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[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished: Ep. 7

“Alright Sertia, what’s the plan?”

“Main I don’t know! I’d tell you too be yourself, but you’re definitely thinking about this too much for that advice to be useful. Look, just wing it, play it by ear. I’m sure you’ll be fine as long as you keep your cool and don’t say anything stupid.”

“Gotcha, thanks.”

                                                         • • •

Salvador had been sitting in bio for the past hour in the dark, listening to the teacher’s boring lecture. All she ever did was sit there and go through powerpoint presentations and have her students take notes. 

Salvador sat in the back at one of the lab tables, primarily because it was in the back near the window and it had a little fish tank on it. The fish tank contained a few guppies and some crabs, who all had names given to them by Salvador and his friends. 

He found it hard to pay attention to the class sometimes, because his friends, Felix, Lucas, and Damian. Felix was a very close friend of Salvador’s, an Irish boy almost a year older than him. He was pudgy, and had always reminded Salvador of Samwise Gamgee. He had a hairy face and legs, which was known by his friends because he always wore basketball shorts. Lucas was a sporty boy, who played in futból clubs outside of the school. He was very cold, yet always funny. He simply had little to no regards for others, and even if he did, he never showed it. He had a quality about him that made everything he did inexplicably hilarious to Salvador. Damian had been present in Salvador’s groups of friends for years, but they had never become that close. He was more someone that Salvador could kinda idly laugh at, but not usually talk to. He was a known troublemaker, and Salvador would never, but he could see that deep down, Damian was a good kid who only wanted to feel the validation of his peers.

With all of his things packed and ready for home, Salvador put on his backpack, and looked at Soorja from his table in the back. She sat pretty much dead center of the three rows of tables in the front, only a bit to the right. As she made her way to the door, Salvador realized that this was his opportunity to walk out with her and get closer to her. 

He quickened his pace a bit, and caught up with her right as she got out of the doorway. 

“hey,” he said, coming up behind her.

She turned her head to him, as if surprised to see him. 

“Oh hey, what’s up?”

“Oh nothing, I was just behind you and decided to say hi.”

“oh, well then hi,” she said,  with a smile that melted his heart and shattered all the emotional armor he had forged over the years. 

“So uh, where are you off to then?”

“Well, Salvador, I’m off to the Metro, where are you off to?”

“The bus, but I’m sure I could spare a moment to walk with you. How far is it?”

“Too far, trust me, you’d miss the bus. I can get home safely myself, thank you very much.  I may be a princess, but I don’t need a knight in shining armor.” 

Yeah, you certainly are a princess, and I’d give anything to be your knight. Though he. 

“Well alright then, you get safely then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Until then, ‘Prince Charming’”

She smiled at him again, with the same power that she had just moments before. Salvador just stood there looking at her, completely dumbfounded. Had she meant it? No, the undertones of sarcasm were too strong. She was just joshing me. Salvador realized that he was just standing there bug-eyed, so he shook his head to snap out of it, smiled at her, and waved. She was standing a bit in front of him, half turned and looking at him smiling. Proud of her work, she smiled at him and turned, leaving the boy lovestruck for the first time in his life.

                                                         • • •

That night, as Salvador slowly worked his way through his math homework, his phone lit up with a message. It was from Soorja. Salvador’s heart skipped a beat. All day her had been thinking about her, but he was too afraid to message her. 

The message was nothing special, she had just slid into his DMs with a meme about a dog. It was a cute dog, a good dog, so that’s what Salvador said about it. 

“You know normally I despise being interrupted in my work, but this dog is worth it.”

“Oh so you like animals then?”

“Like them? I love them! Hell, I have a dog myself. HIs name’s Fenrir.”

“Fenrir... what a cool name.”

Salvador was pleased that she was showing interest, so he decided to ride the wave as far as he could.

“Yeah, he’s a 9-year-old Chihuahua/Daschund mix.”

“Oh that sounds adorable! Can I see him?”

Salvado called his dog over to him, and sent a picture of the lad to Soorja. He retook the photo at least eighteen times, because of something in the background that he was overthinking. As expected, she reacted with lots of praise for Fenrir’s adorability. Salvador realized that there was nowhere left to go with Fenrir, so he inquired as to whether Soorja had any pets.

“No, but I’ve always wanted one. It’s just that my parents won’t let me.”

“Not even a fish or something?”

