New Girl: Chapter Twenty-Three

The moment Silvia saw Lucita, she grabbed her by the arm and dragged her someplace private. Lucita looked at her, confused, wondering what was going on. Lucita really hoped nothing was wrong. She really couldn’t handle any more drama. She had enough problems to deal with.

“What the heck, Vee?”

“You’ve got a problem.”

“I have many. What’s up?” Silvia looked at Lucita closely. She had exhaustion written all over her.

“Are you okay?”

Lucita shot her an annoyed look. “I thought you had something to tell me.”

“Okay, chill. Look, Becca, and I saw you and Cyrus by the pool the other day . . . and we weren’t the only people. Blake was there.”

Silvia jumped as Lucita kicked the door. Lucita looked at her, a feral look in her eyes.

“Blake saw?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Just awesome! Lucas can’t find out.”

“I really wouldn’t worry about that. They hate each other. He’s not gonna listen to a word he says.”

Lucita gave her a stern look. “You don’t know that for sure.” Lucita covered her face and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding to the ground.“Lu, are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

“Sorry.”

“God, I’m so stupid. I should have never kissed the dumb jerk!”

Silvia sat down. “Hey, calm down. Blake’s a jerk, but I doubt he’ll really do anything. Just focus on, well, nothing, I guess.”

Lucita scoffed. “Easy for you to say. I solved all of your problems.”

“Don’t be a bitch, Lu.”

“Why not? It’s what I do best.”

This was not the Luci Silvia knew. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Now come on, tell me about the kiss. You need to lighten your mood, and besides, it looked good, so I wanna know.”

Lucita blushed, letting a smile grace her face. “It was wonderful. I have been waiting to do that for years now. It was wow.”

“It looked wow.”

“Yeah. I’d never been that close to him, so I had to take the chance. Well, not really. I wanted to take advantage. He was so unlike himself.”

“I think he really likes you.”

Lucita shrugged mad picked at her nails. “Maybe.”

“He was holding you pretty tightly. He didn’t have to kiss you at all.”

Lucita let out a blissful sigh. “True.”

“I think he really does like you, Luci.”

“One can hope.” Lucita stood up as the bell rang for first period. “Oh joy, let the day begin.” Lucita stood, waving goodbye before wading through the sudden crowd, mindlessly bumping into people.

Silvia thought about what Cyrus had told her. He was jealous, he did like her, and he was leaving. That was why he was so unlike himself. He had looked as sad as Lucita did now. Silvia wondered if they would ever have their chance together.

***

Rebecca sat next to Francis in class. She was grading the test that they had taken last Friday. It appeared Mr. Dumbarton had been too lazy over the weekend to grade them himself. Francis had done well, whereas she had not. Her mind was on other things, too preoccupied to cope with a test. She groaned when she saw the “D” on her paper.

“Hand them forward, then you can do whatever you want.” Everyone passed their tests hurriedly.

“Becca, are you okay?”

“Been a little preoccupied.”

“Oh sorry. Sucks.”

Rebecca shrugged. “Yeah. Things have just been a little crazy lately.”

“Yeah, figured.”

“That obvious, huh.”

“With a grade like that, yeah.” He moved his desk closer to her. “So what’s wrong exactly?”

“It’s all complicated. My friend Luci, she’s dating this guy, Lucas, and Blake, well, he likes her and Luci—ugh, sorry, but it’s just so complicated and a little personal.”

“Yeah, you lost me at Blake. Why are her problems bugging you so much, though.”

“Because she helped my friend and me out when we were having problems. She’s my friend. I have to be there for her.” Rebecca looked at him as he shrugged and opened a notebook to draw.

“She looks pretty capable of taking care of herself.”

“How do you know? Do you even talk to her?”

“No,” he said, keeping his big brown eyes on the paper as he drew.

“Then you don’t really know her. You should talk to her.”

“Uh, no. She probably wouldn’t even bother giving me the time of day.”

“She’s not like that.”

“Jason said she’s stuck up.”

She almost growled a little habit she had picked up from Luci. “She’s not. Besides, Jason changed his mind about that. He actually likes her.” A little more than he should, she added thoughtfully.

“Whatever you say.”

“Why are you acting like a jerk about this?”

