July 1st, 2010
"¡Hasta que nos volvamos a encontrar Karlos!"
I waved as I watched one of my first and best friends Alejandro "Alex" Ventura go through the departure gate, out of my line of sight. I wiped my tears and reminisced about all of the fun we had throughout our childhood in our country of Paraméncio, a Latin American country bordering Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
I went home, hopped on the computer and began searching for universities. Even though I was pretty smart, Alex somehow got into a university before me. No hard feelings, but it did make me want to get accepted into one faster.
My top picks so far: Trent University in Canada and University of Coimbra in Portugal. I know a bit of Portuguese as I live in a Brazilian majority town in the regions of Parámencio closest to Brazil.
A couple minutes later, my madre calls me for dinner.
"Karlos! Karlos! Dinner's ready," she chirps up the stairs.
I headed down to the dining room and began to eat, thinking about today, the many friends I had to say goodbye to and the laughter and joy that filled the air during the graduation ceremony. I shed a tear.
My family gathered around the table hungrily. My hermana, Kamila. She was still very young at the time, wobbling to the dinner table as I set her food. My padre, the average dad; the one always so political and so loyal to his beliefs, helped my sister sit on her chair. I wasn't minding my family as I ate, so my mind began to drift to my friends and school.
Back in school, I always was the top of my class; I even graduated as the top student. Everyone thinks I'll go to Harvard in the future but that's not my goal. They always called me the teacher's pet: Mr Juan's pet to be precise. I'd always be the one to distribute the homework, help collect things, grade papers etc. I never minded their comments, nor did I mind the extra work; Mr. Juan was a good man and I respected him.
I didn't intend to be the teacher's pet though. It started when-
"Karlos?" My madre called, snapping me out of my stupor. "You've been daydreaming the entire dinner. ¿Estás bien?"
"Oh, si estoy bien, just thinking about school." I replied.
"Ay Amor, no need to worry. Once you pick out your dream university, we will support you no matter what. No need to rush. Now eat! Eat!" my madre said.
"Thanks Mamá!" I smiled, thinking of how lucky I was to have such a supportive family.
By then I had lost my appetite and excused myself from the table, Kamila followed suit.
I entered my dimly lit room. Neon blue lights traced the point where the walls met the roof. Posters of my favorite movies lined the walls. An action figure I received as a gift when I was no more than 5 gathered dust on my shelf. I sat on my bed and Kamila sat next to me. The bed creaked with our weight.
"Kaka, are you really leaving soon?" Kamila asked in a sad tone.
Kamila calls me Kaka as a nickname and I call her Kami. She's my light in a very dark night.
"Yeah, sorry Kami." I smiled sadly. My smile thinned as her face stayed the same.
"Hey! Cheer up!" I ruffled her hair lovingly. "I'll call you whenever I have time. I'll make sure I send you the best sweets from where I'm going. I promise." I hugged her tight.
"¿Lo prometes?" Kamila responded, her voice hopeful. I could see her eyes twinkling as she looked up at me.
"Si Kami, prometo. Lo prometo." My heart swelled, knowing I'd be missing her and my whole family when I went away. Still, I tried not to let this show since it seemed I cheered her up.
"I'll miss you Kaka." Kamila said.
"I'll miss you too."
Authors Note: Big thanks to my friends @aromaticpain and @rhythmic_fries_7 for being my beta readers and editors!
Go read their stuff too.
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