“No. But besides, a fish isn’t the same as a dog.”

“Oh well that sucks.” 

“I’ve noticed.”

Most people, when texting their crush, expect an answer immediately, and believe that they also have to answer within seconds of receiving a text. Although he would have done this normally, Salvador was too busy trying to do his math homework to be able to think too hard about his dying conversation with Soorja. 

After about a minute and a half had passed, Salvador had the sudden realization that the conversation had died. He wasn’t sure if he had to say goodbye or something, so he came up with a plan that would either revive the conversation or give him the opportunity to say goodnight. 

“So whatcha doin’,” was his genius solution.

“ah yes, a brilliant one-liner to rekindle the flame,”

“y’know Soorja, you see right through me.”

“Of course I do. Nonetheless, I’m working on that Spanish project from before”

“Oh the earthquake one?”

“that’s right.”

“Well I speak Spanish, maybe I can help you out. What’s this project of yours about?”

“Mostly vocabulary and stuff. Do you have any idea how to say ‘mall’?”

“oh for sure, that’s ‘centro comercial’”

“oh duh, thanks”

“yeah for sure”

There was a short pause as Salvador closed his books and prepared his backpack for the next day of school. Once he was finished. he messaged her once more.

“Hey man, it’s already ten o’clock, you should go to bed”

“ok DAD”

“um... what?”

“well cause that’s just such a dad thing to say.”

“fair enough, but I am honestly quite tired, and you should be too. If you need anymore help with Spanish, feel free to hit me up anytime, goodnight.”

“thanks, and I will. goodnight!”

Salvador sat there at his desk for a good fifteen seconds, considering how her face must’ve looked during their conversation. He noticed she was very sarcastic, but not in a bad way; in a cheerful, joking, light-hearted kind of way. The kind of sarcasm that requires finger guns, playful winks, stuck-out tongues, and happiness. He thought about that as he prepared for bed, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. She was already in the process of stealing his heart, and he didn’t even know that much about her. What a wild thought. He thought to himself as he got under the sheets. But I still hope it works out.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished: Ep. 6

Having Spanish first period was always draining for Salvador, especially with the teacher he had, Ms. Lopez. She was young, doing her doctorate, and still teaching. She should be tired all the time, but instead, she was upbeat and fun. The only price to pay was a fair amount of work, usually oral presentations. 

Thankfully for Salvador, first period was now over, so he headed across campus to get to English, his second. As he approached the door, he was reawakened when he saw that there was finally a new seating chart, as Mrs. Bajobark had been promising her students for so long.

Oh no way, he thought. Salvador was seated right next to Soorja. He wasn't sure if this was his lucky day or the start of a horrible nightmare. He took his seat, and waited for a surprising amount of time for Soorja to walk through the door, just barely making it to class before the bell rang.

Although they were friendly with one another, that was only one time, and they hadn't exactly spoken face-to-face much since then. Salvador was a bit nervous, but he would get nervous no matter who was next to him, so long as it was a girl... or an intimidating guy. Salvador knew that Bajobark was talking, but not a word of it got through to him. All that he was concerned about was looking— or at least seeming— cool and collected.

Suddenly, he realized that Soorja was trying to call his attention.

"Salvador. Salvador!"

He turned to her, surprised, and she took that as an acknowledgement.

"Alright, so in case you didn't hear, we're gonna review each other's essays."

He smiled at her in a light-hearted mocking sort of way,

"you know me so well and we've pretty much just met."

"oh don't pull my leg, here, let me share my document with you."

She leaned over to him, and started typing her email into his laptop. As she did, her head ducked a but under his chin, and he caught a whiff of her hair unintentionally. He enjoyed the sensation of having her so close to him, and looked down at her hands and he hair, and smiled tenderly without her knowing.

"Alright, your turn."

Her sudden speech was like a slap in the face, and he almost jumped at her voice. She held out her laptop and he typed in his email, and they got to work.

Their essay was to be about their culture and family history, because it had something to do with the book they were about to read, or something to that effect. As Salvador read along, he called her attention to point out things that can be improved, as well as many grammar mistakes to yank her chain. Every time he did, she would lean over the way she did before, and he hair would brush his cheek or nose, and he would feel butterflies in his stomach, as well as a strong desire to put his arm around her, maybe stroke her hair and give her a peck on the cheek or forehead. Soon, they were through, and class was dismissed. Salvador had a tendency to stand up and put his backpack on his desk in order to put his things in it, and it seemed Soorja did too. She smiled at him when she noticed him staring at her, and then she swiftly walked past him, brushing against his shoulder and pushing a small gust of her scent into his face.