Francis shrugged. “She looks like a preppy chick and dresses like one too. I don’t like people like that.” Rebecca sat there stunned. His explanation was stupid. How she dressed shouldn’t matter, and it wasn’t like she always dressed like that. Sometimes she looked really freaky and scary, in a good way, though.

“You know nothing about her. She’s nice, polite, and the opposite of what you think.” The bell rang, and she grabbed her bag. “You’re a jerk, you know. You shouldn’t judge someone by how they dress.” Rebecca stalked from class and shoved her way through the crowds, accidentally bumping into Blake. He gave her this cold dark stare with his honey-brown eyes. The fluorescent lighting gave him an ominous look.

“You usually watch where you’re going. What’s wrong?”

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“Nothing, really. How are you?”

“Pissed. You’re not the only one who saw Lucita and Cyrus all over each other.”

Uh oh, she thought. “Oh, so you, uh, saw that too, huh?”

“Well, it’s not like they being secretive about it.”

Rebecca maneuvered around him, avoiding his gaze. “Maybe this is something you should talk to Lucita about,” she said as she continued on her way.

“Actually,” he began as he walked alongside her. “I was thinking I’d talk to Lucas about it.” The statement stopped Rebecca cold in her tracks. Cautiously she turned and stared at Blake, who had stood alongside her. Her heart was racing. She had made a promise to take care of Luci. And now Blake was acting unlike himself. She looked into his eyes, and what she saw there was frightening. His honey eyes were darkened by a pure, unadulterated hatred.

“Blake, don’t do that.”

“Why not? I do what she asks. I adore her. The least she could do is give me the time of day and attention I freaking deserve.”

“You’re being a jerk, Blake. And she didn’t ask for you to adore her. That was all you.”

“She didn’t really do anything to deter me, did she? So I’m done caring. Let her know, Becca.” He readjusted his back on his shoulder and walked off, leaving Rebecca scared, not for herself but for Lucita. The bell rang, jogging her out of her daze, and she swore.

***

Silvia waited for Rebecca to arrive. The text she had gotten sounded urgent. She wouldn’t say over text, no matter how much Silvia pestered her. Luckily for her, Lucita was buying her lunch. Lucky her, Becca didn’t want Lucita around.

The door swung open, and Rebecca looked out of breath.

“Becca, what’s wrong?”

“Blake…he’s threatening to tell Lucas.”

“Well, shit.”

“Yeah.” Rebecca sat down and took a sip from her bottle of water. “He wanted me to let her know. He really wants her to himself.”

“He’s a jerk,” muttered Silvia, sitting down. “Do you really think that he’ll tell?”

Rebecca nodded. “Lucas wouldn’t believe him, though, right? I mean, those guys hate each other.”

Silvia shook her head uncertainly. “You wouldn’t have Cyrus’s number by any chance.” Rebecca shook her head as she drank some more. “I was afraid of that.” Silvia thought about the situation, which was even worse than anticipated.

“We should probably talk to Jason before we decide to do anything,” commented Rebecca. Silvia agreed, feeling sorry for the guy. But this is what he got for being friends with a total jerk.

“Ask Lucita if you could look at her phone. We need Cyrus’s number.”

The door opened, and Lucita stepped through with Jason at her side. Neither of them looked happy.

“So when exactly were you two planning on telling me that Blake had threatened to tell Lucas?” Lucita handed the tray over to Silvia, who tried to avoid eye contact.

“You should probably take the silence as a never,” commented Jason sitting down. Lucita said nothing as she sat down and took out her phone. She didn’t want to involve Cyrus in her life right now, but if he thought that she and Lucas should be together, he should help her fix this.

“What are you doing,” asked Rebecca timidly.

“Texting Cyrus. He’s pretty much to blame, so he should at least help.” Lucita shut her phone and looked at Jason. “Do I have a stupid time frame, at least?”

“He’d like to know by the end of this week.”

“Why is he being such a jerk?” asked Rebecca.

“He thinks she owes him for the favor he did for her on St. Patrick’s Day. He was hoping that, well, she’d date him after that.”

“I have more sense than that,” muttered Lucita under her breath so no one in particular.

“You’re one of few girls.”

“Lucky me. Why the hell does that idiot like me so freaking much anyway. He can get any girl he wants. Why does it have to be me?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because you’re not easy like the other girls he’s gone after. Tiffany excluded.”

