Te Extraño, Mi Amor : I Miss You, My Love

Te Extrano, Mi Amor : I miss you, My Love

                 He had just got to the barracks, which was really just his school  and to his dorm. With a hand pressed to the door that was left ajar, he gently pushed it back to reveal an empty room with a bunk bed, a desk, and a lonely, half way pushed out chair. Of course there were other things like a carpet and a trash bin, other things like the single window which at the moment was completely fogged up. Rafael pushed back his hair, which he hadn't shaved just yet. He was going to miss it, though. He had a habit of fidgeting with the strands and feeling just under the roots where it got extra soft.
                 He stepped to the center of the room, letting his duffel bag roll off his shoulder and thump onto the floor boards beneath him. Rafael's bag included his bathroom necessities; or at least what he considered a need, those considered being his hair oils and comb. His military school uniforms, magazines which consisted of a few copies of DC comics and another for Military supply recommendations were also inside his duffel bag, though, he had other stuff in there too, just not important or really took up much space. Still feeling his hair, preparing himself to mourn, he was snapped out of his small daydream by a voice approaching from behind.
                 "Are you taking the top bunk?" A tired voice had asked, standing at the doorway.
                 Rafael turned his head over his shoulder to see the other boy, who looked to be a little bit older than him by a year or two, or maybe he was just aging poorly already. "Nah, man, go ahead," he replied.
                 The tired boy with an already shaved head, who looked older and had a deeper voice, tossed his bag of supplies onto the bunk bed's top mattress which was pushed against the left wall. He then began to climb the ladder. "You haven't shaved it yet?" He asked, stopping on the middle bar and looking down at the shorter male. He seemed to stand a bit over six feet at the moment, which compared to Rafael was a bit of a height difference. Five or six inches may not sound a lot but Rafael would have to at least tilt his head back in order to make eye contact.
                 "Huh?" Rafael questioned, running his hands through his hair one last time as he looked up at the other. "Oh.. no, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Gonna miss twirling to and braiding it, though," he replied with a faint smile and low laugh, trying to make a friendly atmosphere. Rafael had heard, from his siblings, that military school could be really competitive and aggressive. Knowing he shouldn't trust his family's words, he still took it into consideration.
                 The sound of rustling could be heard after Rafael had watched him climb the rest of the short ladder and settle onto his claimed mattress. "I'll cut it for ya," the boy said as he took out a wireless shaver, probably meant for his patchy puberty stubble. "I got my buzzers, I wouldn't mind.
                 "Oh, really? Thanks man. But do it now so I don't chicken out," Rafael smiled, heading to the office chair that was a little bit away from its desk. He took his seat.
                 The other boy, after climbing back down, spun Rafael's chair around and stood behind. Pressing the power button on the electrical razor, he began to brush up and under Rafael's hazel hair. "Name is Darrel Smith, you?," he introduced himself as he moved the buzzing razor. He made sure to leave enough hair to not show the skin, respecting how the other took care of, cherished, and loved it. He could tell just by how it shined and how soft it felt.
                 Rafael had never gotten his hair cut like this, not with something vibrating and loud. He couldn't exactly hear his new service member, Darrel, all too well, but he could make it out. Normally his older siblings would just cut his hair with some loose scissors that they always had to tighten with the end of a knife or with their long and uneven nails. This haircut felt really weird, and oddly professional. "Rafael," he too, introduced himself, ignoring the odd sensation he felt against his head and noise that flowed through his ears. "Delgado," he finished with.
                 "Oh, and don't nick me, man, heard that shit really hurts.." Rafael commented after a second.
                 "Not even low enough to do that, don't worry," Darrel reassured him. "How was your ride up here?" He asked after a moment of silence, trying to make conversation.
                 Rafael, who was focused on the vibrations and sounds, was once again brought out of his daydream and to an awaiting response. "Tiring. Had to take a couple bus rides, really long ones, too," he expressed.
                 Of course he had to take long bus rides. This school was far, really far out from where he originally lived: a busted down apartment in the broken, scary part of New York that you would try you best to stay away from. Or, the busted down apartment in the broken, scary part of New York that movies always portrayed. He had to choose somewhere far, very far, to get away from everything and all the chaos. Home for Rafael was not fun.
                 After the haircut, Darrel left to get the razor's charging station and plug it under the desk where the outlet was. Rafael was left with cleaning up the floor and dusting the leather chair (which was probably left behind by a previous cadet). With clumps of his hair in his hands, Rafael waddled to the trash bin to toss it out.

