~ ~ ~
I slept late the next morning. By the time I had gotten up, Matt was long gone. I walked into the bathroom, took my compact out of my makeup case, turned around, and looked at my mark. It was almost all the way back. What a relief! I had kind of figured that it would take longer, like recovering from a cold or something. I showered and headed out to the kitchen to scrounge for leftovers from breakfast. I turned the corner and stopped short. Alma was doing the breakfast dishes. I hesitated for a moment, and then something inside of me seemed to guide me to her. Balam.
“Permíteme ayudarte, Alma.” What the hell did I just say?
“Maya, hablas español?” She asked, looking up at me in confusion.
And then I just started rambling, in Spanish. I told her how very sorry I was about Ana and that I wish it could have been different. Her look turned sadder and her eyes teared up some. So did mine. But she managed a small smile.
“Maya, no te sientas mal. Yo siempre amaré a Ana. Pero ya ha elegido su propio camino.” She shook her head.
“Okay,” I said. Hearing that Alma didn’t blame me for what happened made me feel a little better.
She went to the fridge, took out an omelet sandwich and diet Coke, and handed them to me.
“Eat,” she said, reaching up and giving my cheeks a little squeeze.
“Gracias,” I said, and headed down the hall to see the twins.
I looked in Lyssa’s room. The twins were sitting on the floor and working with Selena.
“Come in, Maya,” Selena said. “How do you feel?”
“My mark is pretty much back…oh, and it seems I can speak Spanish now.”
“What?” the twins chorused at me.
“I went out to the kitchen and just starting speaking to Alma in Spanish,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and taking a huge bite out of my sandwich.
“Holy shit! How cool is that!” Lyssa said.
“Yeah, well, it’s starting to feel a bit like a lab rat over here,” I said, taking another bite.
“It definitely fits though,” Selena said, “I mean, you’re meant to unite many cultures.”
Damian blinked. “Wait, so you think she might speak more than just Spanish?” he asked.
“It’s possible,” Selena said. She turned to face me. Pouvez-vous parler en français?”
“Oui, je pense que je peux parler en français,” I answered without hesitation. I gave her a huge grin and opened my diet Coke.
“That is so awesome,” Damian said.
Selena smiled. “I have to agree with you.”
“Is anyone else seeing the irony here?” Lyssa asked, grabbing my sandwich and sampling a corner.
“Maybe a tad,” Damian said. “But, look at it this way. She won’t yell at us for speaking Spanish around her anymore.”
“Good point,” Lyssa giggled.
“Has anyone seen Matt?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Selena said. “He’s helping Cesar cut firewood out back.”
“Wait—Matt? My Matt?”
“Basically, he’s making up for what he did to Cesar’s room,” she answered.
“Whose idea was that?” I asked.
“I dunno,” Lyssa said, “Not Matt’s, obviously.”
There was a knock on the door, and I turned around to see Adriana smiling at me.
She walked in and picked up my ponytail. “Wow,” she said, “it looks to me like you’re ready for your next lesson.”
“That all depends on which language you’re planning on teaching in today,” Selena said with a laugh.
Jaguar Sun (Jaguar Sun Series Book 1) Page 23