Lucita groaned as she pulled her hair over her face. “Please don’t remind me of her. She’s another thorn in my side.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“Why won’t Blake go back out with her?” asked Silvia. She took a bit out of her pizza.

“He hates her.”

“That’s not stopping her.”

“She’s a spoiled brat who pretty much thinks that she can get whatever the hell she wants. Kind of stupid, but that’s Tiffany for you.”

“Super,” muttered Lucita lying down on the cold concrete. She waited for her phone to vibrate, for Cyrus to worry about her like he did nowadays. That kiss had been a fluke, the affection he had shown her all fake. He had been right; he was no good for her; he never would be. Sadly, that would not stop her from wanting him more and more as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. Come on, Cyrus. Text, please text, she thought. Lucita stood there in silence, staring at the fluffy clouds shaped like a duck. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe he didn’t care about her at all.

***

Cyrus sat there staring at the text from Lucita. He hated Blake more and more with each passing minute. Lucita was not just something that could be owned and controlled. In fact, other than her mother, no being on earth could tell her what to do or order her around. Lucita was a strong-willed, determined person, something he knew from personal experience.

He wanted to reply to Lucita but didn’t know how to help. He was confused. He felt useless. He cared about Lucita, that much he knew, and he was jealous that she had a boyfriend. But he didn’t know what he felt for her. Cyrus looked through the photos on his phone, stopping at the one he had taken of her at the pool. She had looked so different, so much more beautiful, and he wondered if his decision to be her friend had been right and fair to her.

“Dude, what’s up your butt,” commented his friend Matthew.

“No much. Hey, do you remember Lucita from middle school?”

“Your stalker?” Cyrus nodded, and Matthew laughed. “Is she still stalking you? Dude, tell her you’re not interested and to go away.”

Cyrus resisted the urge to punch him.

“Actually, last week, I kissed her. We’ve been friends for a while.” Matthew stopped laughing and stared at Cyrus with his jaw hanging open. Cyrus couldn’t tell if his friend was looking at him, horrified or shocked.

“Are you insane? The girl used to stalk you!”

“Used to. I actually gave her a chance. We hang out, and we kissed.”

“Dude, she’s not even pretty.” Cyrus whipped open his phone and showed Matthew the picture of her in a bikini. His jaw dropped again. “Whoa, she got hot.”

“Yeah, I know. Anyway, we kissed, she has a boyfriend, and this other guy, who likes her, wants her all to himself, saw and well, he’s a freaking jerk.”

Matthew laughed. “Those are her problems, not yours.”

“She asked for my help. I should help.”

“Just date her then.”

“Heading off to boarding school, remember.”

“Oh yeah. Well, sucks for her.”

“Stop being a jerk before I beat you to the ground.”

Matthew put his hands up in defense and took a few steps back. “All right, chill.” He sighed. “I don’t see any way you can help her, dude. It really looks like she’s screwed.” Cyrus thought about it and regretfully agreed. All he could really do was pray, and he wasn’t that into praying. He felt like he should be there for her.

“When the hell did she get so hot?” asked Matthew as he snatched Cyrus’s phone away. Cyrus shrugged as she attempted to retrieve his phone back. He didn’t like Matthew looking at her pictures.

“I don’t know. Maybe uniforms just weren’t her thing. One day she wasn’t cute; the next day, she was hot.”

“Does she know about boarding school?”

“No. I was gonna tell her, but then we kissed, and I kinda forgot.”

Matthew let out a bitter laugh as he tossed Cyrus his phone back. “You should freaking text her. I don’t really like her, but whatever, you seem to care.”

“Probably because you’re freaking stupid.”

“Dude! Words hurt,” he said, feigning pain. Cyrus rolled his eyes and sent Lucita a quick text message.

***

Lucita’s phone vibrated, but it took her a while to answer. She was staring at the duck-shaped cloud and listened faintly to her friends. Her heart beat faster when she saw that the text was from Cyrus.

“Lu?” asked Becca.

“It’s Cyrus.” Lucita opened her phone and read the text.

Cyrus:

Hey.

Lu, I’m sorry I got you into this mess, and I’ll help any way I can.

I’m not sure what I can do, though.

I’m sorry.

I hope things work out for you.

Lucita shut her phone. She knew she was screwed.