Every Witch Way: The Rueda Twins

Chapter 9

Gigi's mind was in another place as she was doing her homework.

Diego had told her she had fainted in the restaurant, but how come? There were so many things she wondered about. And the last thing she remembered was the bell ringing to signal the end of school. It freaked her out. It wasn't something that happened every day. Was something seriously wrong with her?

Diego had immediately said no to the idea of going to the doctor.

"You seem fine." He had said, "So it looks like there was no harm done. And you shouldn't tell mom about it either."

"Why not?" Gigi had asked.

"Because you know how busy she is with the 7 and how stressed she is over paying the rent. If you seem fine, you probably shouldn't worry her. It would only add to the stress."

"Is that why you haven't told her about Nationals yet?" Gigi had pressed.

Diego had sighed, "I got all the forms today. And we were so excited that we filled all of them out, but when I got to the last page I saw all the money I'd have to pay. There's a huge entrance fee, not to mention airfare and food. The hotel is free, but the rest of them were talking about spending an extra day or two which would mean covering those days."

It made Gigi really unhappy that her brother was in this kind of situation. Nationals are are super important. Getting in would be any swimmer's dream. If Diego had to miss out on that, it wouldn't seem right. Plus word would get around to their mother eventually. Gigi knew that her mom would try to scrape together some money because she always tried so hard for them, but that money should be going to pay the rent.

She put down her pencil as she finished her final algebra problem and quickly walked away from her desk. School was so stressful- and even more so for Gigi and her twin. They needed to keep their grades really high to keep their scholarships. Gigi just wanted a break from it all so she headed downstairs where her mother was making dinner.

"Hey, mom," The future journalist greeted, "Need any help?"

Ms. Rueda turned around with a big smile on her face that Gigi knew hadn't been there a minute ago. The twins had realized long ago that their mother never let them see what was worrying her, but they could always tell from the bills on the kitchen counter.

"Would you mind putting some plates on the table, sweetie?"

Gigi nodded and crossed over to the cupboard. For a second when she glanced at her mom cooking she thought about telling her about the fainting spell, but Diego was right. It would only worry her.

Ms. Rueda was a beautiful woman. Everyone knew it. Her strong Mexican heritage came out in her dark, sleek, long ponytail. Her skin was a gorgeous tan like coffee with milk and cream. She had sparkling brown eyes which she passed on to both the twins and she had straight teeth, even though she'd never been to the dentist in her life. She was a first generation American and still has an accent, but her English is very good. She taught both of her children Spanish at an early age.

"I can't believe you're a sophomore already!" Ms. Rueda smiled as she turned over the pieces of chicken in her pan, "So how was your first day?"

I don't remember half of it, Gigi was tempted to say, but instead she mirrored her mother's smile and exclaimed, "Great!"

"That's nice, sweetie. How were all of your teachers?"

"Most of them are really fun, but Mrs. Opal..." Gigi trailed off as she saw her mother's smile falter a little. She was about to go on about how she hated Mrs. Opal with the burning passion of a thousand suns, but she decided to seem cheerful, "...is the greatest one of all!"

Saying that almost made Gigi gag, but she was happy she had when the bright expression returned to her mother's face.

Suddenly the home phone started ringing. It was in the living room and Gigi didn't really want to stick around to see if her mom would ask any questions about how great Mrs. Opal was.

"I'll get it!" She called as she jogged over to the living room and put the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Lucia?" a voice immediately asked from the other line. He was most definitely male. Lucia was her mother's name. Why would a man be asking for her mother? Was he going to ask her out on a date!?

"No, this is her daughter. Can I take a message?"

"D-d-daughter?" the man on the other line stuttered. That's when Gigi noticed the accent in him voice. It sounded like her mother's, "Is Lucia married?"

Gigi's eyes grew wide and she shook her head fiercely, even though she knew the man on the other line couldn't see her, "No, sir. My mom is one hundred percent single!"

Gigi could almost feel the relief coming from the man. "Can I talk to her?"

Gigi glanced over to the kitchen where her mother was putting the chicken on a plate. Gigi didn't want to give her mom the phone right now. Ms. Rueda needed to play hard to get. "Actually she's a little busy right now." Gigi answered into the phone, "So do you think you could leave me your name and number? I'll have her call you as soon as possible."

"Tell her it's David Perez. My number is 555-555-5555." (A/N I just wanted to make sure I didn't use a real number) Gigi scribbled down the information on a scrap piece of paper.

"Thank you." Gigi said, "She'll get back to you soon."

It was almost the end of dinner that Gigi actually remembered to tell her mom about David. And when she did, Ms. Rueda's eyes grew wide and she excused herself immediately to talk on the phone- which she took up to her bedroom so the twins wouldn't hear.

"What was that about?" Diego asked.

Gigi rolled her eyes, "Don't you get it- mom has a date!"

Diego almost choked on his food, "Seriously?"

His sister nodded. Both twins were grinning widely now. There was nothing more that they wanted than for their mother to be happy. And now, it looked like their wishes might actually come true.