MY SHOOTING STAR

Chapter Six

There were consequences in believing the words of a serpent. I'd rather avoid the rundown for my head's sake.

Symbolically, serpents were devrived from the devil himself, so I knew when to not believe a word from Ms. Mollina, even if it was too good to be true. A serpent like her never played fair. She knew the perfect moment to spew out her venom, and it was always when you least expected it.

Nana was eager to know what the two conditions were that would help me advance to the eleventh grade, but no more than I was. "Anything! He'll do it!"

Oh, if anything she implied included partaking in ruining Ms. Mollina's car by keying the paintwork until it looked like icing on a cake or slashing her tires with a nail that I had in my pocket for quite a while, then I would happily oblige.

"He will need to participate in one month of summer school, in which I will be in charge of," Ms. Mollina addressed.

"And the second one?" I pried, not anticipating another because one condition was punishment enough.

"You'll have to apply thirty hours of community service after school or until school has ended," she added.

"Done!" Nana hastily agreed without consoling me, which was frustrating because I felt like I had no saying in this at all.

"Now, just wait a minute!" I snappped. "Why community service? What does that have anything to do with me graduating?"

"You are due in for violation of our school policies and outstanding missed homework assignments that can hinder a child to even continue attending this school," she explained.

"You mean, expelled?" Nana nearly fainted when she heard that. She stumbled back into one of the student desks when she felt her blood pressure rise.

"Having skateboards in class is hardly a violation," I defended.

"Except you also ride it in the hallways."

"You what?" Nana about had it with me. To cool down, she took herself out of the room, nearly dragging her purse along.

Ms. Mollina sighed as the tension of the room worsened. "There are far more, but that is for another discussion." She peeked at her watch and winced at how much time flew by. "To not keep you long, let's get to the point, shall we?"

"That wasn't enough?" I groaned. How much more damage could she do in one night?

Ms. Mollina ignored my outraged protest and continued. "Included in your community service, you will engage in communication with your supervisor at least three days a week, and once your hours are complete, you will be able to turn in a 3 paged paper about your experience."

"But I already have something planned!" I exclaimed.

"What could possibly be more important than you graduating, Mr. Luca!" Ms. Mollina wasn't expecting me to answer a rhetorical question, but I did.

"I'm supposed to help the school paint the banners for the game!" I rationalized with her. It wasn't my plan to make an excuse with what I intended to bail on, but I prayed it was enough to be in my favor.

Her eyes closed and wearily sighed. "Ahh, I forgot about that event. Another thing on my to-do list..."

"Can't that be my community service?" I begged.

"It could have been if I orchestrated it beforehand, but unfortunately, that was volunteered on your own free will," she said. "I'm sure your abuela would appreciate you choosing to put your education first."

"Is that your purpose all along?" I grouched.

Ms. Mollina's raised an eyebrow, oblivious to my question.

"If it's your intention to sabotage another relationship of mine, you're doing a hell of a job!" I snapped. She had already severed a relationship that was dear to me. I wouldn't let her destroy one with Nana, too.

To end this meeting, she swiftly and sloppily gathered her supplies off her desk. In addition, she avoided eye contact, which was proof that she knew what I meant. "I'm not quite sure what you're implying, but my intentions are always civil. That is to provide help to my students in excelling in their curricular activities!"

The serpent had punctured holes in my already bandaged heart, and she knew that, which made me feel extremely vulnerable and defeated. I watched her carry her purse around her shoulder with a large folder in her arms as she headed towards the door.

Rarely seen of me lost for words in a debate with her caught her attention. She paused at the door and sighed, more so out of pity than obligation. "Listen carefully, Mr. Luca. I remember your classmates entered a school project last year that gained recognition for their astounding achievemens. If you input that same amount of zeal here in your studies in the next month, I will consider your request. Do you understand?"

I nodded in relief as Ms. Mollina led me out of the room so she could lock it for the night. If only she knew that the source of my zeal was no longer available, then she wouldn't have asked a nearly impossible feat to accomplish.

"You're more than what you imagine yourself to be, Luca. Place your dreams where it really matters, and I promise you will go far in life. You have enormous potential." And then she was off.

Her speech had me almost believing all of her nonsense. With the exception of her explaining to me that her intentions were civil. Now, that was malarkey. Like I said before, believing in a serpent would be your own demise.

When Nana was not spotted in the hallways, it was suspected that she had already headed back to the car. I couldn't blame her for not waiting for me after the meeting. The information given was a lot on her.

As much as I hate to admit it, it was a lot on me, too; I hated that Ms. Mollina ignored to enlighten all of my achievements to Nana. Because of that deliberate choice from that serpent, this created another wedge between Nana and I.

For certain, this would be the last parent and teacher conference I would ever attend to after tonight's encounter.

As I was on my way back to the car, I walked down memory lane through the achievement hall where glass cabinets displayed academic achievements in the form of trophies and certificates. Against nations, different types of subjects were challenged by top students: trigonometry, spelling, science, sports, fine arts, and drama.

Photos of talented students hung above the trophies. I stopped in my tracks when a familiar face came into view in one of the photos. Placing my hand on the glass cabinet, I deepened my breath as I saw the girl I once knew, with dark hair and honey-toned skin, standing proudly in a crowd of accomplished and diversed students. They smiled at the camera holding gold medals.

Despite her practically ruining my teenage years as of late, Ms. Mollina had made some valid points I couldn't deny that should go into consideration, about changing my direction in life and chasing my dreams. It had also occurred to me that Mr. Valencia had said the same thing earlier today. Maybe they were going somewhere with this.

Since my previous dreams sizzled out a long time ago, the least I can do is reconcile and recover from them, which meant I had to pull apart from my memory bank old dreams and replace them with new ones. That in itself was going to be a challenge--with a little resistance, but nothing too hard.

Maybe accepting this challenge was a healthy way to create restoration. I would want to believe so, just like how she used to.