The Test [#1]

Chapter 2: Daniel

Clarissa Stevens.

Just her name makes me melt on the inside.

I know she only thinks of me as a friend. A really close friend.

But is it too wrong for me to want more?

As I back my bags, I think about her beautiful face and how I'll be leaving her behind.

An already paid for scholarship is exactly what my family needs. We're not going to be poor anymore if I get a good job.

My brothers won't miss me. I know that much. They'd be more than happy to watch me leave.

But for some reason, this doesn't feel right. That feeling I get in my gut when I think of where I am going is not a very good feeling. What if it's not a real scholarship?

Why did every sixteen year old in dried up Los Angeles have to get a scholarship? Is everyone in Los Angeles smart? Do they all have a bright future ahead of them?

And what about Lissa? She won't be coming along. I told her I would stay. She'll probably hate me.

"Daniel," my mom calls from the kitchen. "Ayúdame en la cocina."

"Ya voy, ma," I reply.

I don't really speak Spanish anymore. My mom says that's the best part about being from another country. There are a lot of jobs that pay people for being bilingual.

What I really want to be, though, is a police officer. To help save the world. It's not much. But it makes me happy.

"Corta las zanahorias, por favor," she tells me. "Please cut carrots."

I nod. "Sí, mama."

Just as the blade touches the skin of the carrot, the front door opens and Lissa walks in.

Her eyes were red and puffed out, though. "Hola, señora Rodríguez," she tells my mom.

Mom smiles. "Hola, Lissa. How are you?"

She shrugs. "I've been better," she says, looking at me. "Can we talk?"

I look at mom.

"Go on," she says. "I'll get Juan to help me. Be back by five."

I kiss her cheek. "Thanks, ma."

Lissa and I go out the front door and out to the street. "So, what's up?" I ask her.

She doesn't look at me. "How's packing going?" she asks flatly.

I stop. "I was going to tell you," I say quickly. "It's my mom. She thinks it's a good idea and you know my mom. Anytime she sets her mind on something, she expects it to happen."

She nods. "I know."

"Are you mad at me?"

She stays quiet for a moment but then shakes her head. "No, I'm not mad. Your mom is right. It is a good idea."

"But you're not coming," I say flatly.

She shrugs. "We still have cell phones. I'll call you."

We hug after a while.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper into her ear.

She plays with the side of my T-shirt. "Don't be sorry. This could help you and your mom."

Other than Lissa, no one knows I'm poor. People think otherwise because her mom is kind enough to take me shopping. But we can barely afford the house we live in.

My dad works in a factory all day long. And no one will hire my brothers just because of where we are from.

Lissa and her mom understand. They help us out.

"It's almost five," she says softly into my shirt.

I nod. "I have to get going."

She smiles at me. "Bye, Daniel."

I smile sadly. "I'll see you."
~•~
It was really hard to sleep that night. I kept thinking about Lissa.

She had been crying because I was leaving. So technically, her crying was my fault.

After a while of just laying there, I put on a sweatshirt and head outside.

I tripped over something hard. Grabbing my ankle, I look around me.

A bike was there.

Before I could see who's bike it was, a hand clamps over my mouth.

I was going to scream when she speaks. "Shut up, Daniel. Gosh, you're gonna get us in trouble."

I look at her. "Lissa?"

She places a finger over her mouth and signals me to follow her.

"Where are we going?" I ask her.

"I'm not just gonna let you leave in the morning never to see me again," she whispers back. "You had to know I'd come back."

I stand there for a moment smiling like an idiot. She's so beautiful. "I suggest we leave now," I say, pointing at a window. "That's my parent's room."

She smiles back and nods. "Come on. I know where we are going."

HEY!!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DANIEL AND HIS CRUSH ON LISSA?

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IN THE MORNING?? WILL THEY GET CAUGHT? OR WILL SOMETHING HAPPEN?

THANK YOU FOR READING. IT MEANS A LOT!!!!