                                                          • • •

Later that day, when Salvador was sitting in his room and thinking about Soorja, he texted Sertia,

"DUDE YOU'VE GOTTA HELP ME"

He didn't have to wait long for her reply, as Seria just loved to text.

"WHAT WHAT WHAT'S WRONG"

"I THINK I'M IN LOVE"

"NO WAY, WITH WHO"

"WHO DO YOU THINK???"

"Soorja?"

"DUH"

"well what makes you say that?"

"well, mostly English, specifically today. Y'see, we finally got that new seating chart, and I sit next to Soorja now. Today, we reviewed the essay of the person next to us, and for me, it was her. Anyways, while she gave me her email and stuff, she would lean over and I got butterflies in my stomach. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her and... well idk, but all wholesome things"

"ooh, sounds like we've got ourselves a problem, huh loverboy?"

"oh shut up. Look, you've gotta help me win her over, please?"

"alright alright, I'll help, but falling for someone takes a long time, and is no easy task."

"I know."

"well then, I'll agree to help you."

"thanks Sertia, and sorry I'm advance if I call upon you to analyze every little thing that happens between us. Soorja and I, I mean."

"I know, and I'll do everything I can to help. What else are friends for?"

And so, Sertia had established herself as Salvador's first and only emotional output. He had never had one before, because nobody ever really cared. All of his previous friendships were centered around laughing and fun, nothing emotional. But that's how it is with most boys, eh? With a person like Sertia by his side, Salvador thought that he had a pretty good chance of getting his girl, so he went to sleep with happy thoughts of Soorja, and dreamed of all the dates he would love to take her on.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished: Ep. 5

It was another ideal Autumn day in Pueblo del Mar when Salvador and the rest of his biology class finally heard the bell ring. Finally time to go home, he thought. Unfortunately for him, he then got a text from Sertia, asking if he would stay with her until her father picked her up, at around 6 o’clock. Salvador pondered this for a moment, and decided that it could be fun, so he got his parents’ approval and agreed to stay. 

He went to the central courtyard of the school, commonly referred to simply as “the Square,” and found a bench. He laid on the bench under a tree, and watched as the yellow leaves fluttered past his face to the ground. He felt the gentle rays of the sun shining don on him, warming his body. Salvador’s eyes gradually closed, and he felt himself drifting off into a season-induced nap.

This nap didn’t last very long, however, as less than five minutes had elapsed before he heard Sertia hovering over him. 

“This isn’t a bed, you know.”

Salvador half-opened his eyes to see the outline of his friend Sertia, leaning over him like an angel.

“You look like a Valkyrie come to take me to Valhalla.”

“Are my looks that divine?” she asked, flipping her hair in his face as he sat up.

“No, it’s just the lighting. Like have you ever seen the movie ‘Ghost’? That part at the end where the angels take the guy up to heaven? That’s what you reminded me of.”

“He has such a way with words.”

“Oh shut up, what do you wanna do.”

“Well for starters, I need to go to my locker.”

“Alright then, lead the way.”

Salvador got up, and he and Sertia walked to one of the few two-story buildings on campus. 

“Oh hey, we have history here,” Salvador pointed out, trying to break the silence.

“Nice work, detective.”

To his surprise, Sertia turned and led him up the staircase. 

“Huh, I’ve never been up here.”

“Today’s your lucky day.”

They walked about halfway down the linear hall, until Sertia stopped and began to open her locker.

“So, you interested in anyone?” she inquired.

“I might be.”

She slammed her locker and looked at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Well, who is she?”

“What are you, a love guru? Lay off.”

“Hey now, I just want to help.”

“Bull shit, I wont tell you; you’ll have to guess.”

“Ugh, at least give me a clue?”

“Alright, I’ll give you her initials: LH”

“Oh no way, it’s Leah Hong?”

“Alright how did you get that so fast? Who told you?”

“Who told me my ass! I’m just good at guessing and I happen to know a lot of people.”

“Fair enough.”

The excitement of having guessed correctly so fast quickly vanished from Sertia’s face. Salvador soon noticed her grimace, and asked her what was wrong.

“It’s just that, Leah isn’t such a good girl to go after.”

