I decide to keep the phone conversation I had with Ramon last night to myself. If I mention it, all Kira will want to know is what we talked about, and I'm not sure if I want to share it with her yet. I'm not sure what I want to do with that information at all. So I settle with just saying, “I wouldn't jump to conclusions on that.” She really wants Ramon to be guilty. I don't think the fact that Ramon didn't want anybody to hear his conversation is so out of character for him. Ramon always seeks privacy when he's on the phone.
To my dismay, Kira ignores this comment and slightly changes topic, “I got my own cell phone today.”
“Oh cool, you've wanted one for a while,” I say. Kira with her own phone is going to solve a lot of our problems with communication. This is going to be very handy. “What's the number?”
She tells me and then says excitedly, “I was thinking, since no one has this number, I can text Ramon and try to find out information from him.”
“What are you going to say?” I ask. The execution of this plan will be very important.
“Oh, I am just going to harass him and see if I can get him to admit to anything,” Kira says off handedly.
“You can do that,” I tell her. “Just don't bring me into it, and don't start any trouble.” It does not seem like she has conceived this plan very well, and I could see it going sour really quickly. But at the same time, maybe she has thought it through better than I realize.
“Oh, don't worry, I won't. I won't take it too far.”
I take Kira's word for this and don't think too much about it anymore. Nothing has come of anything that Kira and I have tried to do so far, so I doubt anything will happen now.
* * *
I am stuck in LA traffic on the 405. This traffic is murderous. It has taken me an hour to go one mile. Everything seems to have completely stopped. There must be some sort of sporting event going on. As a new driver, this is the worst traffic, and only traffic, I have ever experienced. Is it always this bad? Everyone always talks about how hard it is to drive in traffic, and I'm not sure why. It's not hard to go nowhere. It's just frustrating to go nowhere. I'm starting to question myself as to why I got myself into this as my thigh starts cramping up from pushing on the brake pedal for so long. I've never driven in LA, and so I wanted to experience it. I guess I'm getting more experience than I ever bargained for.
As I'm sitting there, bored out of my mind, I get a text message from Scott. Normally I strictly don't look at text messages while I'm driving. But, there's no way of telling how long it'll be until I can get out of my car. AND I don't think I have taken my foot off of the brake for the last ten minutes. Deciding to see this as an opportunity for entertainment in the middle of a mundane drive, I read Scott's text. “Do you know this number: 428-5081?”
Even though I haven't really talked to Kira since yesterday when she told me about her new phone, I recognize it as Kira's new number. Not wanting to betray my friend, I tell him simply, “No.”
“I am worried because Ramon is going to beat that guy's ass tonight,” Scott responds.
In a way I am not surprised, and even though I know it is just Kira messing around with Ramon, I still don't want Ramon getting into a fight. “Don't worry about it. I will talk to Ramon. I will take care of it,” I tell Scott.
I know that the easy way to deal with this mistake is to tell Ramon that Kira was the one who was texting him. But, that would betray my best friend's trust. So instead, I call up Kira. “Did you tell Ramon to fight you?” I ask her.
“No, of course not.”
“Because he is planning to fight whoever has your cell phone number today, and well, I think we should stop him since it's really nothing,” I tell her.
“Oh my God. He's actually going to that? I didn't think he actually would.” Kira sounds like she totally doesn't care and thinks Ramon is the stupidest person on Earth.
“Kira, I think you should call him and tell him not to go since YOU made this mess,” I tell her assertively. I had asked Kira not to get me involved, and that's exactly what's happening. The least she can do is fix this problem she's created.
Fortunately, Kira consents, and I trust that this is no longer a problem. As my car inches forward for the first time in ten minutes, I find myself thinking Kira can usually dissuade Ramon from going to fights. Also, I think that since Kira is the one Ramon was texting, if he does go to this fight, nobody else will show up. After a while he will think he's been stood up and will go home. And so I figure the problem is solved, and I have managed not to betray anyone in the process.
