Who You Wit'?

Chapter 7

Monday's reluctant return to the end of the stretch countdown turned to Tuesday's frantic gallop to get the week going. End of the year fever was in the air. Even late in the afternoon, with classes over, the hallways were louder as students, emboldened by the thought of freedom, ignored the inside voice etiquette. Teachers, fighting their own battle fatigue, gave lackluster warnings, knowing that neither they nor an administrator felt like dealing with an after-school detention with only fifteen days left. Even the hall walls, usually vivid with school spirit signs and informative flyers-Order your year-book NOW were silently blank, minus a few forgotten "Prom Tickets For Sale." Prom was next week. Tickets had stopped being sold yesterday. The random signs were only another clue that each day, everything from the schools walls to its faculty were on a countdown to desertion. Greg Canon was in on that countdown, and Kelly could tell.

Their tutoring session dragged. Greg was getting even simple sentences wrong. Too polite to show her frustration, Kelly swallowed an explosive sigh building in the back of her throat and corrected Greg's mangled translation for the fourth time. Mina had been right, Greg was adorable but hopeless. Kelly had serious doubts he was going to get the C he needed on this exam to avoid failing Spanish. Most likely he'd be volver otra vez to Senorita Caridad's Spanish level four course. For a second, she was tempted to speak aloud to see if Greg knew what the phrase meant just to break the monotony. But the thought that he wouldn't be familiar with the simple word for "returning" swelled her chest with another unut- tered sigh. Her Sidekick tinkled lightly, and Kelly quickly fished it out of her purse. It was after school, but cell phone use in the library was frowned upon. Her breath caught as she read the text from Angel. Whaddup ma? Angel had stopped texting her months ago, once it was clear she wouldn't answer. The chill she felt goose bumping down her arms, once delicious anticipation, now was a curious dread. What did he want? And why was he so casual like they were still dating or, heck, had even talked recently?

She flipped the Sidekick shut when Greg's voice, stuttering over yet another sentence, reached her ears. This time, she did sigh a small, fluttery breath of air but smiled apologetically to cover it up. She absently placed the Sidekick on the table as she said, "No. It says, 'Martinez was unable to understand Nunoz's frustration.' She snorted at the irony of the sentence. "You said, 'Martinez did not know Nunoz's frustration.'" Greg flashed a smile, and Kelly found herself smiling back, her irritation at bay. He sucked at Spanish, but boy, was he a cutie! His low cut hair framed a round pie face, which was baby soft clean, except a small patch of hair above his lip that would only be considered a 'stache if it had lots more follicle company. Narrow, almond-shaped eyes and a constant, upturned impish grin gave the impression that he was perpetually happy. "Mí no bueno en esto," Greg said, his grin sheepish. Kelly let out a belly laugh, then smacked her hand over her mouth, her eyes searching for the librarian, Mrs. Bostwick. She wasn't sure if Greg had purposely spoken the sentence grammatically incorrectly or not. But it was close enough. She nodded. "You're right you're not very good at this." "Usted procura. You try," Kelly said, meaning it. The Sidekick tinkled again, but Kelly ignored it. "Not to be mean or anything but why are you still taking Spanish if you're struggling with it so much?"
Greg's eyebrows shrugged. He sat back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. "I know it's crazy. But if I want to get into a good lax school, I need cer- tain courses and grades." Kelly didn't know much about lacrosse, much less what made a college qualify as a good lax school. But she nodded sympathetically. Now, with only two weeks left in their sophomore year, a lot of her peers, her included, really had college on the brain. It was as if a bell had rung, and everyone realized they only had two more years to goof off. Some people took it to heart and were goofing off more. But some of the more motivated achievers were already planning to take the SATs over the summer to gauge whether they'd need a course to help them pass it. Getting good grades had always come easy to Kelly. It was no secret she was a loner and the classic quiet girl while at elite McStew Prep. She hadn't gotten a social life until transferring to DRB High last year and meeting Mina. Still, even with a serious uptick in social activity, Kelly's grades continued to stay on track. "Couldn't you just take Advanced English?" Kelly asked. She had her doubts about Greg passing level four, and thoughts of him going to level five made her cringe for him. By level five, the entire class was taught in Spanish, no breaks, no English. He'd be lost from day one.

Greg nodded. "I think so. But you know it looks better when you have a foreign language." "Do you know what schools you're going to apply to already?" Greg sat up straighter, his eyes shining. "Hopkins, UNC, and probably Syra- cuse. Hopkins was the NCAA lacrosse champions last year That's definitely my first choice." "Maybe you should look to see exactly what their requirements are," Kelly prodded. "If you don't need Spanish" Greg laughed. "I should run now while I have the chance?" Kelly nodded, chuckling along. "I feel like I know the stuff, but I just can't translate it when Senorita Caridad goes so fast." "Actually, you're not doing too well reading it off the paper, either," Kelly said apologetically. Greg chuckled. "Okay, okay, I suck." "Admitting it is half the battle," Kelly joked. The two of them muffled their laughter. Kelly's Sidekick rang out again, and Greg picked it up without flipping it open. "These things are cool. You like it?"