Please Don't Cross Me, I Asked Nicely

“Are you sure this is what you want to do, Rosalina?” Mrs. Thorne asked me for the third time.

“Yes, I’m sure”, I answered again.

“Alright. Thanks so much. You know volunteering during the summer will look good on your college apps, right?” she teased.

I nodded, a laugh escaping me.

It was still Saturday, the day all students were required to leave New Preston until the next school year which starts in August, but some seniors volunteered to do things around school to get final extracurricular activities outside of school time which would be early to mid or late July and I decided to be one of them.

I had to do something over the summer and since that means I’ll be away from Vic before school starts was also a bonus.

She pulled out a form, handing it to me.

“Just sign here and here”, she said, marking an x with her pen before handing the pen to me. I signed the form quickly, sighing afterward.

“Alright. You’re all set. I’ll see you in July, Rose”, she called.

“No problem, Principal T. Have a good summer”, I called. She answered with a “you, too” as I headed out of her office.

Once I made it out to the lobby, I was greeted with a packed Mel and Jake as well as our suitcases. We were packed and ready for the final time and decided to leave the school together.

I grabbed my things as the others did the same to their own and we began our slow walk to the school parking lot.

“So, what are you going to do this summer?” I asked the other two.

Mel looked at Jake, but he beckoned her to go first.

“I’ll be staying with Joe this summer. He’ll be at home for the whole summer, so, we’ll be in Dallas”, she answered smoothly, blushing all the while.

“Oooh! Sounds awesome!” I cooed.

She and Joe had decided to take things slow and they were officially a couple. About damn time!

“What about you, Jake?” I asked my guy best friend. Jake shrugged.

“I don’t know. I talked to my mom and she said we’ll be spending most of the summer in Georgia”, he answered, squinting in the sunlight.

“What the hell is in Georgia?” I asked, wrinkling my brows in confusion but I chuckled a little as well. Jake shrugged.

“Hell if I know. She just wants to ‘spend a vacation’ there”, he said using air quotes around the last four words.

Mel and I laughed at his actions, but stopped dead in our tracks once we reached the lot. Our vans were already here and we were going to go into separate ones. I sighed as I felt myself tear up, turning to Mel whom was doing the same.

We hugged, wiping our own tears away.

“Promise you’ll text me everyday and call me once a week”, she ordered causing me to laugh.

“Only if you do the same, missy”, I teased.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Jake joked. We smiled, “awing” at him as we gave him a group hug.

I inhaled his scent as he embraced me longer than he did Mel. I was comfy in his arms until
Mel coughed gaining our attention.

We pulled away, laughing nervously then began grabbing our things again. We began walking to our vans when Vic’s voice broke out from behind us some yards away.

“Wait for us!” she cried.

“Ugh. Do we have to?” Mel asked only low enough for Jake and I to hear.

I rolled my eyes at Vic’s attire and bright-ass suitcases. She was in jean shorts, white flip flops, and a white tank top that was a little tight on her. She had a pair of white heels in her right hand while the other gripped her cart of suitcases. I spotted Nick a few feet from her carrying a huge duffle bag on his shoulder while holding two black suitcases of his own.

We started loading our things into our respective vans, but only Mel and I would be miserable. Since Mel was going back to Dallas, she would more than likely have Nick keep her company and that wasn’t a good thing. It was worse for me. I had to have Vic since she was coming home to Florida.

My mind began wandering about what the future would bring for me. I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as I saw Vic struggling with her cases. I ignored her, my attention getting diverted by my phone ringing. It was my dad.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hey, Rosa. It’s Dad”, he began. I sighed quietly before responding.

“Dad, you know you can call me Rose or Rosie like Mom did, right?” I asked, wanting to kick myself for mentioning her.

“I know, but it-it’s hard for me right now”, he replied.

“Anyway, what’s wrong?” I asked, deciding to give him a break. He was trying after all.

“Uh, I sold the house”, he answered nervously.

“What?!” I squeaked.

“Yeah. I felt like we should move on, you know? Have a fresh start. I think we all need it”, he replied gently and I knew he was hinting about Nick and I’s break-up which he found out through Jake.

