The Imposter

Chapter Thirteen

The following morning, Mrs. Salazar came into my bedroom early in the morning. I was still fast asleep dreaming about Alana. She shook me a couple of times until I woke up. “Get up we need to talk.” I quickly got up and followed her to her office. What did I do wrong now? 

“Ernesto informed me that we will be going to Alana’s birthday in a couple of weeks. Do you think that you can handle that or will you be slobbering over her like you were last night?” I understood what this was. She wanted to know more about my feelings for Alana. But why?  “Do you know that Alana has a boyfriend?  If he would have shown up and seen you two talking he would have started something with you there.” A boyfriend? She didn’t mention a boyfriend at all that night. Was she just playing with me? 

I had forgotten that I had my cellphone with me, but as soon as I was about to say something it rang. It was an unknown number. What if it was Mr. Jackson who threatened Jonah? 

“Hello” I answered, my voice trembling. On the other side of the phone, a familiar voice responded. “Oh, hello Esteban, it’s me Alana! I didn’t get the chance to invite you to my party in a couple of weeks. Would you be able to come?” I didn’t know what to say. I was still in shock by what Mrs. Salazar had said.  “Alana,” I said. Mrs. Salazar signaled to me to put the phone on speaker. I did. “”I know it’s super early, but I just remembered at this moment. Hopefully you can come.” Mrs. Salazar nodded her head. “Of course! I would love to go! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I said, at this point I was faking my enjoyment. “Oh by the way, later today a couple of my friends and I are going to the country club. We wanted to know if you would want to join us. This way you can get to know some of the other people. Since all we did was spend time together.” Again Mrs. Salazar nodded. I had to agree to meet with her. 

“I would love to! At what time?” She gave me the time and location they would be meeting at. We said goodbye and hung up. “Well, I guess that you will help us convince the others that you are here at your own will. But I will warn you that you should have nothing to do with Alana. Is that clear?” “ crystal.” I walked back to my room and hid under my blankets. 

All of a sudden, I got up quickly. What was I going to wear today? I started looking through the closet. I tried on all of the outfits that I had in the closet. Daisy walked in and saw all of the mess that I had on the floor. “Wow! Are you going somewhere or did a tornado pass by?” She said as she laughed.  Haha very funny I thought to myself. “I’m going to the country club with Alana and some of her friends. I have to impress them.” I continued looking for something to wear. I grabbed what I thought was a great outfit. A pair of bermudas and a button up shirt. This would be great. “How do I look?” She looked at me for a couple of minutes. Then smiled and gave me a thumbs up. 

Jaime drove all the way to the country club. I was nervous. I noticed him looking at me in the corner of my eye. “Is there something wrong?” I asked. He acted as if I hadn’t seen him and   continued looking at the road. When we finally got off of the country club, I could see Alana and her friends. She waved at me and I waved back.  As I was getting off, Jaime pulled me to the side. " Remember Miss Alana is off limits. You can’t do anything with her, do you understand?” I nodded. “If you do something with her today, it’s back to the hell hole we got you out of.” He said no more, he let go of me. I fixed my shirt and  started walking towards Alana and her friends. 

Jaime’s warning lingered for a while. I couldn’t believe that they would be manipulating me by sending me back to the Jackson’s. I knew I couldn’t complain. It would be far worse for me.  

Alana came up to me and hugged me. I was surprised by her action. I just hoped Jaime hadn’t seen that.  “Hello! I’m glad that you came. These are my friends Erin, George, and Selena.” They all greeted me. “Don’t forget me!” A boy around our age came out from behind a golf cart. “I’m Felipe, Alana’s boyfriend.” My face grew pale when he said that. Boyfriend? I guess Mrs. Salazar had nothing to worry about. He eyed me for a while until Alana suggested that we go to the pool.