Arsenal

by S. W. Frank

  “You have got to be kidding me.”  I watched Kai as he walked slowly towards me and stopped. 

  “Isn’t this a nice turn of events.  Cute dance by the way, very spontaneous.” He chuckled.

  “What are you doing here?” I took off my sweater and threw it into my locker.

  “Well, first of all, I go to school here and second, it looks like we’re neighbors.”  He put in the combination to a locker a few feet from mine.

  “Ugh!”  I slammed my locker and at the same time the bell rang.

  Doors swung open as children rushed out of class.  Some kids hung outside of classrooms to chat to each other and others rushed like the rabbit from Alice In Wonderland.  I felt a vibration in my pocket and quickly pulled out my phone.  Sal was waiting for me in front of the cafeteria.

  “Hey!  What do you have next?”  Kai closed his locker and dodged a group of teenagers as he jogged to catch up with me.

  “I have lunch okay?  I have to go.”  I tried to move faster, but unlike Kai, I wasn’t able to maneuver such a crowd so gracefully.

  “Oh that sucks.  I’m headed to pre-calc.  But I’m sure I’ll see you around Cinderella.”  He had stopped in the middle of the hallway as I ran through the doors and up the steps.  I was eager to see Sal and tell him that this high school was a zoo.

  All the fast girls were eyeing Sal as he waited near the cafeteria entrance.  I could tell he didn’t like the attention because he was acting unusually anxious.  He kept glancing at his phone and tapping his foot.  At some point he had put on his shades.  I bet the girls thought he was so cool but in reality he didn’t like people to know he was watching them.  I had the same habit.  When he finally looked up and saw me walking in his direction he slipped the phone into his pocket and pulled off his glasses.  Sal stood out among the sea of students lining up for lunch.  I understood why everyone gawked in his direction.  He made all the other males look so regular.  He was tall like dad with shiny black hair and with mom’s tan. Sal exuded a very welcoming vibe, which is the complete opposite of what I am.  If I could wear a shirt that said ‘Don’t Talk to Me. Fuck off!’ every day, I would.  I really would.

  “What took so long?” he whispered.

  “Why are we whispering?” I whispered.

  Sal chuckled.

  “I finished the exam early and decided to find my locker.  Then the bell rang and the animals were unleashed into the wild.”  I gestured quite literally, exaggerating the last statement, imagining how a tamer would let a lion out of a cage. 

  Sal laughed.  “How was it? The exam.”

  We followed the line of kids entering the cafeteria.  “It was okay.  Easy.  How was class?”

  “People were staring.  The English professor seemed okay.  He didn’t ask questions.”

  The line to the cafeteria moved a bit faster.  “It’s funny, I don’t want to speak too soon but it seems like no one knows who we are or cares.”

  “Yeah”, Sal replied. “I would hold my tongue.  People care, it’s just too early in the day to tell.  Wait until everyone starts to wake up and then the jerks will show their ass.” 

  I stared at Sal, wondering what he meant.  As I swiped my identification card I watched as he looked into the cafeteria with his eyes furrowed in thought.  His gaze was piercing.  Sal very rarely seemed serious and when he was his face was lethal.  The Alfonzo gene was definitely dominant in the firstborn son.  Sal walked alongside me, his shoulders were squared and chest out defiantly, my dad’s eyes showed through his as he occasionally turned his head.  I could tell he was remembering faces, taking in details and table settings like Dad would.  And I thought I had social anxiety.  As I walked to the lunch line I searched in my pockets for my phone, thinking where I had last placed it.  My hair dangled in front of my eyes, I flipped the curls back so as to not obstruct my vision.  A perky honey blonde head bounced in front of me.  I halted in front of her.  Sal, who was following very close behind, grabbed my shoulder to avoid a run-in.

  “Hi!”

  I blinked my eyes in confusion.

  “Hello.”  Sal’s greet was more like a question as he looked at the girl and I trying to figure out if we knew each other or if I had bad manners.

  “Hi! I’m Julissa.  You must be Aldonza and Salvatore Diaz.”  Julissa motioned us towards the lunch buffet.  “Please, continue getting your lunch.”

  Sal and I exchanged a glance and proceeded to the salad bar.  Open buffets weren’t our thing; all types of people sneeze and spread germs as they pass by.

  “Oh!”  Julissa hopped to the end of the bar bringing us two separate containers.  “We also have pre-packaged salads for the clean freaks, like me.”  She giggled and passed us forks as well.  “Listen, why don’t you guys sit with me and my friends?”  She turned away and sauntered towards her table, showing off whatever curves she thought she had.

  Sal and I shook our heads as we followed Julissa to her table, which was nestled in the center of the cafeteria.  As we sat down it seemed like we had interrupted a very funny conversation.  Her friends stopped mid laughter and looked up.  There was a long minute of silence.  The air was dense and I watched with my eyebrows raised.