“Yeah”, I agreed.

“Well, let Vicky know, OK? Oh! We’ll probably be moving out in about a month or so, but I want you and Vic to help me pick out the next house, alright?” he asked, surprising me.

“Really?” I asked excitedly.

“Absolutely”, he answered with a laugh. I could just imagine the smile on his face. I knew Dad was getting better at opening up to us, or at least to me and that made me smile brighter.

“OK. I’ll tell Vic, Dad. We’ll be on our way to the airport soon. I’ll call you when we get there”, I said, imagining the smile on his face.

“Alright, kiddo. I love you”, he said in a slightly shy tone.

“Love you, too, Dad”, I replied before hanging up.

I looked back towards the end of the van seeing Vic and Nick talking to one another. I sighed before marching over to them, ready to leave more than anything.

“You can call each other or something, alright? Can we leave now?” I asked with an attitude as I folded my arms across my chest.

“You don’t have to be rude, Rose!” Vic scolded, but Nick interrupted her.

“No. It’s OK. We should all get going. See ya, Vic, Rose”, he said, hugging Vic first, but hesitated when it came down to me.

“It’s just a hug, Rose”, Vic coaxed, shoving me into him.

I fell into Nick’s arms, the spark igniting there, but I ignored it. He wrapped his arms around me, but I kept mine to my side. He cleared his throat, pulling away.

“Have a good summer, girls”, he said, turning away, then went to he and Mel’s van.

I turned and got into the van, Vic following behind me. She shut the door behind us and we sat in silence before she spoke.

“You didn’t have to make things so awkward”, she said in a low tone.

The driver put the key into the ignition and started the van, but I ignored Vic.

“He was just being nice”, she tried again. I was so sick of her.

“Stop talking to me as though I give a fuck”, I said in a monotone as I rested my head on my hand, staring out of the tinted window as I watched Mel’s van follow ours the majority of the way to the airport.

About five minutes into the ride, my phone beeped three times, but I noticed Vic not on her own. I looked to see whom they were from. The first one was from Jake.

Don’t go crazy being stuck with her, kay?

I laughed out loud, not caring about Vic’s stare. I then, opened the second one which was from Mel.

Jeez. Why couldn’t you and I have rode together? He’s not saying a word and neither am I!

I laughed again, scratching an itch in my head. The third text was from someone I didn’t expect. Nick.

Don’t jump to conclusions about Vic and I. We’re just friends and I haven’t moved on yet, alright?

A sigh escaped me as I thought about the texts, Nick’s in particular. If he wasn’t over me, then why did he kiss Vic? Better yet, why did he break up with me? Why did he fall for her? I looked at my twin sister, my depression getting the better of me as I mentally compared myself to her.

Vic was the slim one while I was the “average” one. She had long, flowing hair while I had thick, crazy hair. She had hazel eyes while I have these stupid dark brown ones. But a sudden thought occurred to me. I didn’t have to be Vic. I have to accept the slight gap in my teeth, the reserved nature I have. But what Vic didn’t have was integrity. She wasn’t me and she’d never be me.

Even though she took Nick away from me, I was still the better person (seeing as I didn’t kill her from losing my mental state or out of spite). I had better, truer friends and I was the one who had a heart.

My mind wandered to a time when my mother was alive and I told her about the matter of how I compared myself to Vic, but her words went through my mind.

”You are Rosalina because you are Rosalina. No one can change who you are. You will be loved by people who love you for you, not who they want you to be.”

Tears stung my eyes as my mind fell on Nick one last time that day.

I was Rosalina Sanchez, 17 years old, soon-to-be Senior at New Preston. Through all of my hardships, I was determined now more than ever to continue living each day instead of dwelling on the past. I was ready to move forward. I wasn’t going to stay the same old Rose everyone knew. I was going to change-improve on myself, if you will, but not entirely.

Changing only for the better, not worse.

I stared up at the clouds thinking, hoping, and praying that things would actually get better.

Was it bad I had my doubts? No, I’m only human after all. Was it good I was accepting change so early? Yes, or at least, I think it is.