When Life Gets in the Way

by Ines Vieira

  I get up and make my way to the door with the rest of the herd when I feel a hand tugging my sleeve. When I turn around, I curse myself for not having noticed her sooner. She has the biggest eyes I have ever seen, under those black framed glasses. She´s shorter than me but not by much, just enough that she needs to slant her face up in order for me to have a full view of her face. And what a face it is, perfectly drawn lips and dimples to boot. She smiles and I´m mesmerized.

  This must be my welcoming committee. Again, there is always one in every high school. There is always that one kid that will come up to talk to a perfect stranger just to be nice and help out with the transition. From what I see, this girl will do just fine in making me feel welcomed. Plenty fine!

  “Hi, I´m Cass, and I´m a friend of your cousin´s. You´re Isaac, right?” she says holding her books to her chest while taking off her glasses and placing them on top of her head.

  «Oh darling, I’ll be whoever you want me to be» I think and smirk.

  “Yeah, I´m Isaac. So you´re friends with which cousin? It´s a pretty big family darling, so you’re going to have to be a bit more precise than that.” I say still sneering but step back so I can get a better view of what is in front of me.

  Long wavy auburn hair, and curves in all the right places. She’s wearing only a white v-neck t-shirt and blue jeans, which on anyone else would look plain and dull. But on her, I feel that she is overdressed.

  “Jess. I’m friends with Jessica.” Her tone has changed. She´s annoyed.

  «What? No longer friendly and welcoming? Oh well, that’s a shame. » I think to myself and start walking the halls.

  There are kids all over the place which by the way when you’re new only makes it harder to know exactly where the fuck you are. I haven´t been able to find my locker since first period and at this rate, I won´t find it by the end of the day. All the halls seem the same to me in this fucking school. All pale dull yellow with dull gray lockers on them. Even the same stupid posters and signs for the Plymouth football team seem to be repeated in every hallway. How the hell can I tell them apart when each hall looks like a carbon copy of the next?

  I look over and see that Jess´s friend is still walking beside me. She´s probably debating if she should give this another try. Ok, I’ll help her out.

  “So Cass, is that short for something?” I ask, still walking ahead trying to make out number 128 on any locker. I’m sure that it was on this floor.

  “Cassandra.” She says still annoyed and now a little irritated.

  “I’m sorry, but are you late for something? You almost knocked into that freshman!” She looks at me straight on.

  Shit! I didn´t even see the kid. I do now, though. He’s a little chubby kid, now picking up his stuff that´s all over the floor. Probably the result of trying to get out of my way, or everyone else’s in the hallway, if I’m honest. Kid looks like he was in diapers just yesterday.

  Cass is on the ground with him already picking up what looks to be comic books, school books and other crap that has Minecraft logos on it. She smiles at him while she helps him get up and I swear the kid just grew five inches taller for her.

  “So sorry, are you ok?” She says sweetly, placing a hand on his shoulder. I suddenly have the urge to hurl myself on the floor just to get that same smile thrown my way.

  “Hey, kid, sorry about that. I really didn´t see you. I’m kinda new here so I don’t know where the hell I´m going. Sorry, I guess I was pretty distracted. We cool?”

  The kid looks at me and with the voice of a 50-year-old man that has smoked 2 packs a day his entire life, and lets out a; “We´re cool.,” and grins. I look over at Cass and her eyes are even wider than before - if that is at all possible, with her hand covering the biggest smile on her face.

  “Hey little guy, you sure you´re supposed to be in high school? With a voice like that, I could swear that you got a wife and two kids at home!” I tell him placing my hand on his shoulder.

  “What´s your name kid?” I ask him, now following him down the hall.

  “Brandon, my name´s Brandon,” He says nervously with that baritone voice.

  “Ok Brandon. How about I make you a deal? You help me out and try to find my locker with me, and I´ll make sure that no one bumps into you until your next class. What do you say?”

  Brandon nods, his face beaming. Cass is looking at us both, and I think trying to see if Brandon will be okay in my care. I know I should be offended, but I´m not. I know that I wasn´t exactly Prince Charming five minutes ago.

