章 13: Ch 13

The morning was a rush in the Pritchett house.

"VINCENTE! MANNY! VAMOS! VAMOS!" Gloria's shout echoed through every corner of the house.

Jay stood by the front door, holding his coffee cup in one hand and adjusting his watch with the other. "Jeez, what did I tell ya? Every morning's like an episode of Survivor: School Drop-off Edition."

From upstairs, Vincente came sliding down the banister, backpack hanging off one shoulder. "Relax, Jay, the star has arrived!" he said with a dazzling grin.

Jay pointed a finger at him. "Yeah, well you are going to be one on the sidewalk outside of school if we are late."

Vincente smirked as he hopped off the banister. "Sure thing… Jay."

Before Jay could retort, Manny appeared at the top of the stairs, holding his lunchbox carefully and adjusting his blazer. "Mom, I can't find my poetry journal! I can't face Ms. Alvarez without my poetry journal!"

Gloria appeared from the hallway, one high heel in her hand, her hair only half-done. "Manny, mi amor, you're not presenting at the United Nations—it's just poetry! Get downstairs!"

Manny sighed dramatically, clutching his lunchbox tighter and slowly descending the stairs. "Poetry is the language of the soul, Mom."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought it was just rhyming words about sad trees."

Gloria gave Jay a sharp look. "Don't ruin his spirit, Jay!"

Vincente leaned casually against the banister. "Are we going to school or are we filming a family soap opera? Because I didn't memorize today's lines."

Gloria snapped her fingers. "¡Basta! Everyone, vamos! Get in the car, now!"

Jay gripped the steering wheel as Gloria fiddled with her makeup mirror in the passenger seat. Vincente was sprawled in the back seat, his tiny feet propped up on the middle console, while Manny sat primly with his hands folded in his lap.

"Feet down, Vincente!" Jay barked.

Vincente slowly lowered his feet, muttering, "Geez, someone's cranky."

Manny sighed. "Could we have some classical music, please? It helps me focus before class."

Vincente made a face. "Classical? Manny, it's 2009, not 1709."

Gloria turned around, glaring at both of them. "No fighting! We're a loving family, and we're going to act like it!"

The car was silent for a beat before Vincente whispered to Manny, "Bet you five bucks she starts singing along to Shakira before we even hit the school zone."

Sure enough, moments later, "Hips Don't Lie" blasted through the speakers. Gloria was fully immersed, singing and shaking her shoulders in rhythm.

Jay muttered under his breath, "Every. Single. Morning."

The car came to a slow stop at the school gates. Gloria leaned over and kissed both boys on their foreheads.

"Be good, okay? Manny, don't let anyone make fun of your poetry. And Vincente…" She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at him. "Please, no autographs during class."

Vincente grinned. "No promises."

Manny stepped out with his journal clutched in hand, and Vincente strutted out like he was walking onto a movie set.

Jay leaned out of the driver's side window. "Remember, Alex is coming to whatever nerd thing you guys planned."

Manny, already halfway up the steps, adjusted his blazer and called back, "See you later, Mom! Bye, Jay!"

"Adiós, mi amor!" Gloria called out, blowing exaggerated kisses in his direction.

Vincente,turning around, gave a two-finger salute. "Catch ya later, folks!"

As the boys disappeared into the school building, Jay exhaled and leaned back in his seat. "Well, another successful mission completed. We got them here almost on time."

Gloria leaned back in her seat, finally letting herself relax. "Jay, look at them. They're growing up so fast. Manny with his poetry, Vincente with his… whatever Vincente does."

"Being fabulous?" Jay offered sarcastically.

Gloria smiled. "Yes! Fabuloso!"

Jay sipped his coffee. "You know, one day, Vincente's gonna have his face on a billboard, and Manny's gonna be in a tweed jacket reading sonnets to a lecture hall full of people who pretend to understand them."

Gloria sighed wistfully. "And we'll be right there, in the front row, embarrassing them both."

Jay chuckled. "You say that like we aren't already doing that every single day."

Gloria swatted his arm playfully. "Drive, Jay. I have a nail appointment, and you have… whatever you do all day."

Jay started the car, shaking his head. "Another peaceful morning at the Pritchett household."

As they pulled away from the school curb, Gloria adjusted the mirror to check her lipstick, and Jay hummed along absentmindedly to the remnants of "Hips Don't Lie" still playing on the radio.

"…And this is your locker, Vincente. If you need anything else, see me in my office—down the hall, second door on the left." Before Vincente can even respond, the teacher spins on his heel and strides down the hallway, nearly dropping a stack of papers in the process.

Vincente watches him go, then turns to his locker, examining it like it's a puzzle box. "Okay, Vincente. First locker."

