by Kamille Rose
"I should get going but thank you again. Goodnight, Joseph."
"Buenas noches, Mariposa." (Goodnight, Butterfly.)
I reluctantly got out of the car and scurried across the street. Joseph beeped at me and I waved him off from where I stood.
“Did you have fuuuun?” Alex asked as we walked to her front door shoulder to shoulder.
I took a section of my damp hair and rang it out for emphasis. “I think so.”
Later that night at home, I was in bed - much dryer - reading when my phone pinged with a notification. Joseph. I opened his message to find a GIF. It was of a dog lying with its paws wrapped around a tiny cat. The words "sleep tight" were displayed in big bold blue letters with tons of crescent moon and red heart emojis.
A wide smile took over my face as I typed a reply to him. Truthfully, he had me smiling and feeling light for nearly the entire night. I wanted to feel like this all the time.
Chapter Four
The morning after my wild night with Joseph, I woke up feeling happy. I was happy because I pushed myself to do something I never even dreamed of doing. I was also happy to be getting my presentation for Klein out of the way. Still, in the back of my mind was the niggling fear of choking on my words, but I tried to block it out and went to get dressed for the day.
Something in me said I should be bold. My eyes landed on a pair of long high waisted black slacks. I matched them with a red blouse and black pumps. After looking in the mirror, I felt ready to take on the day.
"Buenos dias!" I sang, waltzing into the kitchen. "Oh, Pa, I thought you'd be off by now.”
He was by the Keurig, preparing a cup of coffee. "Oh, and here I was thinking you'd be happy to spend some extra time with me.”
He and my mom were talking over a lovely spread of berries, pancakes and turkey bacon that bellowed a wonderful symphony of aromas to my nose.
"Mhm! Of course I want breakfast."
My dad simply rolled his eyes at me and continued talking. I mean, I did get my appetite from him after all.
"I wanted to share breakfast with my two favorite girls, and Sienna you look lovely."
"Thank youuu.” I took a seat at the table and helped myself to the stack of fluffy golden pancakes.
"Are you ready for your presentation today?" my mom asked while sipping her tea.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Last night's session really helped get my nerves under control."
My public speaking nerves that is. I felt a little less anxious about getting up in front of the class, but this morning's jitters revolved around something else.
"You'll do fantastic," my dad chimed in.
Approximately three pancakes, a handful of blackberries and one glass of orange juice later, it was time to head out.
"Ready?" my mom asked as I wiped my face with a napkin.
"Ready. Bye, Pa."
⋅. ✯ .⋅
I looked over the quad to find Joseph and Alex chatting it up. They always looked so deep in their thoughts. I walked along the stone path to our meeting spot instead of walking through the grass like I usually do. There was no way I was going to risk getting my heels stuck two inches into the dirt.
"Hey!” I cheered, approaching the two. Joseph's eyes widened, telling me he was a fan of my outfit.
"Sienna, you look —"
"GIRL!!! you look so good! Who are you trying to impress?" Alex shouted, cutting Joseph off.
"No one, you goof."
"You should dress up more often," he said, sending me a warm smile.
I shook my head, smiling shyly back at him. "Nah, that'd lessen the effect I have on people when I do dress up and where's the fun in that?"
"Are you ready for English?" he asked.
"Definitely,” I replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Oh, and Alex, I missed you this morning. Mom made pancakes."
"Sorry I didn't give you a heads up. I was with this one bright and early to help him out with some stuff,” she said, patting Joseph’s shoulder.
"Yeah, sorry I stole your breakfast companion. This should hopefully be the only time I need her," Joseph said.
"What was it you needed help with?” I asked.
His hand slowly moved to the back of his neck. "Oh- uh... It was a bit of a personal er-project."
"You don't have to get into detail about anything.”
I didn't ask any more questions, especially because of the last time I got curious. After all, he had known Alex for over a decade and I'm sure they’d gone through many things together. Of course he'd need her now and then. I respected him and his privacy.
The three of us chatted until the bell rang. In class, Joseph took his seat in the back and I sat in my usual spot in the front row.
"Good morning everybody!" Mr. Klein greeted the class. "Today we'll begin presentations for your papers, and I can only hope that the majority of you have done what was asked of you.”
He paced down the front row of desks, to the back of the class and back to the front. “Everyone will have 6 minutes to talk, and since you are one of my larger classes, I'll give you today's class period and Friday to wrap this up. Without further ado, let's begin."
The class groaned in unison. Sounds a teacher loves to hear. "We'll be doing this in order of submission, so up first is Miss Sienna Martinez!"
I took a deep breath and started on my way to the front of the class with a couple of flashcards in-hand.
"Fire when ready," Klein said.
I shuffled through the six cards making sure I had all my main points before I started.
"Books have always intrigued me... I uh...books —"
Oh no. I quickly scanned the classroom for a familiar face when I finally landed on Joseph, his eyes already on me. He mouthed the words "Talk to me," giving me an encouraging smile.
Momentarily shutting my eyes, I rolled my shoulders and let the tension fall away. Everything would be fine.
"Books have always intrigued me. To me, one of the greatest adventures is being able to dive into the story of someone else's life and the best part of that is never knowing what to expect..."
