solo / carlos sainz

six

I've decided I must be the worst mother on the planet. What kind of mother forgets to pick her kid up from school? I'd blame Amira, except she's taken today off to have a long weekend and she never does pick up anyway. It's always been me. It's me and Elsie's thing. Fridays especially.

At the gate into the school, the guard had given me such a mean look. He definitely thinks I'm a bad mother. "Honestly, Mara, what the hell?" I mutter to myself as I rush through the school's corridors.

There are still kids here, most of them staying for after-school tutoring or art classes, but that's not something Elsie's eligible for until next year. Which reminds me, actually, that I need to go to the registrar and speak with them about Elsie's classes.

God, I wish Amira was here with her tablet so I could just send her off to do that while I track down Elsie and apologise until my lungs give out. Shuffling around in my purse as I hurry, I begin the search for my phone when I run right into a wall.

"Ay, cuidado!" Not a wall. A person. I ran into a person.

"Lo siento, señor," I start, looking up at my poor victim and freezing like a deer in headlights. Because the person I ran into is Carlos. Carlos from the beach. Carlos who I still haven't called after two weeks because I'm also an awful person.

God, he looks good. He's got on a vibrant red shirt with a bunch of logos all over it, Puma included, and his comment on the beach is the first to pop into my head as I struggle to come up with something to say.

There are other people with him as well, people with cameras and microphones and they're all wearing the same shirt. "Carlos, hi."

Hi? That's all you could come up with? Hi?

He grins, eyes lighting up a bit, "Mara, long time no see."

"I'm sorry, I didn't, well, I was going to call but Elsie got sick and then there was work and," I take a breath, trying to pull myself back together just a bit. "Hi."

Stop saying hi!

"¡Señorita Walsh!" Oh shit. I don't need to look down the hall to see who's coming toward me. I've had plenty of unpleasant experiences with this woman, whether it be over the phone or email or in-person. "¡Llegas tarde!"

Carlos gives me a confused look, turning around to watch as the headmistress comes closer. "Directora Alvarez," he greets, stepping back ever so slightly, bringing himself closer to me.

She blushes, something I didn't realise the old shrew was capable of, "Carlos, lo siento mucho, no me había dado cuenta de que seguías aquí." Is she fixing her fucking hair?

Knowing this is my chance to slip away, I start to edge away from the group, hoping I can sneak down to Elsie's classroom without getting yelled at. You'd think that putting your child in a private primary school would warrant some level of respect...

"Estaba esperando a Mara." A hand grabs my wrist, pulling me back just as I've begun to put in some distance between myself and everyone else. Once I'm back by Carlos's side, he lets go. "Vamos a llevar a Elsie a tomar un helado. Right, Mara?"

I blink, looking up at Carlos in confusion before realising he's trying to get me out of hot water with my daughter's headmistress. Unfortunately for him, I'm a terrible liar. "¡Si! Yes, sorry, um..."

"Gracias, Directora Alvarez, por permitirnos filmar aquí," Carlos hedges, cutting off my awful response before I can dig myself into an even deeper hole.

Wait, filming? Filming what?

One of the people with Carlos hands him a hoodie, giving me a wink as he does so. Carlos, either not noticing or not caring, thanks the man before speaking to the rest of the group.

"Guys, I'll see you tomorrow, yes?" The people around him exchange their own looks of confusion before nodding and beginning to set off, waving a variety of goodbyes in our direction until they're out of sight.

Tiny footsteps echo down the hall, then, "Mummy!"

Elsie's running at us at full tilt, a massive toothy grin painted onto her face as she barrels into my legs for a hug. I swoop her up, adjusting her on my hip as she waves at Carlos, "Hola Carlos."

He smiles, holding out a hand for a high five, "Hola Elsie, ¿qué tal?"

"Bien, ¿y tú?" She's ignoring the headmistress, something I'd usually scold her for if it weren't for a massively satisfying look of pure shock the old harpy's currently giving us. "Mummy, helado?"

"Yes, we'll go for ice cream. Directora Alvarez, ha sido un placer, como siempre."