“Word on the campus is you actually rejected Darien Gray,” a voice said from behind me as I walked to my car after school. I didn’t have a last class, so I left an hour early. I turned around to see my best friend’s twin brother, Jude. Apparently, Jude didn’t have a last class this year either.

“Yes, Jude, I actually did reject a guy,” I said dully.

“My, my. Miss Rivera can actually keep her legs closed. I’m proud of you darling.”

“You are the bane of my existence,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Where’s Janet?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear? She was Gray’s second choice, and they’re going to hang out after school.”

“Wow, he sure wanted me,” I muttered as I began to go the rest of the way to my car, which was not a good car, just so you know.

While my lovely neighbor Darien had a brand-spanking-new SUV, I had an old broken Oldsmobile that barely worked. Really, it didn’t have air, and don’t even get me started on how broken the doors are.

“Can I bum a ride home with you?” Jude asked, catching up with me easily. “Janet drove today but she refuses to give me the keys because she’s stupid like that.”

“Don’t insult my best friend, and yes, you can bum a ride.”

We arrived at my car where he opened the already unlocked passenger door (no, I did not push a button to unlock it) and reached across the middle to open the driver’s door for me. I told you not to get me started on the doors.

“So, why’d you reject your soul mate?” Jude asked as we left school.

“He’s not my soul mate,” I said, as I turned out onto the main street. “I can barely stand him half the time.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you rejected him. You practically hated Smith last year, and you two were found in a closet together.”

“Okay, we weren’t having sex or anything. I’m not like that, and you know it. And I rejected Darien because, for the first time ever, I’m going to stay single.”

I think that the noise I heard from Jude was him choking on his own spit.

“You’re joking! Cecilia Rivera, single? No dating at all?”

“Exactly.” I turned on the road Jude lived on, which was right behind mine. That’s mostly the reason that I became best friends with Janet.

“You’ve been dating since sixth grade. Why the sudden change?”

“Because,” I said as I pulled up in front of his house. “Guys are jerks and I need a break.”

He looked surprised, but got out of my car without a word. I pulled off after he closed the door, and after two right turns, I found myself in front of my house. My huge house, which really made my car look like crap.

I parked in the driveway and got out, being sure to leave the door unlocked. I walked up the stone walkway to the large wooden front door. After unlocking it, I stepped into a large foyer, as my mom called it. I just called it the front room. The floor was white tiles that you could probably see your reflection in. Once a week, my mom hired someone to come clean up the house, which was a ridiculous waste of money because my brother and I weren’t messy. My mom was just dramatic. I went to the left, into the living room, which was just two couches to the left and a nice TV that no one ever really watched to the right. I walked through the walkway next to the TV and found myself in the kitchen where I dropped my bag on one of the stools. The only great thing about my house was that there was always food in our kitchen.

As I began to make myself some Ramen, because I can’t really cook that much stuff, the house phone rang. The house phone never rang. We only had it incase of emergency. So, needless to say, when it rang, I screamed.

Calming myself, I answered the phone.

“¿Bueno?” I answered in Spanish.

“¿Esta María Rivera aquí?” An unfamiliar voice asked.

“No, ella esta en el trabajo,” I replied slowly.

“Oh, do you speak English, because that would make this so much easier.”

“Yeah, I’ve been speaking English since second grade,” I told the woman as the microwave beeped.

“Okay, well, I am Laurie Cortez, down at the school district office.”

“Well, can I take a message to give to my mom when she gets home?” I asked as I took my cup of soup out of the microwave.

“Yeah, you can have her call me,” the woman said and I wrote the number down on the whiteboard hanging on the refrigerator. “Thank you, have a good day.”

“Yeah, tú también,” I told her, hanging up the phone.

As I sat on the couch and turned on the TV, I realized why I was always going out on dates and such. Other than that, all I did was my homework. I realized without dating, I had no life at all.

