Читать книгу Adios To All The Drama - Diana Rodriguez Wallach - Страница 12

We trudged toward the auditorium. I thought it would be hard to convince Emily to join the meeting—she was avoiding spending time with Bobby for fear she might have to discuss their parents’ bedroom activities. But when we met at Madison’s locker after school, she merely shrugged.

“I can drive you home after,” Madison offered.

“No, it’s okay. My dad’s car service is on call.”

“Is it bizarre living in a hotel?” I asked, Alex at my side.

He was waiting at my locker before the bell even rang. He’d spent the day strolling the grounds with Dean Pruitt and then checking in with his Utuado school via the Internet. His teachers from back home already had sent him three new assignments. When I mentioned that I had a meeting after school, he didn’t bat an eye. He seemed happy to be included. He grabbed the messenger bag from my shoulder and tossed it over his. It was nice to have someone to carry my stuff.

“Well, our room is cleaned every day with fresh sheets and towels. They put a mint on my pillow each night, and I get room service twenty-four hours a day. Plus, my dad’s never there.”

“But don’t you kinda miss being around other people?” Lilly asked.

“I have a hotel full of people. If I go down to the coffee shop, I can read a book surrounded by a random group of business travelers and college students.”

“But they’re not your friends,” Lilly insisted.

Emily said nothing.

“Well, I think it’s great that he’s letting you stay.” I squeezed Alex’s hand hoping he’d join in the conversation. I wanted him to get to know my friends better.

“I have a friend whose parents got divorced. In the end, they just screamed at each other. It’s good that your parents aren’t doing that to you,” Alex said, trying to be helpful.

“I almost wish they would scream at each other. At least then they’d be talking. Right now, each acts like the other doesn’t exist. My dad won’t even mention my mom. This morning he asked, ‘Are you going over there this weekend?’ Like it’s some foreign place he couldn’t remember the name of,” she muttered.

“He’s trying. Cut him some slack. His wife cheated on him in his own bed,” Madison stated.

“Don’t sugar coat it or anything,” I snipped.

“Well, I wouldn’t get over it.” Madison pushed open the auditorium doors.

About two dozen students sat huddled in the front seats. Bobby was sitting on the edge of the stage facing them, his long lanky legs dangling off the end. Even from the back of the auditorium, I could hear his voice perfectly projecting the theme of the documentary he’d be debuting.

“Ireland is an amazing country. The people are so friendly. And they’re so passionate about family and religion and…beer.” He chuckled.

The metal doors slammed shut behind us and everyone turned.

“Hey.” I waved, my other hand still tightly clasping Alex’s palm.

We marched down the aisle. The crowd was silent and their faces looked as though we were interrupting a State of the Union Address.

“Guys, these are some of the people who helped me put this together. They’re gonna be doing the posters and stuff. Ya know, the grunt work.” Bobby’s tone was insulting.

My forehead clenched. He still sounded angry with me.

“Yeah, um, we saw the film,” I spoke up. “It’s incredible, really…. Oh, I’m Mariana. These are my friends Madison, Emily, Lilly, and Alex.”

“Well, I don’t actually go to school here,” Alex explained with a sultry Spanish accent. “I’m just visiting.”

“Where you from?” a blond, doe-eyed girl asked.

“Puerto Rico.” He released my hand and leaned toward her seat.

“That’s so interesting,” said a curvy brunette.

“Did you live on the beach?” asked a dirty blond.

“No, in the mountains. Lilly and I are from the same town.”

“Oh, I didn’t even know Puerto Rico had mountains,” said an Asian girl.

“I did. My family went there two summers ago. It was very…hot,” said a redhead, her eyes gazing prettily at Alex.

I reached out for Alex’s hand once more. These girls were acting as though they didn’t notice that we were together, that he was clutching my palm as we walked in and that he was holding my school bag. Did I really need to buy a sign that said “girlfriend” in blinking pink letters (though that probably wasn’t a bad idea)?

“Anyway,” Bobby interrupted, “this meeting is about the film festival.”

My friends and I took seats in the front row. I yanked a notebook out of my bag.

