The following day, when I opened my eyes, I looked for Tony as if he were there with me. But he was not. It was weird how quickly I became accustomed to his presence. Later, I called him to check in, but he didn't answer. And I thought about Steve.After class, I met up Maya to finish our work. Two hours later, we were done.
"It was cool to work with you," Maya said.
"Thanks. I liked working with you too. So what are you gonna do next year?"
"I'm moving to Canada," she said.
I recalled the rumor about her.
"Really?" I asked, clearing my throat.
"Yeah, I'm gonna marry my fiancé there."
Technically, Maya could marry this guy. She wasn't a minor. She was eighteen.
"What? You're putting me on, right?" I replied, feeling my throat tighten.
"No, I' m serious."
"Really? It's your boyfriend?"
"Yes. He moved to Canada with his family two years ago. Look," she said, handing me her cell phone to show me a picture of him.
I took a look at it, he was handsome.
"So you've known him for years, right?" I insisted, looking her in the eye.
"Yes, sure. He's my best friend. Why?" she said, frowning at me.
"Never mind. And what are you planning to do there? I mean are you planning to get your diploma, or something?"
"I don't know yet. Yeah, I guess. Let's say the first month, I'm gonna be a housewife," she said in a neutral way as if she were talking about someone else.
"You must be kidding me, right?"
"Not at all."
"But you can't be serious. You can't be a housewife. You're brilliant, Maya. Really brilliant. You've got to go to college. You should be the President of France, or I don't know a Nobel Prize or...something."
"Thank you, but that's not what I want out of life," she said calmly.
That killed me when she said that, I swear that killed me.
"Is it because of your parents? Are you afraid or something?" I murmured.
"Frida, I never dreamed of being a Nobel Prize, or whatsoever. I don't know what I want out of life."
"I can relate to that. It's confusing."
"Exactly. The only thing I know so far is that I wanna have a family. That's it", she said, smiling at me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"Don't you think you're too young for that?"
"Frida, I know what people say about me. I'm not stupid."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled.
"Anyway, it's the way it goes in my family. Let's say we are old fashioned I guess. Girls and boys marry young, probably to avoid having sex without being married."
"No way? You too?"
"Yeah, I'm muslim. What do you think?"
"I had no idea."
Maybe, Maya and I had a lot in common, more than I thought.
"It's complicated to be with a guy when you don't wanna have sex," she continued.
YOU ARE READING
FRIDA' S LIST
Teen FictionFrida is a junior who is supposed to attend next year, for her senior year, a new high school, an elistist one. But before leaving her current life, her friends, and teachers, she has to make this junior year memorable. And for that, she made a lis...
