On my block: Monse and Cesar

Chapter 8

"Listen, don't worry about me just go to school. I'll be there if I can." Cesar tells Monse over the phone. "How am I not supposed to worry about you?" She asks. "My brother always keeps me safe, this time isn't any different." He assures her. "Ok, but if anything happens." "You'll be the first person I call. Be careful, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you." Cesar tells Monse before he hangs up.

*later at school*
"But what about you? How do we make sure you're safe?" Monse asks. "I gotta go." Cesar says when he sees a text from his brother. "I'll walk you." Monse says quickly. "No, you gotta get to class." Cesar insists. "Just let me walk you." Monse isn't going to drop this. "Fine." Cesar sighs. "You should've told Olivia the truth." Monse says as they walk quickly. "Which part? That I could be killed for even leaving my house or that I spent the night at her best friend's house?" He asks. "That this isn't just gonna go away." Monse explains. "No, I'm not ruining her quince. The only girl that needs to know my business is you. It's always been that way and it's not changing now." Cesar says seriously. "Ok." Monse mumbles. They get to the fence and see Spooky parked in his red impala. "If any Prophets even look at you call me, ok?" Cesar says and Monse nods. "Please be careful Cesar." Monse says. "Don't worry about I'll be fine." Cesar promises. He kisses her forehead and he climbs through the gate. "You good?" Spooky asks Monse. "I've been better." She shrugs. "Listen kid it's not safe for you out here either, you should probably just leave with us." He says. "I think I'm safer at school." Monse says bluntly. "The school won't protect you. You wanna get shot that's on you." Spooky tells Monse. She looks at Cesar for advice and he nods his head. "You should come, at least it'd know you're safe." Cesar suggests. "Ok." Monse goes through the fence and sits in the back row of the impala. "So Cesar, what happened to that other girl? What was her name? Olive... weren't y'all dating?" Oscar breaks the silence. "We're still dating... and her name's Olivia." Cesar says awkwardly. "Nice job hermano but you better leave some hynas for the rest of us." Oscar laugh. "Don't listen to him." Cesar turns to Monse. "Nothing wrong with a having something on the side." Oscar laughs. "Oscar cállate!" Cesar hisses. "It's fine, I know what we shouldn't be doing whatever this is." Monse shrugs. "Where are we going?" Cesar asks when his brother gets on the highway. "You both need to relax." Is all Oscar says. "The beach? Shouldn't we be hiding somewhere? I am not really in the mood to die today." Monse says in a single breath. "We'll be fine." Oscar says as he parks. They grab burgers and then sit on the sand. "Still don't like onions?" Oscar asks when Cesar takes an onion out of his burger. "Who doesn't like onions?" Monse laughs. "They just taste weird." Cesar defends himself. "Nah, they add to the flavor pallet." Oscar says and the teens just stare at him. "Have you ever tried a shallot?" He asks. "What's a shallot?" Cesar asks. "I don't know either." Monse says when Oscar looks at her. "I thought you guys were supposed to be the smart ones. A shallot, my genius brother, is a type of onion. A botanical variety of the species Allium cepa." Oscar explains. "And you just know this?" Monse asks. "Who are you?" Cesar laughs with a mouth full of burger. "Spelling bee champ seventh and eighth grade that's who I am." Oscar says proudly. "At least we know where Cesar got his brains from." Monse says. "Shit if I wasn't looking after his ass I would've hit that magnet school up in Pasadena." Oscar tells Monse. "Seriously?" Monse asks. "Now you're just messing with me." Cesar says. "De veras homes. All my teachers wrote letters for me. Even the principal. Told mom I was gifted." Oscar says. "Sounds like you still are. I don't know too many guys from Freeridge who can even spell onion." Monse says. "Why didn't you go?" Cesar asks. "And leave your little ass alone?" Oscar asks. "But mom was around." Cesar points out. "Mom wasn't always around." Oscar says seriously. When she was around she wasn't really around." Oscar explains. "I'll give you guys a minute." Monse starts to get up but Cesar stops her. "How am I supposed to make sure your safe if you walk away? Sit down." Cesar says sweetly. "I never knew that." Cesar says sadly. Monse grabs his hand and rubs his knuckles with her thumb. "Good. Then I did my job." Oscar says before he looks back at the ocean. "I had plans to ace that magnet school. Then go to culinary school." Oscar says light heartedly. "My brother, the chef." Cesar smiles. "Hey you joke but that shit could've been real." Oscar laughs. "Okay, so use shallot in a sentence." Cesar requests. "Give me all your shallots, biatch." Oscar says before they start laughing again. Once the finish eating they get up and walk on the beach. "¿Que estas pensando?" Cesar asks Monse. They let Oscar walk a few steps ahead before Monse says anything. "What if your way out is your brother's way out?" Monse asks and Cesar looks at her, confused. "Your brother still has hope. All we'd have to do is convince him that there's more out there for him then just Freeridge." Monse suggests. "And get his hopes up for nothing? He's in way too deep." Cesar says honestly. "There's a chance and don't tell me there's not because we both know if he left he'd take you with him." Monse defends her idea. "And what if we found a way to get out? I couldn't leave you, or Ruby, or Jamal." Cesar explains. "You're forgetting someone." Monse says. "Or Olivia." He says. "Not her, you. We'll find a way out but you right now you're the only person you should be worried about." Monse says. "You two gotta stop being so chismosa and hurry up." Oscar laughs when he sees how far behind they are.