ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

9. JOSÉ THE DESTROYER

❤︎ Anjali ❤︎

José was one of our classmates in middle school. I didn't like him because he always teased me in front of other kids. He always used to call me 'Chocolate Olive Oyl' as I was tall, skinny, and had big feet.

So I tried to avoid him as much as I could. Strangely, he always found me where ever I went. One of his favorite thing to do, apart from teasing me, was wrestling. He always pretended to be his favorite hero, Mil Máscaras. He thought it was too honorable to call himself, Mil Máscaras, so José named himself, The Destroyer. 

No one knew who Mil Máscaras was except Mexicans. He was one of the most famous professional wrestlers coming out of Mexico, José said. In Mexico, he was the legend of the finest Mexican wrestlers ever fought on the rings.

So when José wrestled with other boys, he always wore the mask his parents bought in Mexico City. He often wore different masks, and I ever wondered why. One day, his younger sister, who goes to the same school with us, explained to me the reason why. Mil Máscaras, in Spanish, meant 'One Thousand Masks.' That was why José changed his masks all the time.

I thought he wasn't cute at all. At least, he wasn't my type, as other girls would say. His teeth were crooked, and he was shorter than me. But Ananda didn't think so. One day, she confessed to me that she had a crush on him. I couldn't believe it.

When José, with a golden mask, was fighting with his buddy like two gorillas in heat, Ananda admired him as if she saw a Tarzan. She was so crazy about him.

When Ananda and I were finishing homework in her room, she handed me a pink envelope and asked me.

"Anjali, I tried to hand my love letter to José for the last five days. I don't have the guts to do it. I need your help."

I wouldn't say I liked where this conversation was going, but she was very insisting.

"You are always talking to him. Can you do me a favor? Please hand it to him!"

"Are you crazy? He doesn't talk to me. He bullies me around."

"Ananda, I don't think this is a good idea. I really don't."

She didn't give up so quickly.

"Please, Anjali, please! You are my best friend, and your best friend needs your help. Please!"

Now, she is pretending to be a sad puppy who needs desperate affection. I looked at her again and told her.

"Ananda, José hates me, and I hate him, too. So this, not gonna work. I really don't wanna be responsible for it!"

Ananda begged me.

"You don't need to be responsible. You give it to him and tell him that this is from me. That's all. So simple!"

I sighed deeply and asked her.

"Are you sure about this, Ananda? If anything happens, you don't blame me for it?"

She nodded her head many times like the happiest dog.

I walked around with Ananda's pink letter all day long thinking, "This is the most stupid idea Ananda came up with."

When I needed José to show up, he was nowhere in sight. I waited the first day, the second day, and the third day. I finally went to see his younger sister and asked her why he wasn't showing up in school. His sister told me that he had the flu and had been sick in bed for three days.

On the fourth day, he finally showed up, and I was happy to see him for the very first time. He appeared in front of me, ready to tease me, and I was prepared for him as well. He seemed to be a little bit more tender than usual and asked me.

"My sister told me that you were looking for me.", he smirked.

I smiled back and handed him the pink envelope. He seemed to be surprised; then, he uttered the words with a delightful smile.

"Love letter? From you?"

I said hesitatingly, "Yes, a love letter. But not from me."

He was baffled and confused. "Not from you? Then from who?"

I sighed a little and told him, "From Ananda. My best friend!"

All of a sudden, his face turned completely red, ripped the letter in half, threw them at me, and walked away faster than when he appeared. I was dumbstruck and didn't know what to do. I kept staring at him, walking away from me.

It wasn't easy explaining to Ananda what happened. So I tried to avoid her that evening. I pretended that I wasn't at home, but she knew where to find me. When I took a shower, a window suddenly opened, and Ananda shouted at me from her veranda.

"Are you avoiding me? I've been looking for you all over."

I responded as if I didn't get her question.

"What? Me? Why do I have to avoid you?"

Then she asked me, "So how did it go? Could you hand him my love letter?"

I stopped washing my hair, and my head was completely covered with bubbles.

"Ah, yeah! I did!"

She was so curious to know the reply.

"So what did he say?"

"Ah, I don't think he is ready for a serious commitment."

Ananda exclaimed, "What? What do you mean? What did he tell you?"

I didn't know what else to say but the truth.

"He didn't tell me anything."

She continues, "Then how do you know?"

I pointed my finger in the direction of the bathroom counter. It was Ananda's pink letter on top of it. She looked at her letter and screamed out loud.

"Oh, my God! My letter is ripped in half! What happened?"

"José did." And I ducked my head.

"He ripped my letter?"

"Yeah, and he threw it back at me."

She was almost in tears and screamed.

"Oh, no! He hates me! I can't go to school anymore. Everyone will laugh at me."

I tried to console her.

"Ananda, I think hate is a strong word. I don't think he hates you. I think I wasn't the right person to ask."

Ananda finally burst into tears.

"I hate my life, and I want to die!"

When she said it, the handrail she was holding on her veranda gave in, and she literally fell from the second floor to the ground and broke her arm. Luckily, she didn't die, and she continued to be my best friend.

But with José, our relationship changed. He no longer teased me after that.

I just wondered.

Maybe, maybe, he liked me.

He didn't know how to express his feeling the right way.

Maybe?