After going through all of the channels, I decided on just putting on Disney Channel, even though the shows sucked. In my defense, there was nothing else on.

After about an hour of moping around, I heard a car pull up in front of my house. Looking through the curtains behind the couch, I discovered that it was just Darien pulling into his driveway. He saw me looking and smiled a little. Then Janet’s car pulled in behind his and I rolled my eyes.

“Hanging out.” So that’s what they’re calling it these days. Janet smiled at me, rather triumphantly, before following Darien into his house.

Janet had always liked Darien. But instead of just asking him out, she went out with all of the other guys that asked her out. Only, unlike me, she stayed with them even though she didn’t like them. We avoided talking about that topic because it always resulted in a shouting match until someone broke us apart.

Basically, I’d tell her she was a tease because she’d string guys along for awhile and then just dump them. Then, she’d say I’m a slut for dating every guy that ever asked me out. Then I’d be all like, yeah, you do, too. Then she’d be all, at least I can hold onto them. And it’d just go on from there. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.

It had been around three when I saw the lovely couple next door, which meant my little brother would be home soon. He didn’t want me to come pick him up after school, which was fine with me. He was a freshman and thought that his big sister picking him up would be dorky. I would have been happy with a ride after school, regardless of who it was from. Instead, I had to take the bus, just like my brother will. In my opinion, he needed the exercise anyways.

My mom got home around five those days, and either she’d bring food with her or she’d make something once she was home. On occasion, she’d call early and ask me to make something. My brother hated the days when I had to make something. Usually, it came out good, but I’d always make spaghetti because it’s one of the few things I can actually make. Other times, I’d make French toast or grilled cheese.

When I heard the front door open, I went to see it was my brother, looking rather sweaty.

“You could have picked me up,” he said, standing three inches taller than me. I was short, which made him short.

“You said you didn’t want a ride this morning,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “You need the exercise, anyways.”

“I do not,” he said, standing up straight. “I’m going to go get a shower.”

“Cochino!” I called after him with a slight laugh as he reached the top of the stairs.

I went down the hall across from the front door and went into the first door on my left, which was my bedroom. I think it was meant to be the master bedroom because it had its own bathroom, but my mom gave it to me. It was also the only bed room on the first floor. I had originally wanted to have my bedroom in the attic, but my father said no.

I decided to call Janet, mostly to annoy her, which I know sounds mean, but she did it to me all of the time. I pulled out my cell phone as I sat on my bed and went through the address book until I found her.

“Hello?” she answered, sounding out of breath.

“Janet, I’m bored,” I said with a sigh.

“That’s why you called, to tell me you’re bored?” she asked in an annoyed voice.

“Who is it?” I heard Darien ask in the back.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” I asked in an innocent voice.

“I hate you,” she grumbled before I heard her hang up and I couldn’t help but laugh.

She did the exact same thing to me the first time I went out with Darien’s best friend Michael. I’d never actually been Mike’s girlfriend, but we’d gone on dates. A lot of dates. But Janet called on the very first date, way back in our freshman year. I was shyer then, but I still went out, so I was pretty embarrassed because Mike could hear all of the things she was asking. Luckily, he thought it was pretty funny and wasn’t all awkward about it. When I thought of this, I decided to call him.

“What’s up, Cici?” Mike answered.

“I’m bored,” I told him, falling back on my bed.

“So call Janet and hang out with her.”

“I already did but she’s with Darien right now,” I said as a slight frown crossed my face.

“I still can’t believe you rejected him. You’ve never said no to a guy before.”

“Well, I’m tired of dating guys that only last a week and you and I both know that me and Dar wouldn’t last long.”

“So find a guy you don’t get bored of, then,” Mike said and I heard a crash in the background.

“You wanna come over? I think my mom is gonna make dinner.”

“Yeah, sounds like more fun than here.” He hung up as I heard some screaming.

On our last date, which was in like, April of junior year, we had decided we shouldn’t date each other just to have dates. We still hung out a lot, but as friends.