“Is it because she a thot? Because if it is, then I already know.”

“You do? Then why do you still like her?”

“I dunno, I guess it’s just that she can be pure and wholesome sometimes.”

“You sure it isn’t just hormones?”

“Yeah that’s a big part of it too.”

“Well that’s not good.”

“OK well then maybe you’ll approve of the fact that she’s not the only gal I’m interested in, she’s just the girl I’m most interested in.”

“Oh? Then give me the other girl’s initials.”

“SM”

“I don’t know.”

“Really? You, the master guesser,  don’t know it?”

“Hey I said I know a lot of people, not all of them.”

“Fair enough. It’s Soorja Mahabbit.”

“Who?”

“The girl who sits behind me in math? We have History with her fourth period?”

“Oh her!”

“Yes, her.”

“Well I don’t know her at all, so I won’t say much, but I do think that she’s probably pretty wholesome. You should chase after her instead.”

“I dunno, maybe.”

It was at this point that salvador realized that Sertia had led him to the Taco Baco near the school. Here, they ate, Salvador paid, and Sertia was soon picked up. 

                                                          • • •

That night, as Salvador was trying to fall asleep, he pondered what Sertia had said to him about Soorja. Maybe he did like Soorja more than Leah, maybe he should chase after her instead. With that thought in his head, Salvador slipped away into a dreamless sleep, anticipating what was to come in his love life.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished: Ep. 4

It was just another day for Salvador, and the time between school starting and 3rd period felt like several eternities for Salvador. It was time for math, his worst subject. He sat down in his normal spot: front row, two seats from the left, and pulled out his notebook. The girl who always say next to him sat down too: Sertia. He recalled that this was the same girl who he had offered emotional support to one night, so assumed that they were acquainted enough to whisper cheeky remarks under his breath to her whilst the teacher talked. Sertia chuckled at the boy's jokes, and began to feel like they could easily become very good friends.

Not but fifteen minutes into the class, the teacher, Ms. Vicesma told them that they could work amongst themselves on their homework. Seizing this opportunity to have someone else do the work, Salvador turned to Sertia and asked for her help.

"Alright man you've gotta help me out here, how do you do this?"

She looked at him for a moment, wondering why this boy was being so forward and friendly. She decided to shrug it off and consider him an introvert. Ah, what the heck? She thought. If he wants to be my friend, then I might as well let him.

"Alright well first, you're gonna do this..."

And so began Sertia and Salvador's face-to-face friendship, and it didn't take Salvador too long to see what kind of girl she was. Sertia was one of those girls that posts everything on her story. She'd post bad pictures of whoever she's with, she'd post anything the teacher said or did that was humorous, and she'd post 11:11's. Unfortunately for Salvador, 11:11 happened during math class, so he was always the subject of the bad pictures and videos she took to post online.

One day after school, Salvador was sitting in his room when he came across her story. It was a picture of himself with a dog filter form that day's 11:11. He swiped up, and jokingly typed,

"ooh, who's the cutie 😩👌"

Almost immediately, she replied,

"oh he's just my other friend Salvador, and he's soooo hot 👌👌👌"

"lmao I know I am"

There was a short gap between messages.

"what do you mean? WAIT ARE YOU THE SAME SALVADOR?"

"why yes, yes I am. Why, did you not know that?"

"no I thought you were his friend pulling his leg lmao, I had no idea"

"wow I cannot believe you didn't realize. What you just thought too Salvador's were at school and you were conveniently friends with them?"

"I dunno I guess lol"

"man that's wild"

And so they bid each other good luck on homework, and a good night's sleep.

                                                           • • •

The next day when they sat down for math, the energy between Salvador and Sertia was a tad bit different. Know that she knew that he was the same Salvador who had comforted her, she was a lot warmer and at ease with him. She made jokes back at him, and he was the one chuckling and stifling laughter. They quickly became friends, and soon, they were talking all day and texting all night.

"Y'know Salvador, sometimes I miss my ex boyfriend."

"oh now don't say that, we don't think like that here, it'll hurt'cha too much."

"that's real sweet too say, but I really do miss him."

"well have you considered that maybe it's not him you miss? I mean, what if it's just the experience of having a boyfriend that you miss."

"well maybe. I mean, we did kiss a lot and stuff."

"see? Maybe you just miss that kinda thing."

"maybe. Hey Salvador, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"pff, look at me, of course I haven't, I'm unattractive as all hell."