  “It´s okay Cass. We’ll be fine, won’t we buddy? See you later, yeah?”

  “Okay.” She says giving Brandon one last smile and giving me one last “You better not screw around with this kid or I´ll have your balls in a blender” look and turns around to leave on the opposite side of the corridor. Damn. She even looks good from behind!

  “Okay, Brandon, so where do you think I can find locker 128?” I say reluctantly taking my eyes off Cass.

  CHAPTER 2

  CASS

  I was the first to arrive at our usual spot outside for lunch. I decided that I should start by covering some of my notes from Spanish class to get a jump start for tonight’s study group at Jess´s house. The study group was something that all three of us did for any class that we had together. It had become our own small tradition to get us ready for any upcoming test. However, after meeting Isaac this morning, I didn´t know if I would be comfortable at Jess´s for long if he was living there now.

  He was not what I had expected. When he came in Mr. Wilson’s Economics Class and introduced himself as Isaac Silva, I knew straight away that he was the cousin Jess was raving about earlier. Even though he looked nothing like her.

  First of all, he was blond, not like the rest of the Silva clan that I had met over the years. They were either brunettes or had dark black hair. This was also the first one that I met that didn´t have his hair short or full of product. His hair was long and wild, like he woke up this morning, ran his fingers through it and called it a day. And even though he was tan, probably due to living under the Arizona sun for so long, he didn´t have that olive oil skin that came with being a Silva.

  No, if I was to guess, one of his parents was very fair and very beautiful. Because even though he had been abhorrent this morning, I couldn’t say that I was immune to what I saw. He was tall and lean. It was easy to make out a six pack through his navy long-sleeved shirt. There was no need for any imagination to appreciate the large shoulders he had to carry those toned arms. And before he called me darling and gave me the once over, I was actually interested in leaning in and getting a better look at those enticing blue eyes too.

  But he had acted like a creep, staring at me like he was taking my clothes off right in front of Mr. Wilson. Then to prove that he was an obnoxious ass, he walked out into the hallway expecting everyone to get out of his way, not even looking at where he was going.

  Poor Brandon. I hope he´d be okay. I should have gone with him. I shouldn’t have let that jerk alone with him. I only did so, because Isaac’s face had changed when he saw Brandon on the floor in total panic. He was actually kind when he spoke to Brandon. I remember feeling that Isaac would look out for him in the end. He had that same look in his eyes that I saw on the Jess’s dad when he talked to the little kids in the neighborhood. I saw the resemblance then.

  I heard laughter directed my way so I closed my notebook to see who was coming. Ronnie placed her tray in front of mine, giggling in response to something that Decker must have said.

  “Hi, Cass! Are we still on for tonight?” She said as Decker kissed her cheek and she giggled some more.

  Ronnie and Decker had been inseparable since freshman year. Wherever Ronnie went, Decker was never far behind and vice versa. Decker wanted to play football, Ronnie became a cheerleader. Ronnie became head of the prom committee; Decker got all the guys from the team to help out with anything she needed to get the job done.

&
nbsp; They were both very athletic. All day long, they either talked about sports or were doing something outdoorsy. If they weren’t talking about some sporting event they enlisted in, they were in their own little world hushing sweet nothings in each other’s ears or looking into each other’s eyes having silent conversations. It was nauseating to watch so many public displays of affection. But at the same time, it was also extremely adorable.

  Of course, both of them applied to Virginia, so between the three of us, Ronnie was the one not going solo to college.

  “Of course. Already getting into the mood as we speak, Senhorita Veronica.”

  “Bueno, Bueno!” Ronnie giggles. “Cass, I was just texting Jess and we were kind of thinking that we could make a night of it. We could sleep over at Jess´s tonight and that way we could really cram for this as much as possible. What do you think?” She asked taking a bite of her grape.

  “I guess...” I now have two things against this idea. First, I promised mom that I wouldn´t be home late and the thought of yet another night me flaking on her brought a fresh new tinge of guilt. Second I recalled how Isaac had looked at me like I was a free steak dinner. Neither explanation would do. Both Ronnie and Jess would be on my case wanting to know why the hell I wouldn´t sleep over. We’ve been doing it for years, so why say no now?

