Out

Part Three

Benji

The next few days went by quickly. I saw Jorge around school a lot, but only got to talk to him in English. It was nice having an excuse to see him everyday. All we've been doing in English were exercises to get to know the people next to us. It seemed pointless because I already know Jorge so well.

"Okay, now that we've gotten to know each other, it's time to get started on the real stuff," Mr. Williams says when the bell rings signaling the start of class.

It was only Thursday on the first week of school and I already wanted it to be over. A part of me likes school now that I get to see Jorge, but I also long for the weekend where I can sleep in and am not forced to sit in a wooden chair for eight hours a day.

"A big reason I had you guys get to know each other is because you will be working with partners on most of the assignments handed out in this class," I look at Jorge and give him a confident smirk. He rolls his eyes, but laughs right after. "English is the most important subject in school, but it's also important to learn how to work with others."

"There's just no getting rid of you, is there?" Jorge whispers, giggling slightly.

"Nope," I smile at him.

Mr. Williams hands out papers to the class explaining the assignment. "There's more information on the assignment sheet, but basically you guys will be decoding a list of poems. Your job is to tell me what each poem is saying and who the intended audience is."

I scribble my name on the paper and look over at Jorge's. His name is written neatly at the top, unlike mine, which is almost unreadable.

"All the poems are in you textbooks, so get to work. It needs to be turned in by midnight on Friday."

"Wait, what about those of us that won't get to work on it in class tomorrow because of sports?" I speak out. The game tomorrow is out of town and we're leaving at the start of first period. Jorge nods, the cheerleaders get to go with us, so he'll be gone too.

"You will have to work on it at home, then." I smile at the idea of getting to see Jorge out of school.

"We can go to my house, if you want?" I ask Jorge who's picking at the pencil in his hands.

"No, no," It sounds like he's telling himself 'no' instead of me. "Um, lets go to that coffee shop downtown. The one across the street from the park. They have WiFi so we can work on our laptops if we want."

"Okay," I laugh at how fast he talked. It's probably not a good idea for us to be alone together, in my room, anyways.

***

"Do you want anything?" I ask Jorge, who's setting up his laptop on the table in front of him. We got a good start on the assignment in class, but have a few more poems to work on.

"Oh, I can get my own," He smiles at me and reaches into his backpack to get his wallet.

"Jorge, it's like three dollars. What do you want?" I stand up from the table.

"Just and iced coffee, please," He blushes. I smile at him and walk towards the counter to order. When I come back with our coffee, Jorge's typing away at his computer. He's wearing glasses, though.

"Those are new," I motion towards his glasses and set his drink down in front of him.

"Oh, yeah. They're stupid. I only have to wear them when I'm on the computer for a long time," He takes a drink of his coffee. "Thank you."

"They're cute," The small squared glasses on his face makes him look younger and more comfortable.

"Thanks," Jorge puts his head down and looks at his lap. I smile at him and take my laptop out of my backpack.