Memories

Susanna Martinez

It was now the next day, an hour or two after school. I kicked rocked and slid my hands in my pockets as I walked to Felix's house, the wind flowing through my hair per usual. I would've asked my mom or someone to give me a ride, but honestly, I wanted some time to think before I got to his house. Some time to think whether I really wanted to go to Felix's house to study. Well, who am I kidding? We definitely weren't going to be studying. Just by the way he acts in 5th period, I could tell he didn't care a single bit about school, especially how he has been expelled from many. I don't even understand how he hasn't been banned from the whole district itself.

I suddenly looked up from the ground and realized I had already made it to is house. His red car in the driveway. Chill, Susanna. You're just gonna spend some time with your childhood best friend. I gathered up the courage and rang his doorbell. A moment went by, and the door swung open. There, Felix stood. A towel in hand, patting away at the beads of water running down his forehead. His dark curls moist and coiling around his eyes.

"Oh, Susy. Come in." He said with a warm smile on his face. He opened the door completely and moved to the side, allowing me to enter his house. I stepped inside, quickly observing his house. Brown couches with matching pillows sitting atop. Coffee tables filled with letters and photos. A certain framed photo caught my attention. Two young children, a boy and a girl, hugging tightly. Except I recognized the little girl. It was me when I was around 5 or 6 years old. I was hugging someone who seemed to be Felix. Yeah that's him all right. Same tan skin, same brown eyes and curls.

"Man that's us! How cute." I say, pointing to the photograph, grinning.

He chuckles slightly.

"Yeah. We were pretty cute huh? I still am, don't know 'bout you though." He joked.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"So, wanna go up to my room and get some studying done?" He asked, setting down the towel on a nearby chair.

"Yeah, that's what im here for." I reply.

He nods his head and takes my hand.

"What are you doing?" I ask, a bit confused as to why he needed to grab my hand.

"Taking you to my room!" He replied.

Not letting go of my hand, he led me upstairs to the second floor of his house and into his bedroom. In the middle of his room, a queen mattress covered in blue and white sheets. Posters of famous soccer players on his wall. The room was dimly lit, with only a lamp to light up the room. His black backpack sat in a corner next to his bed.

"Sit down." He offered and pointed to a light blue beanbag sitting next to his bed. I was reluctant at first, feeling a bit shy, but I sat down.

"So, what have you been up to these past few years?" He asks me.

What have I been up to? Nothing really. Since that last time I saw him, I guess the most memorable things would be that I graduated from elementary school, graduated from middle school, and am about to graduate from high school.

"Not much really, just school." I replied as I looked down at my feet, trying to think of anything that came up these past few years. "What about you? Going to a bunch of different schools seems stressful."

"Yeah no, it's easy. You just have to get used to it." Felix spoke as he stood in front of his dresser, fixing his dripping wet curls. I don't know what it was but something about his dripping hair and concentration really caught my interest. Whatever it was, it made me stare really hard, a little too hard.

"I can see you through the mirror, y'know." He spoke up, chuckling as I made sure contact with his reflection.

I felt my face heat up once again, quickly changing my focus. "I-I wasn't looking at you.. I was looking at your posters through the mirror.." I quickly lied, slightly slurring my words.

"Yeah okay, Suzy." Felix replied with a teasing undertone. "Well I'll be right back, need to get something from the bathroom." He walked out the room, closing the door as he left.

I quickly pulled out my phone, taking a picture of Felix's room and sending it to the group chat.

Me: Guys... 😳
Emilio: Yooo who's that sexy guy on the wall
Gisselle: bro who's crib r u at 😭😭😭
Liza: NO WAY UR AT FELIXS
Me: YES WAY
Ana: HELLOOOOOOO I THOUGHT U WWRE JOKING
Me: I thought I was too
Emilio: Guys plehhhh who's the sexy dude on the poster
Gisselle: shut UUUUHHHHPPPP

I giggled as I continued tapping away on my phone, texting my friends. I was so distracted I didn't realize Feliz had returned.

"What's got you so 'giggly'?" Felix asked as he returned, sitting on his bed as he watched me. It made me jump a little, realizing he was there watching me but I quickly locked in.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I replied jokingly, putting my phone back into my pocket. "No really, who were you texting?" He repeated, this time with a more serious tone.

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly but didn't question it. "My friends, why do you want to know?"

He shrugged, getting up from his bed. "Just wondering." Felix said as he walked over to me, basically towering over me. "Come on." He reached his hand out to me, to which I hesitantly took and stood up.

"Thought we were gonna study?" I said with a slight smile, trying to figure out what he was trying to do.

"Don't tell me you really want to do that boring shit." He said as he tilted his head slightly, giving me a look before leading me out of his room. "Let's get some snacks. There's this store nearby owned by this Asian family."

                                   ~~~
                      Felix De La Rosa

Susy and I walked down the sidewalk, her soft hand still in mine. I look to my left, seeing an old school I used to go to. The school where I met her.

"Look! This is the elementary school we met." I said, pointing at it as I looked over to Susanna. She looked over that school, her eyebrows furrowing as she gave me a small smile.

"I went to Ramirez Elementary.." She replied, letting out a slight scoff as she looked back at the sidewalk, continuing to walk. I felt my throat tighten, realizing I got the wrong school. I felt quite embarrassed but kept my cool.

"Well you can't blame me.. You know how many schools I've been to." I said as we made it to the small market, opening the door for her. "Whateverrr." She said playfully, walking inside the store.

We both first went to the freezers, she first grabbed an iced coffee and I got a Dr. Pepper. "You actually like that?" Susanna questioned as she saw the soda in my hand, we both giggled at her comment as we walked to the snack isle.

"Jeez, sorry you have bad taste, Suzy." I joked back as we both grabbed some snacks.

We then made it to the check out, scanning all our items. "Your total is 8.73." The cashier told us, waiting for the money.

I put my hand on Susanna's shoulder, whispering to her. "Don't worry, it'll be on me." I picked some money out of my pocket, beginning to count it. Until I realized I was a dollar short. I look up at the scanned items quite embarrassed, until I realized Susanna had already paid.

"On me." She said playfully, taking the bag. "Come on now." We walked out the store, her sudden confidence really surprising me.

Shit, maybe I really needed to be humbled.