My Written Romance

Two Cousins

Thursday, March 23
1:15 PM
———————

I walk into the Spanish class doors and take my normal seat next to Elizabeth. Our schedule is different today. The upperclassmen are taking science finals this week and next, so we have a block schedule. We only go to half of our classes, each class is two hours long, and everyone has the same lunch. The main upside to this is that lunch is an hour long compared to the normal thirty minutes.

I open my laptop and pull up the assignment for the day. Elizabeth and I start chatting and the teacher, Señora A, is teaching us about how to say the names of different foods in Spanish. In this class, most students have Spanish as a first language. They only take this class because they need language credits to graduate and it's an easy A. Two of said students who mainly speak Spanish come up to my table. They sit at the table behind me and Elizabeth.

Two boys. I can't get a good read on how tall they are because I'm sitting down. They're both Hispanic, one has longer hair and the other has very short hair, neatly a buzz cut, and earrings. The one with earrings holds up his phone; a translator app is pulled up and it reads "you need help."
Me and Elizabeth look at each other and laugh. We assume they mean mental help because our subject of conversation this class period has been concerning. I tell them no, and then one of the boys, the one with the longer hair, comes to the right side of me. He looks at my computer and sees my answers to the assignment. Apparently I conjugated my verbs wrong because he leans in and starts fixing my answers. That's when I realize; they meant to ask if I needed help with the Spanish assignment and it must have gotten lost in translation. I pull up Apple Translate on my phone and explain the situation, then translate it to English and show it to the boys. They chuckle and I tell them I do need help on this unit, and after a few minutes, my assignment is complete and correct.

I start talking to the boys through the app, the one with shorter hair sitting on my left and the one with longer hair on my right. I learn their names; short hair is Chris, and longer hair is Leo. It's only moments before they start flirting with me, and I'm shocked an confused, shaking and nervous. I've never had a boy, let alone two boys, flirt with me. Soon I learn that they are cousins.

At some point, they ask me if I have a boyfriend, and I explain that I don't. They each ask for my number through the translator app and I give it to both of them. Chris must not have his messaging app set up correctly because he asks if I have WhatsApp.
"I don't, and I can't download it," I explain using the translator app. "I can try to set up my phone number in your phone if you'd like."
He says yes and passes me his phone, and eventually I put my name and number in his contacts. The flirting doesn't stop after we exchange phone numbers, though. I'm being called "beautiful" and "princess" left and right, and I'm trying my best to politely flirt back with a few "handsome"s thrown in. Chris tells me that when he saw me, he thought I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. I'm flattered and don't know how to respond, so I shoot back a "thank you, you're very handsome."

Eventually, Chris returns to his seat to continue his assignment; he and Leo have to write the answers in English. Señora A is helping them learn English. Leo must be done with his assignment because he remains in the seat on my right, which I don't mind.
I take a minute to look at him; he's genuinely not bad looking. I like the length of his hair, and I've always liked dark eyes. He's got a good jawline, too. Don't get me wrong, Chris is also attractive, but he is not really my type. I'm not big on buzz cuts, but I'm still open to giving him a shot.

Leo and I continue talking through a translator, but now we're using Google Translate on our school laptops because the teacher told the class to put away our phones.
"You're nervous," he says through Google Translate.
"Yes, very. I'm not used to talking to boys," I type, and he chuckles when he reads the translation.
"I'm happy to talk to you. I don't talk to a lot of people here because I'm new."
"When did you move here?"
"A month ago. We used to live in New York, but we had to move for my parents jobs," he explains.
"I love New York! I went there in December," I explain, and begin showing him photos of me in New York from a few months ago. He pulls out his phone and does the same, showing me photos of his home in NYC.
"Do you miss New York?"
"Yes. Arizona feels like a boring desert compared to New York, but you make it prettier," he types. That makes me smile.
"Thank you, I'm flattered. You're very handsome," I reply. "How old are you and what grade are you in?"
"I'm 15, I'm in 10th grade." A Sophmore, only a year older than me.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I don't."
"Girls here must be blind if they haven't claimed you yet," I write. We continue talking and agree to help each other learn the other's language.

Unfortunately, before I know it, the bell rings. Because of the weird schedule, Spanish is my last class period today, so I head towards my mom's car. I explain everything that just happened to her, but I leave out the phone numbers part. I don't think she'd be too happy if she knew I gave these random boys my numbers.

———————
Thursday, March 23
3:45 PM

I walk into my house and to my room. I check my messages for the first time since I got out of school. Both Leo and Chris have messaged me.

Chris:
Hello ❤️

Victoria:
Hi Chris!

Chris:
Can I ask you a favor?
When we come to Spanish class
can you teach me to speak English🥰

Victoria:
Of course I'll help you with English!
What grade are you in and how old
are you?

Chris:
I'm 16, I'll be 17 in April
and I'm in 10th grade

Victoria:
Oh wow! I'm 14,
I'll be 15 in 3 months.
I'm in 9th grade.

Wow. A 16, almost 17 year old. That's kind of uncomfortable for me. That's two+ years.

Chris:
Age doesn't matter Princess
because my parents taught me to
be respectful. And I'm only two years
older than you beautiful.

I have no idea how to respond to that, so I try my best to be respectful by saying,

Victoria:
I guess it really depends on the person!
Leo told me you used to live in New York?

Chris:
Yes, we lived in New York together. It was hard because my English is bad so it was hard to talk in New York, but Arizona has a lot more Spanish speakers. I would like a pretty princess like you to teach me English.

Victoria:
Thank you! I'm flattered.

Chris:
Yes I love you very much. 💗

Woah. That was... fast. We just met two hours ago and he's telling me he loves me? Yikes.

Victoria:
I'm flattered, but that's too soon.
We just met today!

Chris:
Sorry princess the
translator messed it up
I meant like

I can tell he's probably lying. The translator would know the difference between 'mi gustas tú' and 'te quiero'. This is making me a little uncomfortable. I tell him I understand that the translator messes up things and try to change the subject. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it really was the translator?

I decide to text Leo, maybe he'll be a bit more calm.

Leo:
Hello, are you at home yet?

Victoria:
I just got home.
I have a long drive.

Leo:
I see. You must be tired.

Victoria:
Yep, I'm just studying right now.

Leo:
You must be a very good student

Victoria:
I try to keep my grades up!
What's your favorite class?

Leo:
Spanish. It's easiest for me.
And I get to talk to you.

Victoria:
Aw thank you.
My favorite is English because
I get to read. I love reading.

Leo:
How was your day?

Victoria:
It was good. How was yours?

Leo:
It was okay but
You made my day better

Victoria:
Thank you! You made
mine better, too.

"Hey, Tor," I hear mom say from the door. "We're going to dinner with your aunt and cousins. They're in town."
"Okay, I'll go get ready," I say, heading to the bathroom.