Magic in Costa Rica

Mondays at Midnight

I stared up at the ceiling, no longer forcing my eyes shut, although I knew if I didn't fall asleep soon, I would be exhausted tomorrow morning. I sighed; this was always the way it was on Monday nights. I got so excited about seeing Matthew on Tuesdays that I could never get to sleep at a reasonable time the night before, and showed up to every meeting half-asleep. He must think I have some sort of sleep disorder. I laughed silently to myself. Oh well, I didn't mind these restless hours so much. The past few months had rushed by so fast that I treasured nights when I could just lay down and contemplate all that's been happening.

I had made significant progress with Magic in Costa Rica, and my book was now officially fifteen chapters and almost two-hundred pages long. I spent so much time writing that I barely had time to do any of my other schoolwork, and the only class I put any real effort into was Spanish, mostly because it was difficult enough that I had to try in order not to fail. Oh, and art class. I had become unexpectedly close to Mrs. K, and she was really helping me embrace my creative side when it came to drawing. Also, art class was one of the only times I ever saw Mark and Carla anymore, besides lunch and the occasional Sunday evening get-together. Carla had some difficulty with drawing at first, especially since she was so used to working with watercolors, but over time she learned to embrace all the detail she could accomplish with fine lines, and her work turned out stunning. Mark drew comics, mostly, and Ethan preferred abstract art, which was captivating, especially to Carla.

I sighed again, this time in frustration. It was infuriating to me that neither Carla nor Ethan had made a move yet. They were so obviously into each other, but they both denied it. I made Ethan sit at our table as soon as he transferred in, and he was super shy at first, but he opened up pretty quickly, especially to me. I think he could sense that I was, in a way, just as closed off as he was, and it put him at ease. Mark, on the other hand, he completely shrunk up around. It's not that they didn't get along, but Mark had a very loud personality, and it took some adjusting for Ethan to finally get used to. Carla was a nice balance of both Mark and I. She had a strong sense of self, but wasn't as aggressive about it as Mark was. When Ethan had something to say, she always stopped and listened. It also helped that she was completely in love with him, and hung onto every word that came out of his mouth like it was the Gospel according to Jesus.

She did a good job of denying it though. Whenever I asked her about it, she pretended that she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, and claimed that Ethan was like her little brother, and that she would never even dream of liking him. And she was so convincing, I almost believed her, and I probably would have if I hadn't seen that glimmer in her eye the first time she saw him at the film festival. That look, which had only flashed across her face a handful of times in the months since, gave everything away. Every time Ethan gave her his signature embarrassed half-smile, or swept his shaggy, blond hair away from his eyes, I could see her heart catch on fire. Nobody else could tell, though, and I think the only reason I could was because I had felt that fire ignite in my own soul so many times before with Matthew. Not even Mark knew, and I decided not to tell him, just to save Carla from the embarrassment. I knew Ethan liked her too, from the way he watched her when she wasn't looking, but I didn't have any proof, so I tried not to meddle. However, that didn't mean I wasn't incredibly frustrated with their inaction, because I certainly was.

It made me angry that in front of me were two people who were clearly dying to be together, but weren't. And the reason they weren't together wasn't because there was anything standing in their way. It wasn't like me and Matthew. Ethan wasn't seven years older than her and also her mentor/teacher. They were just being cowards! I took a deep breath. Calm down, Alma. It'll happen when it happens. I tried not to get worked up about it, since it only reminded me of my, uh, situation with Matthew.