SATIVA ✞ ON MY BLOCK [OSCAR DIAZ]

II. SIX

"Do you understand anything I just said?" Jamal asked, his normal eagerness in his voice.

Ximena gave the customer their food before waving them goodbye, "So you're saying that all the RollerWorld money is dirty? And you can't spend any of it?"

"Basically," he shrugged, "but Abuelita has a plan."

"She has a plan?"

"Yep."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea."

"Jamal," Ximena rolled her eyes, grabbing the bag of food for the next customer on line.

"I know how it sounds but I trust her, she's old. She knows how to do things like this."

"Okay," Ximena shook her head, "all I know is that I still want my cut." She still had hospital bills and college to worry about.

"Cut of what?" Logan questioned, walking over to the two. They both stayed silent, staring at each other.

Jamal began stuttering, "Uh-uh, her cut of the, um-"

"Pie!" Ximena exclaimed, holding out her arms.

"Pie?" Jamal raised his eyebrows, earning a look from Ximena until he caught on quickly, "Oh yeah, pie!"

"Pie?" Logan questioned again.

"Yeah," Jamal nodded, his breath quickening, "there was a pie in the break room but we- we ate it! Yup, we ate it all up! Yummy." He began rubbing his stomach, acting extremely obvious.

"Um, okay?" Logan furrowed his eyebrows together, looking over at Ximena, "You ready to go soon?"

"Excuse me?" Jamal cut in, becoming protective over the girl.

Ximena rolled her eyes, ignoring him, smiling at Logan, "Yeah, I'll meet you in a minute."

He nodded, clocking out before exiting the shop.

"What is this about?" Jamal put his hands on his hips, eyeing the girl down.

Ximena shrugged, grabbing her bag off of the shelf, "What? My shift is over."

"Yes, I know that, I mean with you and Mr. Too Good To Come To Work On Time."

"Oh please," she groaned, "he's just giving me a ride home. I'm sorry if I don't want to wait for another three hours until you get off."

"Mhm," Jamal crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head, "Why can't Oscar pick you up?" Ximena began getting irritated with all of the questions Jamal was asking.

"Because," she gritted through her teeth, "Oscar isn't my boyfriend."

"Alright," Jamal put his hands up, "I'll back off. Just got to look out for my girl."

Ximena chuckled, clocking out, "See you at home, Jamal."

Logan opened the door for her, cringing at how messy his car was before running over to the other side of the car. They both piled in, Ximena squeezing her legs over to the side.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he apologized, moving some stuff over, "I don't really have pretty girls in my car that often."

She blushed, not even minding the mess that much, "It's fine."

He put on his seatbelt before digging through his jacket pocket, "You mind if I light up?" She nodded her head, putting on her seatbelt.

As he stared the car, the engine coughed up whatever was sitting there for the past couple of hours. The noises sounded scary and Ximena knew he really wasn't lying about the car. He made sure to pull off, waiting until he was down the street to light the joint. He took a hit, turning his head towards the window, blowing out the smoke. With one hand on the wheel, he attempted to pass the joint to Ximena but she shook her head politely passing it up.

"Make a left here," she pointed to the street sign.

"So, you go to school with Jamal?" Logan asked, wanting to make some conversation.

"Yeah."

"Senior year?"

"Thankfully."

Logan laughed.

"You're lucky," he said, "I didn't get to finish my senior year."

"Why not?" the girl questioned. "My dad got sick so now I take care of him. Had to drop out of school and get a job."

"You could still always go back," Ximena suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, nah. I just have too much on my plate right now for school."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged, taking another hit, "It's okay."

Ximena's phone made an obnoxious dinging noise, breaking up the awkward silence that fell upon them.

"Your phone's been ringing all day and you looked at it once," Logan chuckled, gesturing to the phone on her lap, "avoiding someone?"

"Not avoiding," she sighed, "just, not ready to talk to them yet."

"So, avoiding."

Ximena rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Boyfriend?"

"Ex."

"Oh," Logan groaned, "Who's dumb enough to lose you?"

"Well, he didn't exactly lose me. We're on a break right now."

"Can I ask why?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm interested."

"Hm," Ximena huffed, "Make a right here. It's the last house down."

"So, you're not going to answer my question," Logan laughed, stopping the car infront of the house.

Ximena opened the door, grabbing her bag, "Maybe next time."