"hey don't say that! You're plenty attractive, and smart, and funny!"

"oh don't kid me now, look at me; I'm out of shape, I'm ugly, I'm stupid compared to the others in our class. You're lucky, you're gorgeous: nice body, good height, pretty face. You've got everything a boy our age would ask for."

"hey now don't flatter me. And you're not ugly, or dumb, or out of shape. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"hey now don't talk about my body, you haven't seen it."

"that doesn't matter, anyone would still want you..."

After she said that, there was a long pause in their conversation. They were sitting in a small courtyard lined by bungalows, with. Row of four low-hanging trees in the center that created a nice, even canopy. The trees provided shade, almost like a roof, only letting a few beams of sunlight through to light up the courtyard. It was Autumn, so the leaves were brilliant shades of yellow, red, orange, and brown, and were leaving the trees in such a way that allowed for more light to shine through, so that the trees and the sun's golden rays complimented each other and culminated into a gorgeous haven; the perfect image of fall in all it's romantic potential. Sertia turned to Salvador, and asked him,

"do you ever wish you had a girlfriend, Salvador?"

"well of course I do, every day. I mean, what fourteen-year-old doesn't?"

"hm... What would you do with her?"

"what?

"I mean, how far would you go with her?"

"I dunno, depends who, depends where, depends on a lot of things, actually..."

"ok Salvador, say it was me, right here, in this courtyard, how far would you go?"

"um... right now? I don't know, how far would you go?"

She laughed to herself, lowered her face, and gazed up at him.

"as far as you'd want me to."

Salvador sat there, flustered for a second, but determined to keep his cool.

"well I'm sure we'd have to set boundaries. I mean, I'd definitely make our, but nothing further than over-the-clothes"

"well that's respectable, glad to see you're such a feminist."

"hey man I was just raised to be a nice guy."

"maybe that's why you're still single."

"I'm sure a lot of girls would appreciate my attitude towards this kinda thing."

"I agree. I, for one, find it quite refreshing, Salvador."

They held one another gaze for half a minute, until Salvador turned away from her.

"I think we've gotten to know each other quite a lot better over the past oh I don't know, 20 minutes? But I don't know if you're just teasing me to be mean or if you just really want someone to take you up in his arms and kiss you, and touch you, so that you can fill that gap that your ex left in you when he left "

"ouch, way to turn the tables."

"look, you're gorgeous, Sertia, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to feel like I'd be taking advantage of you in your grief, now walk me to the bus, I've got homework to do."

"oh how noble of you, Salvador. I'll remember this. Now let's go."

"promise me you won't try to get with anyone else before your dad gets here?"

"alright alright, I'll be a good little girl."

"good, I don't want to see you hurt yourself."

"thanks Salvador."

She gave him a warm, tender smile as he got on the bus, like a 50's housewife would give her husband when he left for work in the morning. Salvador thought about that smile all the way home, and that night, laying in his bed, he couldn't help but wonder every detail of her beauty. Maybe her feelings are real, he thought to himself, slowly before drifting off into a dream in which she was his 50's housewife, smiling to him as he left for work.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished: Ep 3

It was three o'clock in the morning, and once again, Salvador was lying awake in his bed browsing memes. Suddenly, he felt his bed begin to shake violently. The frames in his room beated against his walls like snare drums; some even fell. Within seconds, it was over, and he immediately sat up and looked over at his older brother, Santiago. As expected, he was still asleep. Salvador pulled up his online story and asked if anyone else had felt the earthquake.

Within thirty seconds, he got a rather unexpected reply; it was from Soorja.

"OMG DID YOU FEEL THAT TOO? I THOUGHR I WAS THE ONLY ONE"

He paused for a moment to smile at the message before responding, because something about Soorja's enthusiasm made him happy.

"Well you certainly replied quickly"

"YEAH MAN I WAS SCARED"

"oh? And why's that?"

"BECAUSE EARTHQUAKES ARE SCARY"

"Haha, I'm not as scared of their potential for death and destruction as I am of their ability to mess me up"

"what do you mean?"

"well, let's say I was using a ruler on a really important project and suddenly an earthquake happens"

"ok..."

"well then, it would shake me and make me mess up the line I'm drawing!"

