Almost a Fairy Tale

The school year passed. Son stuck with her friends—no crushes or romances—and she heard nothing about Rodrigo. Son was starting her second year of high school; she was walking and chatting with Erika when she thought she saw someone she knew in the distance. Erika kept talking, but Son was distracted, trying to remember who the person reminded her of. Just then, the guy turned, and she realized it was Rodrigo. Son's heart sped up; she couldn't believe Rodrigo was there. Son left Erika talking mid-sentence and was about to go say hi to Rodrigo when she saw a girl walk up to him. He smiled, the girl took his hand, and they kissed. To Son's surprise, it was Erika's sister. She was Rodrigo's girlfriend.

Erika walked over to Son. "Hey, why'd you leave me talking to myself?" to which Son replied, "Oh, uh, I didn't know your sister had a boyfriend. Why have I never seen that guy at your house?" Erika, a little confused, answered, "You know how Lizzy is with her private life. She barely tells me what's going on in her life. But from what little I know, they weren't sure about their relationship, so he decided to transfer to her school to show her he was serious." Son didn't say anything. They kept walking and changed the subject.

Son was very distracted all day at school. She couldn't stop thinking about Rodrigo, but at the same time, she felt bad for thinking about him, since he was her best friend's sister's boyfriend. And besides, Rodrigo seemed to be very in love with Lizzy.

Recess came, and while Son was still lost in thought, she crashed into a guy. Her books scattered, and she started picking them up, half-annoyed. Suddenly, the guy said, "Well, I already knew you were distractible, but this is a whole other level." Son recognized his voice. She looked up, blushed, and said, "Hey, hi... Rodrigo, right? I haven't seen you in a long time. I think the last time was at that party." "Correct. That was the last time we saw each other. I texted you for a while, but you never returned my messages." Just as she was thinking of an excuse, Lizzy arrived. She said hi to Son, Son said hi back, and Rodrigo and Lizzy left.

The school year went on normally. After bumping into Rodrigo, she didn't have another run-in with him. Sometimes they would see each other in the cafeteria and wave from a distance.

Spring Break arrived, and several students were organizing a trip to Cancun. Many of the juniors and seniors were going. Son was very excited, as the trip might bring some romance or adventure. While she was daydreaming about the trip and packing, her phone buzzed. It was a text message: "Hey, remember me? It's Rodrigo. Are you going on the trip?"

Son dropped her phone from nerves when she read what Rodrigo was asking. She was sure he wouldn't go since Lizzy was staying behind for a job she got with her parents—or at least, that's what Erika had told her. She picked her phone up off the floor and decided to reply: "Of course. I'm packing right now, actually. Are you going?" And well, Rodrigo didn't reply.

Son couldn't sleep, first because of Rodrigo's message, and second, because of her excitement for the trip. She didn't understand why Rodrigo wanted to know if she was going. While thinking about all this, she fell asleep and, obviously, dreamed of Rodrigo and their first kiss.

The alarm clock rang. It was hard for Son to get up since she'd had a restless night. Between her thoughts and her dream, she hardly knew what was going on. Anyway, her mom took her to the airport. She met Erika there. The girls were thrilled about the adventure, the beach, and the parties. It was their first trip without parents and with several classmates from high school.