Four hours later, it is about 8:00 pm. I am still in LA, though finally on my way home, and to my surprise, Scott texts me again. “I thought you said there was nothing to worry about!”
This is the first time I have thought about the whole episode since I talked to Kira. Now I am back into fast traffic, so it is definitely not safe for me to text Scott back. I call him, holding the phone with one hand, steering with the other.
“What happened? Did Ramon fight someone?” I ask Scott.
“Yeah. He went to Pureza Elementary and there were these two guys there, and they beat him up so bad. When I got there, I found Ramon lying on the ground, unconscious. We're at the hospital right now,” Scott says, sounding worried.
I feel as if the floor has just dropped out from under me. “Oh shit. No way. Can I talk to him?” I am astounded. Could I have done more to prevent it? Did I not take this problem seriously enough?
“No, he's asleep.”
“How bad is he?” I ask, almost not wanting to know the answer.
“He broke a rib and got a hairline fracture in his hand,” Scott says.
I am at a loss for words. Remembering his boxing tournament I ask, “He's not going to be able to compete in the finals this Saturday, is he?”
“Probably not. We don't know yet. Ramon wants to try, but it depends on what the doctor says.” This sounds like a no. With these kinds of injuries, I can't see any way the doctor would let him. Ramon just wants to go because he's been working so hard on this competition and has been doing so well at it.
“I have a feeling he isn't going to get to go,” I tell Scott.
“Last week in the semi-finals, I got to walk with Ramon into the arena and take the front seat. It was the best experience ever; it made me feel powerful. He is a good friend,” Scott tells me. We are both coming to grasp the tragedy that's happened. I can only imagine how the semi-finals felt for Ramon when Scott got such a thrill out of them. I can feel my heart breaking for Ramon.
“Were you going to walk with him again during the finals?” I ask, trying to picture what would have been, but now will never happen.
“I asked Ramon if I could, and he said 'no.' He was going to ask 'someone special' to go with him.”
“Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder who it was,” I muse.
“I don't know. I tried to get him to tell me, and he wouldn't. Now I'll never know,” Scott responds.
I can't help but think Ramon was referring to me, because I know he has called me “someone special” before. At the same time, I can't see how Ramon would have asked me given all the shit that's been going down lately. Regardless, I would have really liked walking in with him. Ramon and I just lost a great experience.
“Kira, Ramon was hurt really badly. He probably won't be able to compete in his tournament anymore.” We are sitting down on the floor in her bedroom with the door shut for privacy. We have settled ourselves in the aisle between her bed and her desk. Her room is small, but always impeccably clean. Anyway, I am curious to see if Kira had any hand in Ramon getting jumped last night. It seems odd that Ramon got jumped at the time and place where he and Kira had agreed to meet up and fight… well, at least theoretically agreed to fight.
“I doubt he was even in a tournament,” she has no pity in her voice.
“Why would he lie about that?!? He was going to the finals; he could have won $25,000! That would have been really cool for him!”
I press upon her.
“He's so scrawny; I doubt he's any good at boxing. He's just saying that to get attention,” she replies lightly.
I'm not going to say anything because I don't agree, and I don't want to cause a fight. I think about this for a minute. “Kira, the reason why Ramon never tells me anything is because he thinks I will just tell you. He thinks that we are the same and think the same.” I have finally resolved what to do with the information Ramon gave me, and figure this is a good way to lead into my plan.
“Well, we are different people, and he should realize that,” she replies.
“Exactly. I know he's not telling me anything because he thinks I'll just tell you. Somehow we need to convince him that we are not friends any more. Then he can tell me what he knows, and I can relay that information to you!” I figure this is a good way to finally determine who has been behind everything, once and for all. A way to finally take all of the guesswork out of the equation.
“We have to make him think that we are in a really bad fight,” Kira says, talking more softly and quickly, looking around to make sure no one is listening, which of course no one is. “Let's pretend to get into a huge fight while he's around.”
