I miss you.
That’s what she wanted to tell him. She put her phone in her pocket before temptation got the best of her. Then took it back out and texted Mayra to see what she was up to.
Her dad turned around and looked at her.
“I don’t know what you kids find so much fun about that. Poking little buttons.” He turned back around.
She stifled a smile. For one, she could have her privacy. With this, I don’t have to say everything out loud, she thought.
She got a text, and she swiped to see it.
It was Carlos.
***
I’m sorry. Again.
What could she say to that? She was just glad this meant they were still on. Still together. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Jimmy pulled into their driveway in reverse and neatly parked her dad’s truck beside her mom’s car.
Her dad nodded in satisfaction, a small smile on his face.
“Maybe Jimmy should take the test for you,” he joked. “Or at least give you a lesson or two.”
She groaned extra loud and rolled her eyes as she got out and left them behind. She went straight to her room after announcing to her mom that they were home.
She was still thinking about how she should reply when Jimmy came into her room.
“You’re not mad, are you?”
She barely heard him. She was staring at her phone screen. “No.”
He came over. “Carlos? Jerk finally texted you back?” She looked at him, not appreciating his tone.
“Yes, he did. To apologize. Not that it’s any of your business.” Had it been that obvious she and Carlos had had a fight?
“Whatever. I make it my business.” He sat in her desk chair. “What’s he saying? That he’s so sorry, and he’ll never do it again?”
“Don’t you have something better to do than aggravate me?” She threw her pillow at him, missing and knocking stuff off her shelves instead. Some books and a jar of pencils and pens crashed to the floor.
Her mom yelled at them from the kitchen. “What’s going on over there?”
“Nothing!” Jimmy replied, getting up to leave.
He shook his head as he shut the door behind him.
She stared after him. See if he likes it when I’m all in his business when he finally gets a girlfriend, she thought. She shook her head and got back to Carlos’ text.
:) I missed you. What are you up to?
She replied and then sent Mayra quick message saying Carlos had finally apologized.
About time. He needed to get over himself. Glad you have a bf and all, but next time choose someone who isn’t so on and off with you.
Ariana read that message three times before finally deleting it and getting back to Carlos. Like Mayra never had drama with her boyfriends.
She texted Carlos the rest of the night. She only left her room to have dinner—if she hadn’t, it would have made her parents upset or suspicious.
Now it was after midnight, and she was still texting him even though she had to get up for school in less than six hours. She was telling him how she just couldn’t get the hang of parking.
I’d love to give you a private lesson ;)
She smiled.
Really? I need all the help I can get. When can you teach me?
A few minutes later, her phone buzzed.
Whenever you’re free. I want to see you ASAP.
***
That Saturday morning, her parents went grocery shopping by themselves again. Since the week that Ariana had gone on her first outing with Carlos, they had just made a habit out of it. She had no idea why, but she wasn’t going to complain.
She had never brought up the fact that she’d seen them at the restaurant, of course. As far she was concerned, they could have all the secret dates out they wanted. That meant more opportunities to have some secret outings of her own. Jimmy still didn’t like the idea of her going out with Carlos, but he had continued to look the other way for her.
Today was no different.
“Heading to Mayra’s house,” she said as she walked into Jimmy’s room. He was working on a Language Arts project. There was a trifold board spread out on his bed. There was a movie on mute on his TV. Her parents had left about fifteen minutes earlier. She had practically already been dressed and ready to see Carlos for their driving lesson.
“Mayra’s house? Or are you seeing Carlos?” he asked, without looking up.
She gritted her teeth. “Carlos.”
“Hmm.” It sounded like he was still kind of upset from the other night.
“Okay. Well, I’ll see you in an hour or two. Text me if something happens.” By something she meant if her parents came home early for some odd reason, but she wasn’t even worried about being caught any more. There wasn’t any guilt either. Just the anticipation of seeing Carlos and being able to kiss and touch him again.
“Bye,” Jimmy replied while he glued something down.
A few minutes later, she was at Mayra’s house. Carlos would be there in a few minutes so she chatted with Mayra.
“I just love your car,” Mayra said, admiring it from afar. “You have to promise me you’ll let me ride to school with you. And take me out with you. If your parents ever let you do that before you turn eighteen and leave for college.”
She laughed. “Okay. Done. And you have to keep giving me pointers when it comes to guys. They said I could use it for school if I pass the driving test, and I’m sure they’ll let up about you riding with us.”
“I hope so. I don’t want to ride the bus by myself.”
Ariana thought for a moment. “You know, I thought that, between us, you’d be the first to get a car. Your mom is so cool about you going out and doesn’t really check up on you and stuff. I thought she’d have gotten you a car by now.”
Mayra looked away. “She wants to so I don’t have to worry about rides and stuff. Remember last year when I was a flagette for marching band? At first I was able to get rides from one of the girls that lives near here, but after a while, they all hated me because I got the solo part. So no one would offer me rides to practices and games. I had to quit, remember?”
