It was before first period. I was at my locker, getting my books for my next few classes when someone slammed my locker shut, almost catching my hand. Luckily, I jumped back out of the way in fright, letting out a high pitched yelp and dropping all of my books. Quinn, the one who almost chopped my fingers off, laughed, "Sorry, I imagined that going much smoother.
I laughed nervously as I bent down to pick up my things. But before I could touch my American History textbook, Quinn stopped me.
"Let me get them," He said in a very gentleman-like manner. He swooped down and gathered all my school stuff, standing back up and handing them over to me.
"Thanks..." I retorted apprehensively as I took them into my possession.
"No problem. Hey, you know how there's that homecoming dance coming up?" He inquired as we made our way to English.
I gave him a weird look, "Yeah, what about it?"
"Were you planning on going?"
"Uh...not really," I answered truthfully.
His excited expression disappeared, "Oh..."
"Dances aren't really my thing," I added, "They're more Kristen's thing."
"Have you ever tried not mentioning your sister?" He snapped at me as we walked through the classroom's doorway. The two of us made our way to the back, where we sat down at our desks. He leaned over and continued in a whisper, "I mean, I get it. We're not the popular ones. We're in Anthony's and Kalel's shadows. But you're Lennox Smith. I'm Quinn Padilla. We're our own people. Not just 'Anthony's brother' and 'Kalel's sister'."
"I know, but..." I started to say when I was cut off by the bell. I shut my mouth and averted my attention to the front of the classroom.
"Good morning, class," Our teacher greeted as he turned around and wrote today's lesson on the board.
While he wasn't looking, I pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down: We'll talk about it at lunch. I folded up the note and reached over to Quinn's desk, setting the note down on top of his notebooks. I retracted my hand and looked straight ahead at our teacher who was assigning what pages we were going to be reading today.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Quinn pick the note up and read it. A smirk crawled on his face as he picked up his pen and wrote me back. He slipped the note back over to me. I unfolded it: Alright. I smiled.
*****
"So what were you saying?" Quinn prompted as the two of us sat down at our normal lunch table. Kristen sat down at the other end alone, slamming her tray down. All of her old friends had moved to a different table, totally dissociating themselves from her. Don't feel bad, I reminded myself, Don't feel... "Len!"
"Sorry, what?" I asked as I snapped back into reality.
"You told me in the note that we'll talk about it at lunch," He reminded me as he picked up his slice of pizza and took a huge bite out of it. He continued what he was saying with a full mouth, I almost couldn't take him seriously, "So what were you saying?"
"Oh, uh," I said as I shook my head, "What I was saying was that..."
I was once again cut off, but this time by a girly squeal. All heads turned in the direction of the source of the scream. "Yes, Anthony, I would love to go to the dance with you!" A girl, whose name I believe was Mari, exclaimed as she slung her arms around Anthony's neck. Applause spread throughout the cafeteria. I almost was compelled to clap along with everyone, until I noticed Kristen rise to her feet and storm out. I hung my head in shame - if it wasn't for me, Kristen would be the girl Anthony asked to the dance. Kristen would be the girl to silence an entire lunchroom to accept Anthony's dance proposal. Kristen would be the girl...
"Len!" Quinn shouted at me.
"What?" I snapped back as I returned from the daze I had gone into.
"Tell me what you were going to tell me in English cl-"
"Hey, why'd you bring up the dance this morning?" I interrupted him.
He rolled his eyes, "I don't know, Lennox. Don't worry about it."
"But you had to have some reason," I urged, "Come on, tell me!"
"Fine," Quinn said, "I...I brought it up because I was going to ask you to go with me." Both his and my cheeks grew bright shades of red. He shook his head and picked up his apple, "But you said dances weren't really your thing, so..."
"Yes," I cut him off.
"What?"
"Yes," I repeated, a smile growing on my face.
"Yes what?"
"Yes, I'll go to the dance with you."
*****
My family and I were sitting at the dining table. It was after we ate, so everyone was doing their own thing. Kristen would normally be on her phone, but since no one's talking to her, she was just sitting there, filing her nails. My mom, on the other hand, was on her phone, talking (more or so arguing) with one of her coworkers. As for my dad, he was walking in and out of the dining room, taking our dirty plates away to clean them.
I cleared my throat, "So you know about that homecoming dance?" I looked at my mom and sister to see if either of them heard me and cared enough to stop what they were doing. To my surprise, Kristen looked up at me.
"Yeah?"
"Well...I got asked."
"Great for you!" She yelled sarcastically, throwing down her file and rising to her feet.
"What? You didn't get asked?" My mother inquired, putting her hand over the speaker on her phone.
"No. You know who Anthony asked instead of me?" Kristen shouted, slamming her hands down on the table, "He fucking asked Mari. Mari fucking Takahashi."
"Couldn't you go with Joey?" I suggested.
"He's graduated!" She jerked her head in my direction, "This is a school dance. I don't think they'll allow a college student to come." I just stared at her blankly. "Who asked you anyways?"
"Quinn."
"Anthony's brother?" Kristen slipped back into her chair. I nodded my head yes. She gave me a disapproving look. "Oh god, no. Don't go with him. Tell him to go fuck off."
"What? Why?"
"Because I know the kind of guy Anthony is, and Quinn's almost a mirror image of his brother. It's only going to end in heartbreak, Len. Trust me." I don't know what it was, but it was as if Kristen had totally forgotten that she was mad with me and she was acting all sisterly with me.
"I'm just going to the dance with him, Kristen, it's not like we're going out."
Kristen laughed heartily, "Len, don't you see it? He's just trying to use you!"
"Quinn's not trying to use me!" I argued. Now it was my turn to get up, "You're just upset because I'm finally the one who's happy and you're not!" I spun around and rushed up to my bedroom.