Kira is right. This is it. The way we are going to get more information out of Ramon. “Okay.” I agree to Kira's plan. “Where do you want to meet him? At Pureza Elementary?”
“Sure that sounds good.” She nods her head thinking, “And you can stomp off and drive away! After the coast is clear, I can call you, and you can come back to pick me up!” This sounds brilliant. Another way to add extra drama to our fight, make it more believable.
“Ramon got out of the hospital this morning, so I can call him and tell him to meet us at Pureza because we want to see how he is doing.” I start getting out my phone as I say this. We are both feeling giddy with excitement. Will this actually work?
“Sure!” Kira agrees.
As the phone rings, I can see that she is trying to stifle her giggles. “Hi Ramon. I'm really sorry to hear what happened to you last night. Kira and I wanted to meet up with you at Pureza to check and see how you're doing.”
“Do we have to go to Pureza?” Ramon asks me with a pleading voice, “I am not too fond of that place right now.”
Right. I forgot that Pureza is where he was jumped. “Where else would you want to go?”
“Don't worry about it. I'll see you there soon,” Ramon says.
We hang up, and Kira and I climb into my car, two excited girls. Finally everything will be resolved.
Ramon is already at the elementary school when we get there, which is not a surprise since it is right by his house. He is sitting where we usually meet, in the shade, trying to escape the overwhelming heat that only Southern California can conjure up in the summer. When I see him, I suddenly want to cry for him. Ramon is sitting slightly rigid as if moving will cause him intense pain. When we approach, he turns to look at us slowly, and winces. I see that his eyes are all watery, and his hand is bandaged.
“Hi, how are you?” I ask. Ramon just shakes his head, lost for words under his circumstances. “Can I see your hand?”
He reaches out to let me see. I notice that his skin around the bandages has turned a pale shade of green, and I tenderly pull out his other hand so that I can compare the two. “Is it swollen?” I ask, mostly to let him know what I am doing.
“No, it's not,” Kira says, but I don't listen to her. She hasn't even taken a close look yet. I compare his hands, and I can see that one is noticeably thicker than the other one.
“Yes is it, look,” I say to her, showing her the swelling. It is only slightly swollen, but that is because the injury happened almost a day ago. I am sure it was larger initially. As a dancer who has sprained her ankle three times, I have a good idea about the behavior of swelling. “How did you fracture it?” I ask him.
“I hit the guy too hard, and it felt like my hand just ripped,” Ramon replied.
“Could we see your side?” Kira asks. There is an edge to her voice. She doesn't seem concerned, but calculating.
Ramon lifts up his shirt, and there is a slightly red mark there. “Oh wow, how did that happen?” I ask.
“When I was on the ground, one guy kicked me in the side,” Ramon explains.
“Where are your bandages?” Kira asks skeptically. I know that she doesn't believe that he was kicked even though he has a huge red mark on his side.
“It's so hot, I didn't feel like wearing them,” Ramon tells her defiantly. I can see his point because I'm sweating like a pig, and that's in the shade without exerting myself.
“Didn't the doctor give you some?” she pressures him.
Before Ramon can respond, I cut in. I see that this is the perfect opportunity to start the fight that Kira and I had come here to stage. “Kira, why do you keep asking him these things?” A flash of true anger erupts in her face as her eyes narrow and her eyebrows furrow. A second later I see her eyes widen just a little bit, just enough so that I can tell she's figured out what I'm up to, but not so much to really give us away. “Isn't it obvious Ramon is hurt? Just look at him!” I say. Starting this fight isn't hard for me at all. “Pretending” to be angry isn't hard either. I am just finally speaking what's on my mind.
“Mackenzie, you actually believe that?” she asks edgily, adding to our supposed tension.
“How can you not believe him!?” We are talking about Ramon like he isn't there. “You know what, Kira? I am sick of you always being suspicious of everybody for everything!”