Mayra had been so upset when it had happened.
“That’s why I didn’t join this year either. Still no car. My mom keeps saying she’s going to get me a car that I can use for school and extracurricular stuff, but we’re on a really tight budget right now with the house and her car payments and everything. Honestly, I just wish I had a car so I could get a job and help out. Maybe buy something nice for myself every now and then.”
It sucked having strict parents, but at least Ariana’s parents didn’t struggle much when it came to financial stuff. They certainly weren’t rich, but they lived comfortably. She looked down and then at Mayra.
“Well, you know, my parents said I could only use the car for school and Jimmy’s basketball stuff. But if you want to be a flagette this year, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me giving you rides.”
Mayra smiled. “It’s okay. Don’t really want to be a flagette anymore. Can’t stand seeing those girls.”
Carlos came around the corner and pulled into Mayra’s driveway.
“Hey, why don’t you come along with us? Carlos can give you some driving lessons too.”
“No, th—” Mayra began.
“Come on. You’ve been home all day, cooped up. I know how that feels. Get out of the house. I know you’ve been wanting to learn how to drive. Go get your purse and shoes.”
A smile came onto Mayra’s face. “Really? Carlos won’t mind?”
“Of course he won’t. And even if he does, he owes me.”
They laughed. Mayra ran inside. Carlos got out of his car and walked over to Ariana.
“You comin’?” He pulled her into a hug.
“Yeah. Is it okay if Mayra tags along? She doesn’t know how to drive, and I was thinking maybe you could teach her.”
Carlos hesitated for a split second before saying
, “Yeah, I don’t mind.”
Mayra came out and locked the door behind her. “Let’s go,” Ariana said, and they got into Carlos’ car.
***
They pulled into a nearby park, the one Carlos went to play basketball at sometimes. The parking lot was practically empty, perfect for practicing their nonexistent parking skills.
Carlos went to the end and pulled the car around. “Who wants to go first?”
“Ariana, you go first so I can watch you,” Mayra said.
“Okay.” Ariana and Carlos switched seats.
“Try parking in reverse for me,” he said. “Right over there.” He pointed to a spot four spots down on the left.
She sighed. She put the car in drive and slowly headed towards the spot. She awkwardly turned the opposite way and put the car in reverse. She backed up. She used her mirrors, but she could see she was already going in all crooked. She tried going forward a bit and readjusting herself. Now she was going crooked the other way.
“Okay. I think I see what you’re doing,” Carlos said, trying to keep a smile off his face.
“Carlos!”
Mayra covered her smile with her hand.
“Sorry. Just put the car back where it was. We’ll switch, and I’ll walk you through it one time, and then you can try again.”
She pulled out of the spot and drove back to her original spot.
She and Carlos got out to switch. He stopped her when he met her and gave her a big kiss on the lips.
She closed her door as she got in the passenger side.
“It’s really not as hard as it looks,” he said.
Ariana looked back at Mayra and rolled her eyes.
He began driving towards the same spot. “When you get to the spot you want, act like you’re about to go in it this way.” It seemed like he was about to pull the front end of the car in first. Then he turned the car away at the last second and kept going until the back of the car was facing the spot but the front was at an angle.
“Turn the other way, though, and then back up.” He began to do so, looking at his side mirrors. “Use your side mirrors to make sure you’re heading into the middle of the spot and going in straight.”
Bam. He was in. They got out. He was right in the middle.
Mayra nodded in approval, hands at her waist.
“You make it look so easy,” Ariana said.
“You’ll get the hang of it. And then it will be easy.” Carlos looked at her. “Want to try again?”
The second time, she did a lot better using Carlos’ method, but the car still ended up more towards one side, so if there had been a car there, she would have hit it when she opened her door. But on her second try, it was almost perfect. She jumped out, a huge smile on her face.
“Told you,” Carlos said.
“That was really good,” Mayra said.
“Thanks. You want a turn?”
“Yeah!”
Mayra didn’t do so bad herself. She practiced driving around the park. She tended to stop abruptly, but her parking was really good.
“My mom lets me park when we go to the store so she can get inside quicker,” she said with a smile.
Ariana was almost a little jealous. “You should get your license too,” she said.
“Do you have your permit?” Carlos asked Mayra.
“Yeah. I can actually get my license already. My birthday was a few months back. I just haven’t practiced much, so I haven’t taken the test.”
Ariana knew it was because her mom was hardly ever home to take her out to practice.
“Ariana, you want to practice the parallel?” Mayra said.
“Sure.”
They practiced another half hour, and then decided to sit on the curb and take a break before heading home. It was past noon. Ariana looked up from their conversation and saw some cars pull into the parking lot. Some guys got out. They were wearing gym shorts and cut off t-shirts. Some guys didn’t have shirts at all. She saw them eyeing her, and a couple of them were obviously looking her up and down and commenting to each other in low voices.
