Connection: An Esteban Granero story

Part V: Enemy by Blue Foundation

“Home? What do you mean “home”? Canada is my home, not Spain.” Lorelei had stood up, fists clenched. Seeing Grace now was like seeing her mother, except she had never cared as deeply for her mother as she had for Grace.

                Grace sighed internally; she knew it was futile even to try to talk to Lorelei when she was in a rage.

                “This is your home for the next couple of months, Lorelei, so you’ll better get used to it.”

                Grace dropped her bags of groceries onto the floor and wordlessly gestured Tomas, who had remained motionless throughout the entire exchange, to take them into the kitchen. She placed a sealed envelope onto the coffee table in front of Lorelei.

                “Here are the courses from your program that you are allowed into at the moment. The first class starts at nine tomorrow morning, so don’t be late.”

                Lorelei watched unemotionally as her aunt entered her room and shut the door. 

                “Is she always as un-confrontational as all that?” She asked Tomas.

                “Are you always as confrontational as I have seen you today?” He countered.

                Lorelei sighed and stared moodily at the tomato sandwiches Tomas had made before venturing to take a bite.

                “Maybe.”

***

                Despite the rebellious mood she was in, Lorelei never meant to sleep in the next day and miss her first day of classes.

                “Shit.” Her face paled as she blinked groggily at the digital alarm clock beside her.

We were lovers on the run

Heading for adventure

Ruinous and young

                “Shit, shit, shit, shit!” She flung the blanket aside as she hurriedly changed into an Obey propaganda sweatshirt and the only pair of jeans she had the sense to unpack from the night before. She spent a record two minutes in the washroom before rushing downstairs with her aviators and book bag. Outside, Tomas was waiting impatiently as he paced back and forth in front of his nondescript Volkswagen.

                “Sorry, sorry!” She stammered as she hurried into the car after him. “Are we going to be late?” It was already flashing 8:45 on the dash, and Lorelei had no idea how far they were from campus.

                Tomas forced a smile at Lorelei. “No, but you’re going to have to find your class on your own, okay? I’ve got a report to hand in this morning.”

                “Yeah, of course.” Lorelei looked down, not wanting to make excuses for herself. “It’s just this jetlag, you know? And I couldn’t go to sleep last night...”

                Tomas parked the car and glanced over at Lorelei, who was fidgeting nervously with the straps on her book bag.

                “Are you okay? You look a bit...flustered.”

                “Hm? Why wouldn’t I be okay? Well, thanks for the ride, Tomas.  I’ll see you around.”  With that, she popped the door open and stepped out into the scorching Madrid sunshine.