“So as I was saying earlier, we need to get more photography. We want 8x10s or larger and everything will be displayed in the front lobby.” Bobby pointed to where we had entered.

“Well, I have my black-and-whites from the photo club last year,” one boy said.

“And I have my submission to the Felt Pen magazine,” another kid added.

“Those are great, but I think I’d like to add more travel photos. Since the film is based on my travels, I wanna continue that theme.” Bobby looked at me. “Mariana, were you able to put anything together?”

I flicked my eyes toward Madison. “Well, I tried…”

“Unless you want pictures of me trying on leather boots in Rome, I don’t think I have much to add to your exhibit,” Madison said. “But they are awesome boots.”

Bobby smacked his lips. “I can add my Ireland photos to the mix, but I don’t want the entire thing to be about my trip.”

“Well, I have Disney shots from the summer,” one kid suggested.

Bobby groaned.

“Jersey Shore photos?”

“Are they artistic?”

“Is Jersey artistic?” the kid rebutted.

The room fell silent. I focused on my blank paper. Despite owning an expensive digital camera, I wasn’t much into the art of photography. All of my pictures included at least one friend or relative making a silly face. I never tried “capturing the light” or “showcasing the moment.” Ballet was my strong suit and I saw no need to attempt any other activity that I couldn’t perfect.

“Well, I have some photos,” Alex spoke up.

Bobby’s head jerked back, the skin on his face pulled tight. “Um, what?”

“Of Puerto Rico. I have a lot of images on my memory card that I could print.”

“Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but we’re not looking for your basic beach scene,” Bobby said with a condescending stare.

“Actually, most of the photos are of the mountains, a lot of nature shots, some images of the rain forest—”

“What did you take them with?” Bobby interjected.

“A Nikon Digital SLR. I won it in a photo contest in San Juan last year.”

“I remember that!” Lilly shrieked. “Your photos kicked butt. That one with the green bird sitting on the leaf! And the beer can floating near the waterfall.”

Alex nodded.

“He has an awesome camera,” Lilly added. “That thing is huge.” Lilly held her hands wide.

“Well, you know what they say about guys with big cameras…” Madison joked.

We all giggled—except for Bobby, who was grinding his teeth.

“Well, I’d have to see the photos first. And since you don’t really go here, we’ll have to clear it with Dean Pruitt…”

“Please, Dean Pruitt’s the one who set up this whole faux exchange program. I don’t think he’ll mind,” Madison said. “Mr. Ruíz will just make another call.”

Bobby blew out a puff of air. “I guess that settles it.”

About an hour later, after I had filled three pages of college-ruled paper with notes on flyer layouts, fonts, wording, and e-mail formats, we headed to the parking lot.

“So the festival’s in a week and a half. That’s not much time. Between that and ballet, we’re gonna be zombies,” Madison said as she unlocked her car.

“We have this huge ballet performance around Christmas,” I explained to Alex.

“So I’ll get to see you dance?”

“If you play your cards right,” I teased, nudging his shoulder.

“Hey, will Vince be here for the festival?” Lilly asked.

“Yup. He comes home next weekend. He already has plans for me to help him with his homework.”

“How sad is that? An Ivy Leaguer needs academic help from his sixteen-year-old-sister?” Emily asked candidly.

“Hey, don’t knock it. At least we know we’ll have one person in the audience,” Madison noted.

Emily stopped alongside the car as we all piled in. “I’m just gonna wait out front for my ride.”

Everyone groaned. “Em! This is ridiculous!” I whined.

“I’ll give you a ride!” Madison insisted.

“No, it’s cool. Ken is already on the way.”

“You’re on a first-name basis with your driver?” Lilly asked.

“You kidding? Ken’s one of my closest friends.”

“Em!” Madison and I shouted.

“No, seriously. It’s no big deal. He already sent a text saying he was down the street.”

“Fine,” I muttered begrudgingly.

“You want us to wait?” Madison asked.

“No, don’t. I was gonna go grab something from my locker anyway.”

We nodded and Madison slowly pulled out of the parking lot. As we rolled away, I twisted back to wave and saw Emily saunter through the school’s front doors. For a moment, it looked like someone stepped out of the shadows in the vestibule. Like someone was waiting for her.