  “Sure, I´ll call my mom and let her know.”

  “Great. I´ll be over just before dinner. Cheerleading practice should be finished around six. I´ll just pass by my house to grab my stuff and meet you there. Hey, so have you met Isaac yet? The girls from the squad haven’t stopped texting me about him to get more info!” She says while looking at Decker teasing.

  “Well, I hope you told them that you got a man already and that you got better things to do with your time than getting info on a guy just so they can get some!” Decker says stealing a grape from Ronnie´s plate and winking over at me.

  “How I do love it when you get territorial on me Deck,” she grabs his face to give him and R-rated kiss.

  “Guys, please! I´m eating over here!” I joke and throw a scrunched up paper napkin at them. As I do this I see Jess coming over with her cousin Tony and of course, Isaac.

  “Hi guys,” she says as they all sit-down. To my exasperation, Isaac takes the seat next to me. “Has everyone met Isaac?”She asks. Jess is all bright-eyed and beaming.

  Damn it! She adores this asshole. I take a deep breath, knowing that I´m going to have to play nice with this jerk for Jess´s sake. It´s clear to everyone at the table that Jess is ecstatic at having Isaac return to Plymouth. Tony looks pleased too, hugging Isaac´s shoulders with one arm as Jess introduces him to everyone.

  “Isaac, these two lovely young ladies are my very best friends. This is Ronnie and her eternal shadow, Decker,” she says teasing.

  “Funny, Jess! You’re a bundle of laughs.” Decker scowls, giving her a nasty look.

  “I´m kidding, duh?! And this is Cass, my partner in crime.” Jess says, winking over at me.

  “Well, hello again,” he says it in a way that only I can hear and offers me his hand as a greeting. I recoil from touching him, but then see Jess looking at us all incandescent. I decide to just get it over with and shake his hand, which forces me to turn his way and be face to face with him. His smug look tells me he knows that the last thing that I want to do is to have any sort of bodily contact with him. His eyes, though, those I wasn’t ready to see. They were extraordinary. Sky blue with little white specks all over them. They looked honest, but at the same time, I saw angst and pain in them. To anyone else looking, his crooked smile would be enough camouflage to distract them from seeing what those eyes held, but I couldn´t look away from them. They were a complete contradiction of the boy I had met this morning. When he took my hand I felt a sudden jolt go through my entire body. Like my heart had stopped beating for five seconds and it needed to be revived with bolts of electricity.

  I quickly took my hand from his, trying to gather my composure and make sure that what just happened wasn´t witnessed by anyone else at our table. No one noticed, even though I could swear my face must be beetroot red and my heart beat was loud enough to be heard from inside my chest.

  Everyone was describing life at Riverside High to Isaac, when I spotted Nicky goofing off with his friends on the other side of the lunch area. That was just what I needed, an excuse to leave and put some distance on what just happened. I could also give him the heads up on the impromptu sleepover. Mom would be okay with it, but I want to make sure that Nick won’t make any plans of his own. At least one of us should be home tonight.

  “Guys, I just need to talk to Nick for a sec. I´ll see you guys later,” I say already getting up from the table and trying desperately not to make any eye contact with Isaac, even though I can feel his eyes on me.

  “Sure babe. We´ll meet up later then.” Jess says giving me her ‘What’s up face?’ I ignore it and leave as fast as possible without looking back.

  ISAAC

  Everyone is babbling about Friday´s game and how recruiters are already coming to games this year. Apparently this is all due to Decker. Ronnie is gibbering on and on about how he has been the best quarterback Riverside has seen in years. Next to Ronnie he looks like Goliath incarnate. The dude is huge and not someone I would like to be alone with in a dark alley.

  But that´s not what has my attention. While Ronnie is busy gushing over Decker´s football accomplishments, I´m staring at the table far behind her.