Ramon starts leaving, obviously not wanting to be around for this. But, we want him to see the whole fight. We both realize that we have limited time to conclude our “spat.”
“You are a traitor Mackenzie!” Kira starts screaming. I feel my ears go red and my heart start to pump. Am I really getting angry? I think so.
“You're an awful friend! You know what, you can walk yourself home!” I start screaming back, Ramon disappears behind the corner. I get up and head for my car, following him. I want Ramon to stay, and I want to tell him the truth, so as I pass him I say, “I hate Kira; she is always causing problems. It's her fault that you got hurt so badly, and she doesn't even regret it or believe it.”
Ramon stops in his tracks, but I am already completely past him. “What?” he asks weakly.
“Kira was the one who was texting you! She's the one who is causing all of this fucking drama!” I am in the parking lot now, and the other two are there soon after, as I climb in my car.
“I HATE you, Mackenzie!” she screams at me, and it sounds like she has true anger also.
“All you care about is creating drama!” I yell back at her. “Go to hell!” I climb in my car and drive away, making my tires screech as I turn out of the parking lot. I am surprisingly very jittery. This pretend fight feels like it's echoing against my skull as I drive away. Are those the things Kira would really say if she knew what has been on my mind? I don't think I want to find out.
I drive a couple blocks and pull into a small side street that I know Ramon won't travel on his way back to his place. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to calm myself. It was all pretend, I think, like I'm trying to convince myself. What if Kira is actually angry at me? What if she doesn't call me to come pick her up because she doesn't want to see me? It turns out this worry is unnecessary as Kira calls me a couple minutes later. “Mackenzie, that was so great! We should win an academy award for that!” She clearly found this to be a riot; she sounds completely energized on the phone. It's jarring to juxtapose her energy with mine. But, at the same time, I can feed off of her excitement to bring up my own spirits.
“Yeah, we did do a good job,” I agree.
“He has left, so you can come pick me up,” Kira tells me, still with that rush in her voice.
“Sure I'll be over there really soon,” I reply, starting my engine. I can hear that my voice is starting to reflect her enthusiasm. We giggle, excited, proud of a job well done
, on our way back to Kira's house.
Once I drop her off, Ramon calls me up, like clockwork. “Mackenzie, what was that all about?” I know I have to put my “angry hat” back on.
“I am just sick of Kira always questioning everything that you say. I am so mad at her right now, I don't think that we are going to be friends ever again.”
“Could I talk to you?” Ramon asks.
“Sure, where?” I say, knowing that this is what Kira and I have been hoping for.
“How about that school by your house,” he says. He is referring to the elementary school where I had cried my eyes out while missing Kira, which feels like an eternity ago.
“Okay, I will be there soon,” I say, turning off of Kira's street.
Ramon is waiting for me under a tree on a dark, wooden bench. He almost blends into the wood. The tree is providing so much shade, it's almost dark even in the light and the heat of the summer. Ramon fits into the scenery perfectly, mood and all. I feel my heart crying for him as I see him sitting there so pathetically so obviously in pain.
“Ramon, I'm so sorry that this happened. What's going to happen to your tournament now?” I say, feeling a flame of fury with Kira burning inside myself. While she won't say anything, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know she had something to do with Ramon getting beat up. She obviously shows no remorse though.
“I can't compete. They're going to split the first and second place money in half, so I am going to get $17,500. They're going to give the first place trophy to the other guy, and the second place trophy to me.”
“Well, at least you still get a lot of money,” I say, knowing that won't help him a bit. It's the lost experience that he is mourning.
“Yeah, the guy I was going to compete against was a three year champion. It would have been an honor to box against him,” Ramon says, completely deflated.
“Oh, I'm so sorry Ramon. That would've been so cool. I would've been so excited for you,” I say, wishing I could do something to help him and feeling completely helpless.
The Convenience of Lies Page 11