looks back at Luz with an amused smile.

"I see you like games."

"Don't you?"

"I miss the fun of adolescence. Well, I don't mean fun exactly."

"Intense, adolescence is pure intensity inside every knucklehead kid in my school. I doubt there is any stage of life more intense than adolescence."

The boy with the mole squints as if trying to find the deception in her eyes.

He takes a step to close the distance and touches her nose with his thumb.

"In adolescence more you let yourself go, you don't think about the consequences or don't care about them. You're more honest..."

"If they let you you can be honest. It's more about intensity with yourself than with others, or so it is in my case."

Luz looks at the floor; but he places his hand under her jaw and makes her look him straight in the eye.

"The clue is: You know it's always your fault right? You want another clue?"

His gaze drops to his lips and Luz doesn't believe what she imagines will happen but the joke of life is that it gives you what you want when you least expect it.

The polka dot boy melts their lips in a small kiss that turns out to be Luz's first kiss... and it wasn't with Alexis.