Oh, Lucy

Chapter Six: Break Me

I catch a glimpse of Sofia's head of chocolate curls as the late bell rings.

She walks in sheepishly, handing Mr. Marrero a note and looking around for a familiar face. I subtly motion her over and she joins Daniela and I at our table, a thankful smile lacing her lips.

"Thank you, Lucy." She says once she sits.

"It's no problem." I reply and then begin the introductions. "Sofia, this is my best friend, Daniela Amador." They wave at one another in greeting and then I continue introducing the two other people at the table. "This is David Santos, he's Daniela's boyfriend. That's Owen Wilson, David's best friend." David and Owen stop their conversation momentarily to offer brief greetings to Sofia before returning to their debate over which car engine is most powerful.

We go about the class in relative silence, making small talk here and there when Mr. Marrero isn't drilling us on prepositional phrases and logical fallacies.

Sofia is quiet for the most part, but I notice her subtle attempts at getting a better look at Owen and can't help but smile despite myself.

Someone has a crush, I note to myself, deciding to bring it up with Sofia later.

I honestly can't blame her for sneaking glances at Owen; with his shiny blonde hair and perfect carefree smile, he'd managed to get most St. Ita girls, including myself, to crush on him at one point or another in their private school years.

We'd actually even "dated" for 2 weeks years ago, even before I began covering for Henry, all the way back in the 6th grade. The farthest we'd gotten was a peck on the cheek before I broke it off to focus on my studies and since then, he'd dated just about every girl in our grade, yet he wasn't considered the "player" type. He always had the best intentions despite his expansive list of exes and everyone agreed he meant well, he just unfortunately tended to rush into relationships with girls, caught up in the romance.

Still, I had the feeling that a guy like Owen would be good for Sofia, especially after everything she's gone through.

I tap Sofia on the shoulder just as the dismissal bell rings, signaling the end of the period.

"Hey so this band in our school, Lackluster Heart, is having a concert this weekend. You should come, it'd be a great way for you to meet more people and from what I've heard they're not so bad. Miami Herald even wrote an article on them once." I say as we get up to move to our next period. "Plus, I hear Owen's going." I add with a wink. She begins to blush in embarrassment and I fight back a giggle as we exit the classroom out into the hall.

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me." I whisper and watch as she glances at him yet again as he walks past us.

"Well, if you think it'll help me meet more people... I-I'll try to see what I can do." She says sheepishly, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Yay okay! And don't worry about a ride, Henry and I would be more than happy to give you one." I offer with a smile before saying goodbye, turning to make my way to Calculus AB.

Sofia puts her hand out to stop me. "Wait, Lucy." She says, and I turn back to look at her questioningly.

"I, um, I wanted to say thank you. Honestly, you've been so kind and you've made my first day so much more bearable than I thought possible. You're amazing." She admits genuinely, offering me a smile of her own.

"It's really no big deal. Think of it as one St. Ita girl looking out for another St. Ita girl." I reply modestly. "Well, uh I gotta go, I've got Calculus and Mrs. Jensen hates when people are late. But we can hang out later if you want, you have my number just call me if you need anything." I say and we finally go our separate ways. I rush to Calculus and make it inside only seconds before the bell rings, for once thankful for all of those years of track and field back in middle school.

A few days pass and finally Friday has finally rolled around and it's time for oh- so anticipated Lackluster Heart concert. Henry, Sofia, and I are all piled into Henry's Range Rover, speeding through Biscayne Boulevard to get to Bayside.

We make it to the venue, a small outdoor stage with an amphitheater-esque style. Every tier of seats is already taken, the walkways clogged with hundreds of St. Ita people and Lackluster Heart's fangirls from all over South Florida.

I try to suppress an eye roll at the ludicrousness of it all as we make our way to Daniela, David and Owen, who'd been nice enough to save us some spots in the middle section of the tiers.

In a matter of minutes, the lights dim and a crowd of St. Ita kids began swarming the Marina stage, smart phones and cameras at the ready. Isaiah, David, and Julian start playing their instruments and then, just as he'd done seemingly a thousand times before, Vince opens his mouth and begins singing. It was one of their first and most popular songs, "Sucker Punch", so popular in fact that even I knew the lyrics from how many times Daniela had blasted it in her car.

Tons of teens start getting up and dancing, their hair and hips swaying to the beat. Most everyone in the crowd is singing the lyrics back to Vince with a sort of tranquil enthusiasm that could only be the result of some sort of illegal substance.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Owen chatting Sofia up and I can't help but smile. I poke Henry, who is entranced with Julian, soaking in every strum of Julian's guitar and he flinches in surprise. I let out a giggle and then gesture at the couple to be and he smiles at the sight, as well.

"Ah, young love!" He says a little louder than usual, making the duo blush beet red before he breaks out in laughter and high-fives me.

The crowd screams wildly as the song ends, catching Henry's and my attention as Vince starts belting out his next song.

Though I'd never admit it out loud, the song was actually well... good. I find myself subconsciously bobbing my head to the beat, the loud guitar riffs and Vince's deep voice making me feel something I hadn't felt in a while.

Understood. Accepted. Heard.

"I'm starting to see the appeal." I shout over the song to Daniela, but she's too busy swaying her hips while totally absorbed in analyzing every aspect of Lackluster Heart to pay me any mind.

Soon enough, Vince has gone through every single song on Lackluster Heart's set list but the swarm of teens around me is screaming for more.

"Alright, alright." He speaks into the mike, ducking as a bra flies on stage and almost hits him in the face. "Nice throw, there." He comments, earning a laugh from the mass of his peers.

"Anyway, this next one's a new song, it's called Break Me. Enjoy and remember to join us at our party afterward hosted by our band's very own Isaiah Felix. Let's hear a round of applause for Isa!" The hundreds of teenagers clap their hands and roar for a moment, chanting Isaiah's name.

"Okay, here's Break Me." Vince announces, and once more I'm lost in the music and the lights and the crowd, entranced as Vince somehow manages to relate in a simple song all of the feelings that I and almost every other teenager could never find the proper words to describe.