Chapter Five
As the days turned into weeks and weeks to months, Joseph effortlessly slotted himself into my life, becoming one of the best things about it. When Alex and I would study at the library, he'd be there sitting in the chair across from me.
No matter what he was doing, whether it was when he absentmindedly tapped his finger in a 1-2-3 rhythm when he was deep in thought, wrinkled his nose when he was hungry, or when he'd be immersed in his camera reviewing shots he'd taken the week before, I was always stealing glances at him.
Sometimes I’d look up to find Joseph staring right back, and each time, his eyes were shimmering and wild with something unidentifiable. I’d tear my eyes away, battling with my heart to keep calm, only to hear a short chuckle coming from him knowing he'd provoked me with a single look.
He also seemed to read me and understand me more thoroughly than anyone ever had. It was in the way he knew intuitively how to calm me. It was in the way he kneaded the muscles in my shoulders, tight after a long day at my desk. It was in the way he sensed when I was craving sweets and surprised me with cookies. I was quickly adapting to him and him to me.
⋅. ✯ .⋅
I was getting ready to head out the door when my mom stopped me.
"Where are you going?" she asked, arching a brow.
"I'm going to the library with Alex and Joseph before school starts, remember?"
"Joseph, that's the boy whose house you went to, correct?"
"Yes."
"I want to meet him."
"W-what do you mean?? Why???"
I was utterly horrified.
"I'd like to know the company my child keeps," she answered, folding her arms across her chest.
"Mom, Joseph is a good person, like I told you before. He and Alex have been friends for over a decade. She wouldn't have even let me near him if he were a person with bad intentions."
"Huh. Well, if you two think so highly of him, then surely it wouldn't be a problem if I met him. What are his grades like? Have you met his parents? Are they good people? Did they go to school? In fact, I’d like to meet them too."
I felt my patience dwindling and my head swelling. "Mom, I really should get going. Alex is waiting for me outside. May I please leave?"
"You may. But I'll be calling Jenn down at the library to check in later."
As soon as she spoke the last word, I sped out the front door and down the block where Joseph and Alex stood talking outside of his car. I bent over with my hands on my knees, a little out of breath.
"Whoa, you okay?" Joseph asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright. It's just... my mom being my mom. The usual. This time I was much more eager to leave."
"Then shall we be on our way?"
"Please."
Joseph hopped into the front seat and I was heading for the back when Alex blocked the door with her body.
"What are you doing? Move it,” I muttered.
"Get in front.”
"You get in the front. I wanna sit in the back.”
"Sienna, just get your ass in the seat."
I didn't dare argue any longer, not with that stubborn mule. Why she was so insistent on me sitting in the front escaped me, but I didn't want this to seem like a bigger deal than it was. I slid into the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt, shooting a glance at Joseph who was adjusting the mirrors. As I turned away, he caught my stare and gave me a small smile.
"Nice of you to join me,” he said.
A short drive later, we were at the library. Joseph cracked open a textbook and I took out my chem notebook to go over some lab notes.
"Oh, so we're here to study study," Alex said, with genuine surprise written over her face. Joseph and I shared a knowing look and laughed. "Well, alright."
Reviewing the post-lab questions was easy. After completing that, I did some extra practice worksheets I snagged from the work bin earlier this week. Chemistry was not my favorite class, but it was a graduation requirement, so I had to suck it up.
The first worksheet was on balancing chemical equations, easy. I was multiplying and rattling off elements like the ABCs. That was until thoughts of what my mom said earlier had resurfaced. She wanted to meet Joseph.
It may not have seemed like that big of a deal on the outside, but from having been on the inside, it certainly was. Every scenario my brain thought up ended with Joseph being judged and then scared off. I dealt with that enough myself.
My head suddenly felt ten pounds too heavy and fell against the cool wood of the table. I groaned in frustration, ready to rip out the strands of my hair one by one.
“Mariposa.”
There had to be a way out of this.
“Mariposa.”
When I finally lifted my head, I was hit with a wad of paper.
“Hey! Was that necessary?” I exclaimed. Joseph only seemed amused.
“Definitely. You were frowning and it’s my lifelong duty to make you smile.”
“Be still my heart.”
My sarcasm wasn’t lost on him. He laughed, leaning forward into my table space. “What’s wrong? I wanna help.”
His tone was earnest, so I caved just a little. “I’m stressed,” I said, gesturing to the worksheets in front of me.
“Then take a break. Give it five minutes, you’re always studying.”
“Fine. 5 minutes. Entertain me, Mister Vasquez.”
“I have a story.”
“Let’s hear it. Time’s a-tickin’.” I tapped my imaginary watch.
“One time, my dad brought me with him to the shooting range for… fun. We have a pretty solid relationship, but we never really did a lot of bonding activities.”
“Oh-ho-ho, I know where this is going and it’s my favorite story ever,” Alex said, disregarding her notes to listen in.
“Be quiet. Anyway, the only time I’ve ever even seen a gun was in the movies, so I was stoked. Thought I’d finally get to live out my boyhood dreams of being a secret agent.”