  “Hi.” Another girl finally said. “I’m Mel.  This is Kane and that’s Liu and Jade.” Mel pointed around the table introducing us to everyone.  Kane sat far back in his chair with his arm around Mel.  His black polo shirt hid what might have been a chiseled athlete’s body.  His arms were nicely toned and his face looked hard as rock.  He winked at me before anyone could notice the flirtatious exchange.  I scoffed at his obnoxiousness and greeted the rest of the table.  Jade was pale yet her eyes were big and dark.  She had embellished them with eyeliner and her thin lips were painted a rosy pink.  She had platinum blond hair that was cut precisely at her chin showing off her oval shaped head and doll like features.  When she smiled her eyes closed, or looked like they were, and for some reason she reminded me of a baby panda. 

  “Hey!” She said, holding out an arm full of colorful bracelets and cuffs.

  “Hi.  I’m Aldonza and this is my brother Salvatore.”  I reached out to shake her hand. 

  At the same time Liu extended an arm to Sal, “Wassup.”

  “Sal.” he shook Liu’s hand firmly.

  Kane nodded a greeting

  “Yeah, so Sal, do you mind if I call you Sal?  It’s easier to pronounce.”  Julissa flipped her hair and leaned closer to my brother. 

  “Yeah sure.”  Sal opened his container of salad and grabbed a fork.  I did the same.

  “So, you’re like Italian, right?  Like, what nationality are you guys?”  She rested her chin on her hands, smiling from ear to ear.

  I looked at Sal.  This chick was a total dunce.

  “We’re American.”

  Julissa was at the edge of her seat yearning to hear him speak.  “Uh huh?” She probed.

  Sal stared at Julissa and continued to eat his salad.  She watched in awe.

  “You know,” Mel intervened, obviously embarrassed of her flighty friend.  “Jules you should probably let them breathe.  They’re new here and I’m sure they didn’t grant any interviews today.” 

  Julissa cut a glance at her pretty bronze friend.  She spoke slowly through gritted teeth.  “Oh Mel, you are incredibly insightful and considerate.  I’m just trying to lighten the mood.  You know, ice breakers?”

  Mel looked at Kane and took a deep breath.

  “You guys have beautiful eyes.  Sal yours are gorgeous I bet your girlfriend gets lost in them every night.  Doesn’t she?”  Julissa w
as very persistent.

  I had to laugh at her efforts to get my brother’s attention.  Sal wasn’t interested in girls like her.  If anything he was probably wondering when she would stop talking so he could finish his lunch in peace.  In Sicily he was the ladies man but only because he was so polite and respectful.  There were a few girls that caught his eye and even they couldn’t hold his attention for too long.  He always told me that he was looking for something tangible, a connection like Mom and Dad’s.  For the moment, he had given up trying. 

  By the time we had finished our lunch Julissa was still going on about how pretty my hair was, how stylish Sal dressed and indirectly inquiring about his love life.  Kane, Mel, Liu and Jade were having their own conversations.  I wondered how they put up with such a talkative girl.  While I stared blank into space my phone buzzed repeatedly in my bag.  I pulled it out quickly and excused myself from the table.

  “Who is it?” Anxiously to get away as well, Sal grabbed his things and followed me.

  “Hello?”  I walked to an empty table in the back of the cafeteria trying to hear the little voice on the other end.

  “Allie!  They split us up!” 

  “What?” I turned the volume up on my phone as Sal put his ear closer.

  Angie’s voice echoed on the receiving end as she repeated the same line.  She was upset and on the verge of crying.

  “Angie this is Sal.  Calmarse, por favor.  Que paso?”

  Sal and I listened as Angie took two deep breaths and continued to explain. “Sal! We were in class and Vincent and I were working together on the assignment and- and the teacher, she came over and said that we couldn’t sit together.  She was horrible and Vincent asked her why and she said because…something and then later another teacher came and put him in another class and I was mad and didn’t want to play and the kids were making fun of me at lunch for no reason and I told this mean boy to shut up.  Era feo y gordo y no deje de tirar mi pelo.  So I told the teacher and she just told him to stop pulling my hair.  He kept pulling my hair so I’m in the bathroom now.” Angie sighed, “I want to go home you guys.”

  Sal and I shook our heads.  It never occurred to us that our youngest siblings would have a harder day than us.

  “Angie?  Hang on a sec I’m going to call Dad.” Before I could push the button Sal grabbed my hand.

  “Wait.  We don’t have to call Dad or Mom every time something happens.  Do you really want to get in the habit of letting them fix all of our problems?”

  Sal was right.  Our parents were probably busy with more important things.  Plus, having them showing up at our schools would only cause more problems for us. We would be subject to more teasing and more questions. 

  “You’re right.  Calling Dad should be our lifeline for very serious matters.”  I looked at my brother.  “So what should we do?”

  “Handle it ourselves.”  Sal spoke into the phone, “Angie?” 

  We waited for her response.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you hold out for a little bit longer sweetie?  Allie and I are coming, okay?”