He carefully stashed his textbooks on the top shelf.

He had slung his backpack on one shoulder, his itinerary in another, trying to figure out where his class was.

Confused, he glanced around to find somebody to help him, he spotted a girl with outrageous red hair going past him, he stopped her.

"Hey, you-"

Before he can finish, the girl spins around, eyes wide with recognition. "Oh my god! You're the kid who was singing "Spider-Man lose control" with the guitar at the thing!"

Vincente freezes, blinking at her rapid energy, "Yeah, That was me."

He extended his arm with a smile, "Delgado, Vincente Delgado."

The girl eagerly shakes his hand, practically bouncing on her heels, "You were awesome! I'm Cat."

Trying to be funny he replied, "Like the animal."

The smile immediately drops from Cat's face as she recoils slightly, tilting her head "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bewildered and flustered he quickly replied, "No—Nothing! I love cats! Like, adore them. Big fan. Whiskers… tails…"

Cat stares at him for a beat, then breaks into a wide grin, "Yeah, me too!"

Before Vincente can respond, Cat gives him a playful salute and starts walking away, disappearing into the crowd.

Vincente watches her go, "Weeeirdd."

"MOVE! MOVE!"

He turned around to see the commotion but was met with face-full of curly hairs.

He groaned and got up, he looked at the one that tackled him.

It was a kid with really curly brown hair and was scrambling to find his glasses.

He picked up the kids' glasses and offered his hand to him for support, "Here, get up."

The kid got up, they were still holding each other's hand.

"Hi, I'm Vincente Delgado. Do you know where this class is?"

The kid smiled at him, "Allen Gamble. An-" He glanced behind him and started to run in the opposite direction to him.

He heard him yelling, "SORRY! NO TIME!"

Before he could process that he was pushed away by a group of girls who looked like they were chasing Allen.

Vincente stares down the hallway, He blinks a few times, trying to process what just happened.

"Okay… so first, Cat with the red hair, and now… whoever that was. Is this a school or a live-action cartoon?"

He adjusts his backpack, straightens his jacket, He felt someone tap his shoulder.

Vincente turned around cautiously, expecting another odd encounter. Instead, he was met with a skinny kid with messy black hair.

"Hey, man, are you new? You look like you're either lost or plotting some sort of escape plan," the kid said quickly, his words tumbling over each other.

Vincente blinked. "Uh… yeah. New. And maybe a little lost. Vincente Delgado." He extended his hand.

The kid grabbed it and shook it with way too much energy. "Stiles Stilinski. And don't worry, lost is kind of my natural state of being, so you've come to the right guy. Let me see that."

Vincente handed his itinerary over, watching as Stiles squinted at the paper. "Okay, okay. Mr. Lewis's history class. Same as me. I'll take you there. No sweat."

"Great," Vincente said, falling into step beside him. "So, Stiles Stilinski—what's your deal? You seem like the guy who knows everyone and everything."

Stiles smirked, tilting his head in mock modesty. "Guilty as charged. What about you, Delgado? You've got this 'I'm-too-cool-for-this-but-I'm-still-gonna-rock-it' vibe."

Vincente chuckled. "Close. I'm just naturally amazing, and the world's still trying to catch up."

Stiles clapped his hands together dramatically.

As they weaved through the crowded hallway, Stiles gestured wildly, pointing out landmarks as they went. "Okay, so that's the science lab—smells like sulfur, always. Avoid it unless you want to lose your sense of smell. Over there? That's where the soccer team hangs out. They're loud. Oh, and that—" Stiles pointed to a vending machine. "That's the only vending machine that doesn't eat your money. Guard it with your life."

"Duly noted," Vincente said, his tone dry but amused. "You're like a walking Yelp review for this place."

"Yeah, well, someone's gotta do it," Stiles replied. "Alright, here we are. Home sweet home for the next hour. History. Don't worry—Mr. Lewis isn't too bad. Just don't bring up the French Revolution unless you want a twenty-minute rant about guillotines."

Vincente smirked. "Thanks, tour guide. You've been… unique."

Stiles grinned. "Oh, trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." He pushed open the door and gestured grandly. "After you, Señor Delgado."

Vincente stepped inside, shaking his head with a small smile. As he found a seat next to Stiles, he thought, 'This school might actually be more entertaining than I expected.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know how American schooling system works, I have written down what I have seen in shows.

This chapter is only here to introduce his future posse barring one or two members.

No, there is no supernatural element, mostly.

It just got stuck in my head, "What if?..."

It is not a full crossover.

The characters will look like their actors just minutely different, like doppelgangers. The actors are present in the universe.

Thank you for reading!!!

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