Chương 2: Uno
Throughout our elementary school years, Kit and I were defenders of Justice. If there was a whiff of any perceived injustice, we were on the scene. The dynamic duo who would put stuff to rights: Kit being the frontman / debater and I being the stealthmaster / soother.
Not that all of our missions were successful. I recall a time in third grade when John Mercer called me a wetback, saying my mom and I were illegals and had no rights. Nevermind the fact that both my mom and dad earned their citizenships before I was born.
Anyway, third grade was the one year Kit and I were in different homerooms. So when Kit spoke with me during recess I told him what John Mercer said...just as John Mercer and his friends walked onto the playground.
Before I could stop my best friend, he walked up to John Mercer, who was taller than him, and jumped on him tackle ready. Punches were thrown and received equally, John had some dirt shoved down his gullet by Kit, and Kit's shoulder got popped out of his socket.
One of the many times Principal Batan was disappointed in us. Even though Kit got the most detention time, we always went to the principal's office together as the dynamic duo we were.
Kit's dad was very disappointed in him during the John Mercer incident. To this day though, John Mercer gives both Kit and I a wide berth when we are walking in the same halls.
Today is the start to another school year. We're sophomores now, but still defenders of Justice. Kit put his debate skills to use by being on the debate team. The moment our other classmates heard that Kit Adair signed up for debate freshman year, the gym bleachers were filled with half of the school population.
Which didn't surprise me in the least. Whatever activity Kit signed up for, there were always a line of kids behind him either wanting to sign up themselves or cheer in the stands. This never changed Kit one bit though. He's not one to let popularity get to his head.
As he became a rockstar of sorts to our classmates, I focused on my strengths as well. Since I am the stealthmaster / soother of the dynamic duo, I am the school nurse's volunteer helper.
I'm there with the school nurse at every game held at my high school. My mom said she was alright with me being a volunteer as long as it can show up as an extracurricular. Luckily, Nurse Petaski was happy to sign off on my volunteering as an extracurricular.
What my mom doesn't know though is what I do when I'm not volunteering. How I always have a nicely packed first aid kit in my locker so I can patch up kids who get hurt outside of sport activities if you catch my drift.
After all, not every kid is brave enough to go to the Nurse's office. So they seek me out and I do as much as I'm able to. Usually it's just a matter of minor cuts an alcohol douse cotton ball can fix or a bruise that needs some ice.
I have yet to attempt anything major on my own. However, I've read plenty of textbooks Nurse Petaski let me borrow to study at home. About how to splint limbs or take a bullet out of a person with the least amount of blood loss to the injured. I know how to do those things in theory, but never in practice.
My goal is to become a paramedic. Something that's been causing my mom much worry. We've seen what has happened to some paramedics for helping injured members of El Leon, our neighborhood gang. They usually end up dead if the gang member they've helped dies. Just because El Leon takes care of their own. Or at least, that's their motto.
"Hija, come get your flan!" she yells from the. bottom of the stairs. I rush down and eat the flan cup before eating the eggs and toast on the table.
"Gracias mama," I say as I scarf down my breakfast too.
"Hernando was waiting for you this morning. I tried to wake you up so you could go on your run together but you were so tired."
I didn't say much to that except, "I was tired. Spent last night reading my last summer book." That was true, but it wasn't the reason I pretended to be in a deep sleep.
Hernando Ortiz is my cousin. He's one year younger than me and yet towers over me by two whole feet. Then again, so does Kit. Unlike Kit though, his neighborhood doesn't have gang activity. Whenever a young boy grows like a weed in my neighborhood, El Leon takes notice. They're always looking for new recruits and recently, they've set their eyes on Hernando. My stupid cousin loves the attention.
Although he has yet to commit to El Leon, I feel like he's slipping away further and further into that colorful and chaotic world. I told my aunt, Hernando's mom, about it. Unlike my mom, she doesn't hold a full-time job. Instead, she uses the welfare system as her source of income and half of that welfare money goes to her heroin addiction. My aunt told me to stay out of it. That if Hernando wants to ruin his life he has the right to do so.
I think that's why my mom always tells Hernando and his siblings that if they're hungry they can stop by our place which is just two blocks away from theirs. She knows aunt Linda is at times too far gone to make food for her own kids.
Also, my mom gets to be a mother hen for my cousins when she's not doting on me. Hernando is just not that fun to be around anymore.
Which is a shame because in my neighborhood, we all have a motto everyone lives by: Safety in numbers. "Mama, can we go to Flora's after school? I feel like my hair has too much volume again."
"Sure baby. Why didn't you say this before school started?"
"I didn't notice it before, mama." More like, I didn't think of it before. Flora, the owner of Flora's hair, has three daughters who's favorite pastime is to follow me around like little ducklings. One or all of them could be my new running partner. I wouldn't need Hernando anymore, then.
Mom looked out of the window and gasped. "Baby, your bus is here!"
I still had another toast with butter left to eat. I grabbed it and slung my backpack over one shoulder as I kissed my mom's cheek. "Bye mama!"
She stood in front of the condominium we call home and waved to me. I started waving back as the bus rolled away onto the next home... Kit's.
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