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“How about when I get home. I don’t have much time right now. As a matter of fact, you should be getting ready for school, too.”
She rolls her eyes at me and jumps up from the couch, then walks to her room, slumping. I shake my head. She’s so dramatic. I run out the door and to the school. Just like the previous day, it’s cloudy accompanied with weak winds. Or, as Lorenzo says, “Freezing.” I will say this, it doesn’t normally get very cold here in Los Angeles, so I’m not surprised as most Angelenos aren’t used to this weather. I am not either, and I won’t deny that it is getting kind of chilly. Luckily, the hoodie I chose is thick and warm.
I get to school and rush to my locker. When I arrive, Lorenzo is waiting for me. Why is he here? We decided not to meet at school alone unless it was urgent.
“Good morning,” he greets in an enthusiastic tone.
“Good morning to you, too,” I reply, still suspicious.
“I love your sweater,” he says, complimenting me and leaning his head sideways with a grin.
“Is that because you designed it?” I ask, looking down at the lock and inputting the combination.
“Of course, why else would I like it?” he replies. I snicker, opening my locker and grabbing a textbook from inside. “But, no, genuinely. It’s great on you. Just like everything else does.”
I turn to him and look at him for a second, analyzing him and his expression. He’s also wearing a hoodie, but his is black with white letters in the middle. His black hair is curled, strands hanging down his face. He looks fine, so I can rule that out. “What’s up with the sudden excessive compliments?” I ask.
“What? Am I not allowed to compliment my friend?” he replies. I raise an eyebrow while he attempts a smile. I don’t trust him. Something’s wrong. I shut the locker and reattach the lock.
“I don’t have time to question you, so I’m going to pray to God this is just you in a funny mood and wait until lunch break,” I tell him, pulling my backpack strap tighter around my shoulder.
“Yeah, you do that. Just make sure you have a cup of coffee and you’re in a good mood before you do come and meet me for lunch,” he warns. God, what did he do? I have a bad feeling. But it’s a bad feeling I’m going to have to set aside.
“You aren’t in a good place from where I’m standing, Lorenzo, so you better hope that I am,” I tell him with a grin before rushing to class. I get to the door just in time, sitting in my chair, panting. Aurora glances over at me, her seat next to mine.
“Hey Violet. I thought you were going to be late,” she says.
“I’ve learned to exclude late from my vocabulary the hard way, so never,” I tell her, still out of breath. She chuckles softly before the teacher stands at the front of the class.
My mind wanders to a million different topics before the teacher starts the lesson. I just have to deal with being here. That’s the hardest part, but I can do it. I can do anything.
After what feels like years, lunch break finally begins. Aurora and I walk to our normal spot as I try to brainstorm everything Lorenzo could have done. I’m screwed. Lorenzo knows too much about me. The things he could’ve done range from having to face the consequences of getting less clothes from his mom’s company to destroying my life. Though I don’t think he’d react too much for something as small as less clothes. That means it's bad. But how bad? Maybe I’m overthinking it.
We finally get to where Elias and Lorenzo are sitting. They’re both talking calmly, which is a good sign. I can rule out the worst, I guess.
“Hey,” Aurora says, breaking the silence and bringing me out of my chain of thoughts.
“Hello. How was class?” Elias asks her, standing up. Lorenzo stands up after him without a word. I look at him, trying to get some kind of answer, but he avoids eye contact with me.
“What’s going on?” I ask, straightforward and to the point. I shift my gaze to Elias, who forms a smile on his face.
“Is something wrong?” he asks, acting innocent.
“I could ask you two the same thing.” I reply. He turns his head to look at Lorenzo, who hides his face with his hand. Okay, so whatever is going on is obviously something to do with Elias.
“Lorenzo and I went out yesterday,” Elias announces, straightening his head again. Okay. And? What’s coming after this? “He might’ve let his tongue slip a bit about you and him.”
You’re kidding me. You’re actually kidding me. I look at Lorenzo as he pouts, pleading and waiting for my response.
“God, Lorenzo. One job. You had one job!” I shout. Why is he like this? It’s only been a week. One week. It took him one week to let it out.
“I swear it was an accident,” he says. Why? Why me? I cover my face with both my palms. I need a break from life. It needs to calm down on me, I can’t take all this.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Aurora asks, confused. I’m dying. That’s what’s happening. I’m going to fail my job. This is going to be a disaster. Please at least let him have only told him about Violet. Please let Valentina not to have been mentioned at all.
“Violet is Lorenzo’s friend, Violet Hart,” Elias tells Aurora. I remove my hands from my face and look at Lorenzo, who holds a sorrowful look.
“I don’t like you, Lorenzo,” I say in a low, deep voice, bringing my hand to my forehead. He pouts.