  “Okay, please hurry I didn’t eat and if the fat boy keeps pulling my hair I’m gonna feed him my fist.”

  I chuckled.  Angie’s tone wasn’t the least bit threatening.  Whenever she got angry she would get really calm and sarcastic.  Her voice was also rather monotone.

  “Yeah, how about you don’t do that okay?” Sal looked worried.

  “Okay.”

  I grabbed the phone from Sal and reminded my feisty little sister to stay calm.  “Hey, just text me kiddo and remember what I said this morning.”

  Sal and I left the cafeteria and headed for the stairwell. 

  “So what’s your big idea?” I ran two steps at a time trying to keep up with him.  I was ready to breakaway.  Now this was my idea of fun!

  “Well, you better channel your acting skills.  We’re heading to the nurse.”

  Fooling the nurse was easy.  Don’t you know me by now?  Once she saw me squeezing my waist in agony and crying my eyes out she immediately laid me on the cot.  While in the room I put the thermometer near a bedside lamp as Sal distracted her.  He gave her some sob story, and she allowed him to call a cab to take us both home.  While in the cab I decided to check on Angie.

  “Hey, we’re on our way.” 

  It seemed that within such short time her temper had went from anger to rage.  The fat boy, she explained, kept touching her and Vincent was nowhere to be found.  She had asked to be excused from the classroom to “take a breather”. 

  “Did you try texting Vincenzo?”  When I had leaned to talk into the phone I got a glimpse of the time.  It was only late afternoon.  I wondered what we would do for the rest of the day.

  “Yea.  No answer.  I’m so over this!  Most of my school day was spent fending off trolls and calling you guys in the bathroom”, Angie said.

  Sal chuckled.  “To be honest, today was not the best day for us either.”

  “Really?  What happened at your school?” Angie sounded intrigued.

  “Listen, we’ll explain later.  Go back to class I think we’re at your school.” Sal asked the driver if we had reached the destination.  Once confirmed, we paid the driver and watched the yellow taxi speed away.

  I waited outside as directed by my older brother and watched him walk calmly into the building.  The sun shone brightly through white clouds.  It was chilly but the clear bright skies on a cold day made being outdoors bearable.

  I crossed my arms.  It’s been a while since I had experienced winter in New York.  I couldn’t believe how cold it could get.

  My skin was getting paler, my hair was a bit dry but since I took my first step off the plane I had felt, for once in my life, like I was home.  Although I grew up in another country with countless distant relatives, living in Sicily seemed like a long vacation.  I could tell my parents would never settle into that life.  Living in a huge house on top of a hill, surrounded by miles of land with locals tending our vineyards just wasn’t in the Diaz blood.  I once remember my mother mentioning how much she actually missed taking the train from Brooklyn to 42nd Street and seeing Broadway plays.  My father just nodded in response and kissed her forehead. 

  I chuckled.  Now she’s back and seems happier than ever.  Although he had been in the city for a few days my mom would read playbills, making it a habit to mark the shows that interest her leaving it on the mantle for my father to see.  Last weekend, after fulfilling her saintly duties at her beloved charity, my father purchased a new dress suitable for whatever show of her choice and lay it in a box on their bed.  My sister and I helped her open the box and saw a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, gown with a funny note from my dad.  We did her hair and watched as she applied make-up while telling us funny stories about her dates with Dad. 

  By the time we were done, Vincent and Sal waited patiently with Dad downstairs reminding him of theatre etiquette and show times. Dad did not listen to them and Mom did not care.  She was living her own fairy tale, seeing plays with my Dad felt as if they had never left the city in the first place.  Dad vowed to make it their tradition, every other week.  Then I wondered, would she ever get tired of spending hours to get dressed up just to go to the theatre, return home and do it all over again in two weeks? 

  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with watching Netflix all day.

                 A small voice called my name and I looked up.  Angie ran towards me. Sal had easily marched into the school and came back out with both Angelina and Vincent.  They were as giddy as ever, talking over each other, as
they explained their horrific day.  I hugged them both while Sal hailed another cab. 

  “Oh thank you guys for saving me!  I couldn’t take it any longer.” Angie shook her head, swinging her ringlets of hair.  She cupped her face and dragged her hands on her face to stretch her skin downwards.

  “You’re acting like a distressed broker on Wall Street when the market plummeted.”  Vincent raised his eyebrow.  “Relax sis, don’t let them stress you out.”

  “Easy for you to say.  You didn’t have to sit hours in class next to a plump boy spinning in his chair while pulling your hair!” 

  A yellow cab slowed to a halt in front of us. 

  “Where to?” I asked Sal.  “We still have to pass some time until school is over.”

  We all crammed into the taxicab and waited.  “How about some pizza,” he said. “New York style?”

  Angie and Vincent cheered as the cab driver made his way from the Upper Eastside to the Village. 

  “Cheap, greasy, oven burnt pizza here we come.”