My eyes followed the scenery as it blurred by. I rubbed at my eyes, stifling a yawn. So tired. The extra helping of chicken tetrazzini from lunchtime was giving me serious food coma and I could feel myself slowly slipping away…
I felt a hand on my shoulder as they shook me back to reality. The schoolmate looked at me with sleep laden eyes as they reminded me to get off. As I got off, I felt the slight feeling of something wet running down my chin. I hastily wiped it off and bit my lip, eyes darting back to my schoolmate who seemed to have returned to sleep. I sighed in relief, hopping off the school bus.
As I shuffled towards my apartment, a familiar face caught my eye.
"Alberto!"
My classmate whirled around, a soft look in his eyes and a warm grin. At around 4”7, he was just a little taller than me. His most distinctive features were probably the bristly black hair along with the tan skin.
"Hey, I didn't know you lived here."
I smiled back. In a school where the majority were either black or white, it was nice to see some ethnic minorities here and there. We just started talking one day after class, and now we were acquainted enough to have small talk when we ran into each other. It was so much easier socializing when you were young.
"I didn't know you lived here either! I just moved here not too long ago, so it's pretty neat to know that someone I know lives here too!"
We walked together, casually chatting about homework and classes. My apartment was a little further in, but he seemed to have no indication of walking off in another direction, so I supposed we lived even closer than I had originally thought.
My building soon came into view, and I pointed it out. His eyebrows went up a little and smiled as he pointed a little further down. Apparently, his apartment was just a few blocks down.
"Do you want to come over? My mom is making some soup, and in the meantime, we can hang out in my room. Brian should be home by now too."
I nodded enthusiastically. My brother wouldn't be home for some time, and I didn't want to be alone at home if I could help it.
---
As we kicked off our shoes at the entrance, I was hit with a mix of spices, a hint of tomato and what reminded me of baked beans. I hadn't smelled anything like it before, but I could feel my mouth watering.
The house itself felt kind of plain with its beige colored walls and lack of decorations. There wasn't a single picture frame in sight. The only furniture I could see was just a worn-out couch, a coffee table and an old tv. I caught a glimpse of his mom in the kitchen and gave a quick wave. I was debating whether or not I should say ‘hola’ or not, but as much as I liked to show off, I didn’t want to risk getting it wrong. He made the decision for me as he beckoned me towards their bedroom. His younger brother was bouncing on the bed like some sort of trampoline. Alberto joined him immediately, but I hung back. As fun as that looked, I didn’t want to risk getting in trouble.
Not long after his mom announced that soup was ready. I hesitated. Should I take a bowl? I kind of came on short notice. Would it be polite to take one? Would it be impolite not to? I watched as she brought them out. One, two, and…three. I guess not.
The boys ran over eagerly for their portion while I awkwardly trailed behind them, taking the seat where there was no bowl present. As I sat, she pushed it over to me, to my surprise. I looked at her shyly and gave a quick ‘thank you’ before sipping. It tasted almost exactly like how it smelled- spicy tomato goodness.
After soup, Brian returned to his intense jumping regime. With a belly full of soup, I even less intention of joining him than I did the first time. I turned to Alberto.
“What do you guys do for fun around here anyways? You don’t spend all your free time jumping on your bed, do you?” I sure hoped not. We had very little homework, not to mention none on the weekends- and I usually had a lot of time to myself before my brother got home, even after my chores. He shrugged.
“We have a basketball. Do you want to go the ball court?”
I grimaced internally. Not in this weather. Well, okay, not in any weather.
“Eh…” I began, not wanting to reject him directly. “How about…we…”
A brilliant idea struck me.
“…Go to my house and play video games?”
He blinked owlishly. “You have video games?”
I let the implication of that question slide. “Yeah, my brother has a PlayStation 2 and it has a lot of fun games on it!” And by a lot, I meant a whole two cartridges. I excelled at exaggeration, even as a kid.
Not in need of any more convincing, we ran to the door. Brian must have heard our conversation, because he rushed out of the room and decided to break the world record for putting on shoes.
---
I cracked open the front door, glancing in both directions. Everything was clear, no one was home. I opened it all the way, welcoming them into my apartment, which by the way, was a lot more homey-feeling than theirs. First thing we saw was the glass table in the middle of the living room surrounded by a comfy armchair and a sofa. The kitchen was practically part of the living room with the kitchen counter connecting the two. Down the short hallway were two bedrooms, but those were off limits to my guests.
In the corner of the living room was our objective. I swiftly turned it on, waiting in anticipation. It was exciting to play with someone else, since my brother would usually beat me in the fighting game and usually wouldn’t play with me in the RPG. I hadn’t expected Brian to come though, since we only had two controllers. We ended up taking turns, switching players when one person loses. We were having a good time, the extra person often screaming encouragement or backseat gaming. In fact, we were so caught up in the game that nobody heard the front door open.
Imagine, an older brother comes home from a long day of school. He’s looking forward to surfing the web or maybe playing a few online shooters while his sister takes a nap and can’t bother him. He expects to come home to a quiet house but instead, sees his sister playing on his console with two strangers. But not just strangers-boys. Both of them.
It was my turn to sit out, so I was the first to notice him. My palms felt clammy as I began to sweat bullets. I wanted to break eye contact but didn’t want to know what would happen if I looked away. My heart raced a million miles per hour, like I had just finished running a marathon. Was I still breathing?
“I-I…uh…”
Before I could stutter out anything, he pointed to the door.
“Get. Out.”
No one moved a muscle.
“I said, GET OUT!”
They scrambled for their shoes, not even bothering to put them on as they bolted. The sound of the slamming door sealed my fate. Their problems were over in a matter of seconds, but I was trapped. My mouth felt dry as my mind raced for an excuse, something, anything.
Looking back, I still remember the sobbing mess I was after he sent me to my room. It was the kind of bawling that makes your whole body tremble, your throat hoarse from screaming and the kind that brings nonstop hiccupping.
On that same day, I found out that my brother really didn’t like it when I hung out with boys. It was kind of sweet how protective he was, but it was difficult for past me to understand. I continued to make friends with the boys at school but made sure my brother didn’t know anything about it. Needless to say though, I didn’t try inviting any of them over to my house.