Spring Fever
Chapter 7: A Monday at the Mall
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Notes: From Luis’s point of view.
Goody.
Not only had he just recently broke up with Cammi, but he also had to spend spring break in Miami. The God’s forsaken city. Or, maybe it was just his attitude that was God’s forsaken. On top of that, he had to pretend like everything was fine between him and Cammi, and spend time with those other crazy people.
He had no problem with Adam, Charlie or Travis. Cecilia was annoying, and Connie was hyper, but he could survive that.
The bad thing was that he had to share space with Guy and Fred. He wasn’t sure, but they didn’t seem to have totally gotten over that Cecilia and Connie had used him in their little plan to get their boyfriends jealous.
Luis hadn’t really forgiven the girls for that, because he thought it was a stupid thing to do. Even stupider after he’d been the biggest victim. He hadn’t only been close to lose his own girlfriend, but Fred and Guy had been pissed at him. The damage between them was probably not something that could be fixed.
Of course, they had been treating him like one of the gang now when they had to, but Luis knew that they rather pretended like he wasn’t there at all.
Every time one of the girls talked to him, or just looked at him, both Fred and Guy got something malignant in their eyes. Why did they have to use him in their little jealousy-game?
Although, the status of the house was not something he could complain at. It really was a luxury house. Growing up in a middle class family, he hadn’t seen a lot of luxury houses in his life. Well, when his older sister married that lawyer-guy, they’d moved to a big house, but that was nothing compared to this.
“Could you go and disturb someone else?” Luis heard Fred say. He was very obviously talking to Cecilia.
“Sure, I’ll go and cheer Luis up.”
“Dear God, help me.”
Cecilia went over to him and grabbed his arm. “Hi, is everything alright?”
“Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?” He could think of at least ten reasons why it shouldn’t be, but why tell Cecilia about it? She was obviously not in any need of cheering up. “I’m just absolutely thrilled to be here.” Okay, that might come out as a little bitter.
“Wanna tag along to the beach? I’m gonna try and drown Fred.”
“No matter how much fun that sounds, I have to turn you down,” he growled. “Go and be crazy somewhere else now.”
“Do you wanna visit your parents or something?”
What was it with this girl? Did she always have to put her nose where it didn’t belong? Why couldn’t she just leave him alone when he gave her hints? She was really annoying. No wonder Fred was waving her off like a fly.
“Hell no. Cecilia, look, I just wanna be alone right now. Skip along.”
Cecilia gave him a thoughtful gaze. Just when he was about think that she was going to leave, she grabbed his hand and dragged him along.
“Cecilia? Do you have a hearing problem? I told you I wasn’t in the mood for any of your crazy moments.”
“I heard you. I was just thinking that you could help me, while you’re being left alone.”
This girl really couldn’t take no for an answer.
“Help you with what?” he muttered. “I hope it have to do with some serious mouth surgery. Are they gonna sew your mouth together?”
Nope, he was not the funniest person on the planet when he was depressed.
“If you don’t make any more jokes of that kind, I’ll give you the short explanation.”
“Thank you, Lord.”
“I’m shutting up,” Luis smiled.
“Fred won’t come with me to town, so I need your cheery company instead. You have to drive me there, since I don’t have a license.”
“I don’t have a license either,” he told her. “Sorry, guess you have to ask Adam or someone.”
Cecilia gave him a meaning look and sighed. “What is it with you people? Charlie tells everyone he has a license, although he doesn’t. You have a license, but you say that you don’t.”
“How the hell...”
Cecilia gave him a big grin. “Thought I didn’t know? Nothing goes past me, Luis. I know everything. Well, the more interesting things anyway. Now, give me a ride, or I’ll tell everyone that you can drive them anywhere they want.”
“You’re very annoying,” he growled. “How the hell did you know that?”
“I know that you’re sixteen already, and I happened to see your drivers-license when I paid at the gas-station.”
“I see, you ‘borrowed’ my wallet. Isn’t that considered as a crime?”
Cecilia just giggled and went out to through the door. “It’s just one day, I think you can survive one day with me. Adam does it all the time.”
“And look at the poor guy now.”
The big question was why he decided to accompany her at all. She was bugging him, but he still agreed to drive her into town. Maybe he was one of those people who enjoyed suffering. Yeah, that must be it.
Cecilia tried her best to cheer him up in the car. How he managed to stay on the road with her next to him was another big question.