                 Later that day, after everyone had gotten situated and handed their schedules, they left together to the kitchen, awkwardly following each other after saying 'goodbye' and 'goodnight'.
                 They are in silence, Rafael sitting at the kitchen island in a bar stool and Darrel sitting beside him maybe two stools away. Darrel was quiet, making everything more fiddly.
                 "So.." Rafael started with, trying to make it all less uncomfortable. "Why'd you sign up for military school?" He questioned, dragging his fork around his food.
                 "My family all fought in the army and are veterans, so I did the right thing and continued the tradition," Darrel simply answered. "What about you?"
                 "Thought it would be cool," Rafael replied. However, that wasn't exactly the whole reason. Sure, he did think it would be cool to go out with a gun and take down some bad guys like in a video game. Sure, he thought it would be cool to do something and have a purpose, but the real reason was that he had enough of home and its chaos. One very early morning, after a very difficult night, he impulsively went to sign up and got onto a bus with whatever he had.
                 "Ah.." Darrel slowly nodded, the room filled with silence once more. Things returned to being awkward and uncomfortable for the two of them, Rafael sighing with relief as another cadet had come into the kitchen to get his dinner.
                 The other teenage boy could immediately sense the awkwardness, he too growing uncomfortable and uneasy. After getting a pop tart and taking a bite, he leaned his back against one of the countertops and faced the two of them.
                  "You two okay?" He asked them, his eyes shifting between their faces.
                  "Just eating," Darrel said, taking another forkful of food.
                  "Okay... me too.." the new cadet answered. "I'm Mordecai," he smiled, his teeth sharp and shiny. Mordecai was tall, almost at Darrel's height but he hit higher numbers. He had black hair, shaggy at the top as it wasn't shaved all the way down like Darrel's. "What about you two?"
                  Darrel and Rafael had introduced themselves at the same time, turning their heads to look at each other with confusion. Rafael had chewed with his mouth opened, his cheeks full of food. Darrel's lips pulled into a wrinkled, quivering smile, trying not to giggle or laugh. He brought his attention back to Mordecai, who smiled at the two's small interaction.
                   "Well, Darrel and Rafael, it's nice meeting you! I just came down for a snack. We've had a long day today, so head to bed early!" Mordecai waved his bitten-into pop tart before beginning to walk back out of the kitchen .
                     "He seems nice," Rafael commented, his food now swallowed.
                     "Yeah," Darrel nodded in agreement.

                     After eating dinner together in a less uncomfortable silence, they went back to their dorm and agreed on taking turns to head to the shower as they didn't want things getting more awkward with the "good bye" and "goodnight" followed by going the same direction. As they made the plan of who goes first and who goes second, they laughed at the stupidity of it all.
                     In the showers, with Rafael and maybe two other guys in the other showers, he was of course washing his hair and treating it with nice soaps and oils. He rubbed his body with a bar, feeling the area get dry, the sweat and grim getting washed off. This was probably the best shower he had ever taken, the best feeling and relaxation he has felt since forever.
                     Rafael got himself dressed in the locker room area, putting on one of the extra pairs of clothing he brought with him from home. A plain t-shirt paired with plain, comfortable sweatpants. Rafael then returned to the dorm he shared with Darrel, slowly opening the door to not wake up the other, if he was in fact beginning to sleep or already slumbered off. Darrel wasn't. However, his attention was brought up to the door and the light that shown through the hallway and pressed against Rafael's back.
                     "Hey," he said, hanging his head low again. Instead of sleeping, on his bed, he was leaned up against his pillows, his knees perched with a small notebook pressed against them and a hand holding a pencil softly grazing against the papers.
                     "Yo, you drawing in the dark?" Rafael questioned, concerned. As he stepped inside, he flicked the switch on the wall to turn on the light, the one that flowed from the ceiling. He then went ahead to turn on the lamp on the desk and then walk back to turn off the ceiling light. He seemed to be very precise with what he wanted done and in what order. "You should have the light on, you know," he told Darrel. He brought himself to the bottom bunk of the shared, towered bed, rolling into it and rolling himself up in his thin blanket. With whispered conversations, the two of them eventually fell asleep.