“Let’s go,” Carlos said.
They began to get into the car again.
“Hey, Carlos!” One guy waved.
Carlos waved back but didn’t head over, so the guys came over to them.
“What you doing here, man?” a guy with buzz cut asked. He was one of the guys not wearing a shirt.
“Just hanging out with my girl and her friend.”
The guy looked each of them up and down. Ariana looked away and took a step closer to Carlos.
“That’s cool. We called you, man. Come and play some hoops with us. We’re one short. Your girls can watch.” He smiled at them. They didn’t smile back. The other guys just stood there.
“I can’t. Gotta take them home. I’ll see you later, man.”
“You sure? Why don’t you come back after you take them home? We need you, like I said.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. See you later.”
The group of guys walked away.
“Who are they?” Ariana asked as she got in the car.
“Just some guys I play basketball with sometimes.” Carlos pulled out of the parking lot.
“Are you going to play with them today?” She knew it was probably none of her business, but she didn’t like those guys. And she didn’t want Carlos hanging around with them. They gave her a bad vibe.
“Like I said, maybe.” He looked over at her for a second. “It’s not like I have anything else to do today.”
She was glad when they got to Mayra’s house.
“Thanks for the driving lessons,” she said before getting out of the car. Carlos grabbed her hand before she could leave. Mayra got out without saying anything and waited for Ariana on her porch.
“What?” she asked.
“Don’t be mad.” He looked at her.
“Carlos, I’m not the one who’s mad.”
He exhaled. “I know. I’m not mad. I promise. I just…I just wish I could spend more time with you.”
“We will,” she replied. “When I get my license and I have my car. We’ll see each other more. I’ll be taking Jimmy to his conditioning and practices and all that. We can see each other then. And, no offense, but things only get worse when we fight for no good reason.”
She saw him bite the inside of his mouth.
“I mean, is everything okay with you?” She walked right up to his window. “I just notice sometimes you get kind of tense.”
“I’m fine. I just have some things on my mind.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.
“No, I’m good. So when are you taking the test?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Good,” he said. She shut the door, and he left.
Mayra came to stand next to her.
Ariana spoke without looking at her friend. “He didn’t even remember that my birthday’s tomorrow.”
***
Ariana opened her eyes and shut off her alarm. Today was November 17th. Her seventeenth birthday. She still couldn’t believe it was already here.
She jumped out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and jeans. Today, she and her dad were heading to the DMV so she could take her driving test. She brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a ponytail, all in about two minutes, and then power walked to the living room. Her dad was finishing breakfast, and Jimmy was still asleep.
Her mom came over and gave her a hug, squeezing each cheek. “Feliz cumpleaños.” Ariana walked over to her dad and gave him a hug too. He put his arm around her.
“Ready?” she asked him.
“You’re not going to eat?” her mom asked. She brought one last gordita to her dad. It was a small but thick tortilla filled with pinto beans, egg, sausage, and salsa.
Ariana shook her head. “I’ll eat when we get back.”
“Those lines can get long,” her dad said, taking a bite.
“It’s okay. I just don’t want to ea
t. I’m not hungry.”
Her mom clearly disagreed with her decision but walked back into the kitchen to check on the other gorditas on the stove.
Her dad finished eating, drank some water, and said, “Okay. Let’s go. You got everything?” She grabbed a folder with some paperwork from the top of the television in the living room.
“Yep.” She grabbed the keys, her car keys, from near the front door, put on her shoes, and headed outside.
Twenty minutes later, they were at the DMV office. They walked in. It was overflowing with people. Crap, she thought. Her stomach was rumbling already.
“Let’s take a seat,” her dad said, leading the way to two empty chairs. Ariana grabbed a number on the way.
Forty minutes and lots of foot tapping later, her number was finally called, and she and her dad went up to one of the counters along the far wall.
She handed over the paperwork.
“Not yet,” the lady said. “You need to fill this out first.” She handed her a clipboard with an attached pen.
“Do you know how long it’s going to be before I can take the test?”
“What time is your appointment?”
“Appointment? I don’t have one.” She put the clipboard back down.
The lady just stared at her like she had grown antennae. “You didn’t make an appointment?”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to.”
Her dad looked at her. “I’ve never known of having to make an appointment,” he said in Spanish.
“My dad said he thought you didn’t have to make one.”
“The rules have changed. You have to have an appointment to take the test.” She took back the clipboard and clicked her mouse a few times. “When can you come back?”
Ariana’s eyes were so full of tears she couldn’t see the calendar taped to the counter.
“Um, next weekend. Saturday.” She cleared her throat. Her dad patted her shoulder. “Okay. I’ve got you for next Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Be here fifteen minutes early.” She finished writing down the appointment date and time and handed it to her.
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