“Besides, maybe this will be the best spring break ever!” Cecilia had the ability to start talk in the middle of a sentence. Another annoying thing she used to pull.
“Or it will be the final straw before I kill myself,” he growled. Cecilia gave him a smile.
“Don’t be so negative, Mendoza. I’ll try and cheer you up, until tomorrow’s party.”
Party?
“No, please don’t. Why am I your new recruit in this ‘cheering-up’ routine of yours? I don’t need your help. Can’t you ask someone else to volunteer for this?”
“Well, you spoil-sport, it’s like this, you see. Fred is annoyed with me for some strange reason, Adam is his usually dull self, Travis is avoiding me, and Charlie is still pissed after I crashed the van, Connie is with Guy, and well, Guy is with Connie. I don’t wanna intrude on them doing unspeakable stuff with each other.”
“But you wanna intrude on me, being depressed. Thank you, Cee.”
“Since I can’t find anyone else to hang out with, I’m forced to make your life better, by letting you hang out with me.”
Luis forced himself to not drive the car down the nearest cliff. A day with a hyper Cecilia was worse then any day in hell. Of course, he usually didn’t spend time with her that much, but he wasn’t looking forward to change that fact any time soon.
Besides, if Fred found out, he probably wouldn’t be any more content with Luis then before. Hopefully Cecilia wasn’t out to make her boyfriend jealous again. Last time didn’t work out for the best, why should it be any different now?
He parked the car and followed Cecilia when she skipped and bounced up to the mall. Why did it feel like this was going to be the more exhausting days of his life?
Cecilia told him to meet her outside the café shop. She was gone before he even had a chance to agree. Great, what was he supposed to do now? He wasn’t really in the mood for this. He wasn’t in the mood for anything. Definitely not shopping.
Cecilia came bursting back after an hour. Luis had actually started to think that she wasn’t going to show up at all, so he was just about to leave without her. He had been drinking at least eight cups of hot chocolate. His main amusement had been to watch a bunch of fighting children, bickering about who should go first down the slide in the little playground. Luis had been voting for the kid with a little dragon on his shirt. Of course, the girl had won.
“Watcha been doin’?”
What was it Fred used to answer when she asked that? ‘Notcha been doin’ anything?’ Luis felt like answer that too, but didn’t.
“Nothing, just observing the downfall of America’s youths. Where have you been?”
“Shopping.”
The most obvious answer, coming from a teenage girl in a shopping mall.
“Where’s your bag? You can’t seriously say that you have spent one hour in this mall, without purchasing something? What sorry excuse of a girl are you, anyway?”
Cecilia slapped his arm and sat down on the chair next to him. “I thought you could help me with my shopping.”
“No way. I will not, under any circumstances, go with you to a store and help you shop. I rather kill myself.”
“Don’t be so dramatically, Luis. You’ve already told me ten times about your suicidal behavior, pretty soon, I’m about to take it serious.”
“You should. Honestly, all I want is to get back to the house...”
He got stuck in the middle of the sentence, when he saw someone really familiar over by the newsstand. It couldn’t be... Could it?
“Fine, let’s go shopping,” he said, jumping up from his chair. “Just to shut you up.” He grabbed Cecilia’s hand and dragged her along.
He was certain that it was Sophie he’d seen. She was the last person he wanted to run into now. Well, maybe the second to last. He really, really didn’t want to run into Cammi.
“Why are we in a hurry?” Cecilia asked. “And why are we hiding?”
“Uhm, it’s a tradition here in Florida. When you’re with a lunatic, you’re supposed to hide behind the nearest advertising sign.”
Cecilia didn’t make a smart comment, for once. She just followed him over, until they reached the elevators. “Who’s the girl?” She really was too observant for her own good. Was it true? Did nothing go past this girl?
“What girl?”
“The girl you were hiding from. There had to be a girl, right? Why else would you leave in such a hurry?”
So, she hadn’t seen Sophie. Good, maybe he could talk himself out of the situation.
“It wasn’t a girl, just someone I recognized.”
“It wasn’t that blonde girl by the news-stand? With a pony-tail and pink skirt?”
Damn.
“Fine, it was a girl, but I won’t tell you who she is, so quit it.”
Cecilia shrugged and pushed the button to the third floor. “As a punishment to you lying to me, you have to tag along to carry my bags.”
Luis moaned. Why did he have to have such annoying friends?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~
~*~*~