Tangled Webs -Oscar Diaz-

Chapter 11

Sofia gripped her bag tightly as she knocked on the door. It was almost an exact hour on the dot. She had a thing about being punctual. In a few brief seconds, the door opened, and Oscar was standing in front of her in his signature gray tank top. "Hey," she smiled at him.

"Hey," he pushed open the door to let her inside. She walked in and began making her way towards the kitchen. The house didn't smell of food as it usually would.

"What are you making," Sofia questioned over her shoulder.

"Ceviche," Oscar spoke from behind her. "I haven't started yet."

"Cool," Sofia set her bag on the table. "I guess I'll just study while you start cooking?"

"Yeah," Oscar walked past her towards the kitchen. Sofia felt her shoulders fall at his dull interaction with her. She didn't understand why he would want her to come over so suddenly and then hardly speak to her. Deciding that thinking about the unknown would only drive her crazy, it would be better to concentrate her mind. She pulled out her Biology notebook and began reviewing her notes. Sofia also had green and yellow flashcards to write down essential subjects to review. In the background, she could hear Oscar chopping something, but her eyes were locked on the notes in front of her. Eventually, the sound of the knife on the cutting board faded into the background. Sofia was solely focused on her notes.

She didn't know how long she had been focusing on her notes. Oscar was walking back and forth across the kitchen. He was leaving things on the table in front of her, but she was so focused on her notes that she never glanced up. After a while, Sofia felt a strange sensation, and felt herself glancing away from her notes and at Oscar. He was leaning against the counter with a dish in his hand, drying it. Yet, his eyes were focused on her. "What," Sofia's eyebrows pulled together.

"When you get really focused, you poke your tongue out of your mouth," Oscar set the dish on the drying rack. Sofia felt the heat rush to her cheeks at the revelation.

"I do," she was embarrassed.

"Yeah," Oscar walked closer. "You have since high school."

Sofia set the items in her hand down. "That's embarrassing."

"No," stood across from her. He didn't continue further with his words. "I finished."

"Oh," Sofia realized that there was food on the table. "Thank you. I didn't notice. I'm sorry." She glanced down at her notes one last time.

"What are you studying," Oscar walk around the table so he could get a better look at her notes. Sofia smiled at his genuine interest in her school work.

"It's for my Biology class," she began to explain. "It's just basic stuff." Oscar sat down in the chair next to her. Sofia quickly glanced at his lips before looking away. The thoughts of last night flashing through her mind causing the heat to rise to her cheeks again.

"Do you like it," Oscar looked at her closely.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "The class is pretty fun and-"

"No, not that," he cut her off. "Community college."

"Oh," Sofia understood what he was asking. "It's alright. It's not exactly where I would like to be."

Oscar leaned back into the chair with a look on his face that Sofia couldn't read. "Why are you there?"

"I thought I already told you this?"

"Tell me again."

Sofia sucked a deep breath. "Mario went to college, and it's a lot. The loans are a lot, and my family needed him. If I went, it would have been," Sofia stopped and looked away from him. "Ruby and my mom wouldn't have done well. Besides, I can wait two years."