“Well, you have the dashing good looks of one,” I commented.
In response I received a wink and giggled, a sound only Joseph had the power to evoke from me.
“I watched my dad gear up and take aim at the targets in the field, getting ready to shoot, but I wasn’t prepared for the sound of the gunfire up close.” He shrugged, averting his eyes. “Once he pulled the trigger, I pissed myself.”
My eyes widened. “Actually?”
“Actually,” Joseph confirmed.
“Do I have permission to laugh?” I asked, holding my breath.
“Go ahead. My endgame was to make you feel better, even if it was at my own expense.”
“Hahaha! Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. But, I mean, you were a kid. I don’t blame you for reacting that way.”
Alex scoffed. “Yeah, a kid.”
I did a double take. “Were- were you not a kid when this happened? Was this recent?”
“Y’know, I don’t think it matters how old I was. You’re happy now, right?”
“Take out Alex and you’ve got yourself a judgement free zone. But yes, I’m happy.”
“Good, now back to work,” he said, jabbing his pencil in the direction of my worksheets. There was an easy smile on his lips.
“Oh, and can I borrow your vocab sheet for Klein?” he added.
"Check the blue folder in my bag.”
"Got it. First period starts in about 11 minutes so we should get going soon before we're late. Do you mind if I hang on to the sheet?"
"Not at all, I know the material pretty well. Give it back when you're set."
"Cool, thanks."
⋅. ✯ .⋅
I had the chance to clear my head and focus on something other than my mom once we arrived at school. Klein's class was always a nice start to the day, and I was even happier knowing that I'd be working with the prom committee - the only club I willingly joined - at the end of the day.
With the event nearing soon, we had to kick things into high gear. Call me cheesy, but I've always dreamed about what my prom night would look like, from who I'd be waltzing around the floor with, to what sorts of decorations would be hung up.
But being able to put some of my ideas out there and gather those of my peers, together we were on our way to organizing a night that the senior class would never forget. Although I wasn't sure I'd be attending because my mom deemed school dances unproductive, I still wanted everyone else to have a magical time.
“Sienna?”
I twirled around, clipboard in hand, to meet Mariah as she walked over to me. "Hey, what's up?
"I was sifting through a box of decorations from last year and I found nothing but ratty streamers. They looked like they were used for children's birthday parties over and over until they fell apart," she finished with an exaggerated scrunch of her freckled button nose.
"Oh, that is not good."
I deliberately paused, waiting to hear her brilliant new idea. During our meetings, the jingling of her charm bracelet became a constant sound as she always raised her hand, inputting on issues we've had or offering innovative ideas. And right on cue, she had yet another.
"There are a few spools of this beautiful metallic rose silk fabric that are in pretty good condition. I was thinking we could use them and create new streamers or garlands or even decorate the tables with them. What do you think?"
Looking at her, I couldn't help but smile. She was bouncing on the heels of her feet and her eyes sparkled with creativity when she spoke about the silk. It was as if she discovered a waterhole in a barren desert. Who was I to say no? Not to mention it was a fantastic idea. We didn't even have to spend any extra money.
"Go nuts. If you'd like we can do all three. I just have to run through the checklist and check out the other boxes in storage, so go grab Khai and Mindy to help you out for now. I think they were at the vending machines."
"Ok
ay, awesome. Catch up later," she said, skipping away.
Catering was being done by Gio's, there’d be a musical performance by a local band, and decorations were in progress.
"This is looking amaziiiiing," I sang to myself, wiggling side to side.
"I have to agree with you, Mariposa. You've done an awesome job here."
"Gosh, Joseph! Why must you keep doing that? What in Hades' inferno are you doing here?!" I sighed, clutching the clipboard as if it would protect me.
He quirked a brow. "Hades' inferno? That's a new one, but uh- I'm on the committee now. Y’know, I wanted to contribute to the school climate,” he answered, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. I gave him a small smile.
"Well, this was the right way to go. Most people think after school clubs are boring and or ‘extra’," I said, putting my hands up in air quotes. "Personally, I think you can learn a lot by becoming a part of your school community.”
“Yeah, for sure.”
“My mom is the one who pushed me to join clubs like foreign language or crew for school plays, but I got the chance to meet good people with a common goal: creating a better environment. Student council has to be my favorite club because I get to fight for the students to have a voice,” I said, clasping my hands together enthusiastically. “We can organize events like proms, pep rallies, and help plan field trips and college visits. High school doesn't have to be something you dread. It’s all about what you put in.”
Joseph stared at me with a pensive look on his face. It made me wince. "That was a lot of talking, wasn’t it?"
"No, keep going. I like it when you get all excited about stuff. I think your pep is rubbing off on me." And there it was, the smirk.
"Are you sure you aren't stalking me? I mean, I have been seeing a lot of you lately. More than usual." I cocked my head to the side with a slow grin forming on my lips.
"Honestly? I might be. But I really do want to get involved as much as I can," he said.
"Hm. Then I'll put in a good word for you. As of right now, you're on moving duty,” I said, clapping my hands together assertively.
“There are about four or five boxes of decorations in the storage room with your name on em. They need to be moved to the center of the stage.”