  I see Cass sitting next to another giant. This one is definitely not involved in any school sporting events. From what I can tell from where I´m sitting, that whole table, apart from Cass, is either Emo or has some sort of Goth vibe to them. Not what I expected Cass to be into. She would have looked out of place if it wasn´t for the tall dude with the disheveled hair with his arm around her. For some unknown reason, I didn´t like the sight of that. I saw that when she approached the table, everyone greeted Cass and made room for her to sit next to the ‘I torture small animals, just for fun’ dude. So apparently they must be a thing. I recognize a twinge of disappointment; even though I know that she is safer dating Marilyn Manson over there than she would be with me. I had a bad habit of getting a girl and then losing all interest five minutes later.

  Just another side effect of being my father´s son.

  I try to focus on what’s being discussed, but continue to be miles away. Jess takes Cass´s seat next to me.

  “Hey, you ok?” She looks at me with a puzzled look on her face. I smile at her and fake giving her a little punch under her chin.

  “Sure kiddo. Just wondering how mom´s day is going at the store with your dad. Hope she´s getting the hang of it.” Her eyes show me that she understands and she squeezes my knee.

  “Do you want me to go with you after class to the store and see how she´s doing?”

  “No, prima. That´s okay. I know that you have a study thing tonight. You do your thing and I´ll see you at dinner. Tony and Alex are going to meet up with me at the end of class and we´ll drop by the store then. Do you have a ride home?”

  “Cass will take me,” she says giving me that all winning smile. That’s another reason not to hit on Cass. I would totally lose my little cousin´s affection and trust. There was no way I was going to let that happen. So it was a good thing that Cass was already in a relationship. There would be less temptation that way. Jess didn´t have to know how much of a dick I was from one of her best friends. I made a conscious decision not to get close to Cass. From what I was able to observe, Cass, although having peculiar taste in men, had a good head on her shoulders. The fact that she was also someone dear to my baby cousin was enough of a reason to maintain my distance. So that would mean hands off.

  As I look around, I see a table full of cheerleaders looking our way giggling and swooning. Yeah, it wouldn’t be hard to distract myself with one of those girls. In a week or so I wouldn’t even remember Cass’s name, although my hand was still tingling fro
m her touch...

  When we got to the store, there were about 8 to 10 customers in line for the cash register. My uncle´s store was well located on Main Street. It wasn´t huge like your regular supermarket, but it wasn´t small either. It held products from all over the world, and here in Plymouth, the community was as diverse as ever. My uncle was extremely savvy to pick up on this and open a store where all these different cultures could go to and get a product or produce that they would normally only be able to get from where they were from originally.

  Each aisle had a small flag to represent the origin of its products - from Ireland to Italy; from Nigeria to Germany, and at the very back of the store, there was an entire wall full of shelves containing Portuguese products with the Portuguese flag hung high above it all. Those shelves held everything from the old country, from bacalhau to chouriço, to pastéis de belém. If any ‘Tuga’ client asked for a certain something to make them feel less homesick, Uncle Carlos would have it shipped in a heartbeat.

  I have never been to Portugal, and neither have most of my cousins but our folks came from the old country or from the islands of Azores or Madeira. (If not them, then their parents had.) My father and uncle had come over when they were still kids. Most of their family had settled here way before my grandparents made the move. My grandmother on my father side is still alive and kicking at 80 and had been in the States for over 40 years, but she still prefers to speak in Portuguese rather than English most of the time. I always suspected that she used her inability to talk fluent English as an excuse for all of us to continue to learn the language. She made sure that we all kept strong ties to our Portuguese heritage.

  My mother was born in Arizona. She thinks that her lineage is Dutch, but her family wasn´t as good with keeping up with those sorts of things. When we lived there these past years, most of the kids thought I was from across the border, even though I couldn’t speak a word of Spanish to save my life. They only came to that conclusion, when my father decided that he should pick me up after class one day and curse at me in Portuguese. I looked nothing like the prick. He was tall and built like a fortress, even in his mid-forties. He always seems to be tanned, even in winter. And then there was his hair and eye color. Black as tar. I always thought it was very poetic how his eyes were like pools of nothingness, just like his soul.