"I don't think that's as big a concern as your family potentially dying lol"

"well it is to me"

"well you're in luck, because I was working on a Spanish project right as it happened"

"ooh, I hope nothing went wrong"

"nope! But I was under my desk faster than you could say 'tectonic plates'"

A good thirty seconds went by, so Salvador wished her good luck with her project, and a good night's sleep. She returned the favor, minus the luck on the Spanish project.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished Ep. 2:

It was 12:47am, and Salvador was laying in his bed, wide awake and on his phone. He was making his way through people’s online stories. He came across one, belonging to someone named Sertia. It was just a black screen, with nothing but a “💔”. He swiped up, and asked 

“hey, what’s wrong?”, despite not being able to match the name to a face. Not expecting her to reply, or being at all concerned, Salvador was surprised when she immediately responded, and told him that she had recently broken up with her boyfriend. As he had no relationship experience whatsoever, Salvador was in no position to give her any advice, so he instead resorted to comforting her. 

“Oh no that’s terrible, I’m so sorry to hear that. Why’d you break up with him?” 

“He told me that our relationship was a bit too serious for him and that he wasn't ready for it."

He thought for a second about how to respond to that, because that seemed like a really stupid reason to break up with someone.

"Oh, he's one of those guys then. Well lemme tell you, if he's one to give up like that, then breaking up with him isn't a loss at all. I understand that it might be hard initially, but you'll find later on that if he wasn't ready for a semi-serious relationship, you'd be better off not being in one with him."

He saw that she was typing, and waited anxiously for her response to his impromtu advice.

"Yeah, you're probably right, but then again, breakups are hard no matter what context. So whether or not it's good for me, it's gonna feel bad right now."

"Yeah, what you need right now is a shoulder to cry on, and if you don't have one, feel free to use me."

Salvador was 14, and he had never had a girlfriend in his life. This had cause many personal problems for him. He had become a very lonely person, and would pounce at any glimmer of hope for having one. This being said, he had no intention to date Sertia, because he understood that she would be emotionally unavailable after a breakup.

"Thank you Salvador, I really needed support right now, even if it was from a stranger."

"Oh don't mention it, I try to be there for anyone when they're down and out."

"You're a good person, Salvador, and I hope that we can be good friends in the near future."

"You can count on it as long as I can too :)"

With that, they bade each other good night, put down their phones, and went to sleep.

[ravenwithaknife-blog]

Embellished Ep. 1: Pilot

       Salvador was walking to the bus, when he saw in front of him a girl who he recognized from several of his classes; primarily English, 2nd period. He sped up his pace, and as he was coming up to her side, he spoke, “Hey, you’re Soorja, right? We went to the same middle school, but we’ve never had any classes together until now.” She looked at him, a look of minor surprise on her face, but she saw him and smiled, and he knew that she had recognized him. “Oh yeah, you’re Salvador, aren’t you? I believe I’ve seen you around here and there.” He smiled back at her, and he said whatever small talk came to his head first, “Isn’t it weird how many people you never had a class with, despite being at the same school for 3 years? I mean, I never knew you, or Jon, or Maurice, or some other people who I don’t even know I never knew!” She giggled and nodded her head a bit. “So how are you liking our teachers?”  he asked. “I like most of them, Mrs. Bajobark is really fun, but Mr. McCain scares me,” she complained. “Really? I actually really like him, but I guess I can see why he might be a bit scary,” he replied.  

       They stopped by the fence, waiting for the busses to arrive. “So are you in any clubs or anything?” he asked. “Yeah, actually!” she replied energetically, “I’m on the dance team, Comdef, and the Red Cross!” “Wait what’s Comdef?” question Salvador, not realizing that it was an abbreviation. “Computer Defense, we do computer stuff.” “Gotcha.” She looked at him for a second, and then broke the silence, “So what about you?” “None, actually, but I’m in an extracurricular called C&D.” “What’s C&D?”, she asked. “Well basically, a bunch of teens from across the state gather three times a year to model the government, and in between, we have a delegation meeting every week.”, he explained, somewhat enthusiastically.

       A couple minutes of mindless smalltalk went by, but eventually he buses came, and Soorja decided to go find hers. “Come with me to find my bus.”, she suggested, almost commandingly. Without hesitation, the two set off through the crowd, keeping almost no distance between them, until they found Soorja’s bus, and as she got on, she brushed his shoulder and arm with her hand, and said goodbye, and disappeared onto the bus, leaving Salvador with the seeds of a crush buried in his heart.