I went out into the living room where I found my brother laying on the floor.

“What are you doing?” I asked, kicking his side.

“Making shapes in the ceiling,” he said lightly.

“Whatever you say. Oh, and Mike is coming over for dinner.”

“Are you guys gonna start dating again? Is that why you rejected Darien?” my brother asked, sitting up.

“Gino, you don’t just ask me that kind of stuff,” I said, sitting on the couch. “And it’s a no to both questions. Me and Mike aren’t dating at all anymore and I rejected Darien because for the first time ever, I’m going to stay single.”

“¿Que?” Nothing but surprise was on my brother’s face. “Mentirosa. You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying, Gino. I’m actually taking a break from guys. Besides, I don’t want to be the one dating Darien. Everyone hates those girls.”

“Everyone already hates you anyways.”

“I know, huh?” I said with a smile that made my brother laugh. “Well, most girls hate me because I’m always out with Mike. And then this whole summer was like, me and him and Dar.”

“He’s Dar now? Ooh la la.”

“It’s nothing, Gino. Shut up and do your homework.”

“I don’t have any homework. It was the first day of school.”

The front door opened, and I looked at the clock. It was only four, so it couldn’t be my mom. I went to the front room to see Mike. Tall, gorgeous Michael Christianson. He was nicely tanned due to our time spent in his backyard on the trampoline and in the pool. He was also about a foot taller than me with brown hair that fell into his bright green eyes.

“Cici, I think you’re getting shorter every day,” he said, pulling me into a hug that lifted me off the ground.

“Nah, you’re just getting taller,” I told him as he put me down.

“Does your mom know I’m coming over?” he asked walking into the living room.

“No, should I have told her?” I replied following him onto the couch.

“Probably,” he said lightly, implying I should call and tell her.

“I’ll call her!” Gino said, jumping up from the ground. “My phone is in my room.” He quickly left, leaving Mike and me alone.

“So, wanna tell me the real reason you aren’t dating?” Mike asked me, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

“I just don’t want to,” I said lightly. He just stared down at me, eyebrows raised. “Because guys are jerks, that’s it. I’m tired of being surrounded by jerks all of the time.”

“So find someone who isn’t a jerk, duh. Gosh, Cecilia, you don’t have to swear off guys. Just swear off jerks.”

“All guys are jerks, simple as that.” He looked offended by my statement, but he had been a slight jerk over the summer, so I didn’t bother to apologize.

“You are such a cynic,” Mike informed me, shaking his head.

“Mom says she doesn’t care if he stays,” Gino said, coming into the room. “She’s already on her way home.”

“Okay,” I said leaning back into the couch. “Do you know what she’s making?”

“I didn’t bother asking,” he replied, rather huffily before leaving the room.

“Your brother is weird,” Mike said with a slight smile on his face.

“I was going for bi-polar, but that works, too,” I replied smoothly, looking at the TV across the room but not really watching. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mike prop his feet on the coffee table and relax a little bit. His slight slouch and the fact that he weighs more than me made me slide into him, my left leg almost on his lap but neither of us did anything.

“Why are we watching Disney?” Mike finally asked and I shrugged.

“You can change it if you want,” I said rather quietly for being me. I wasn’t really focused, though.

I hadn’t been this physically close with Mike since April, but both of us were acting like we did it all of the time. Part of me wanted to move away, but the rest decided it was best to stay, and majority ruled.

Mike went through the channels and settled on The N, which had Saved by the Bell on. Love that show. We stayed like that, watching the TV and laughing with it until my mom came home. She walked into the living room and her eyes fell on us.

She didn’t like Mike. She called Mike a bad influence. She preferred me to not hang out with Mike.

Her eyes shifted between us and subconsciously, I moved away from Mike a little. My mom didn’t really notice, but Mike did. I know he did because he tensed up a little.

“Hi Mom,” I said with a smile. “How was work today?”

“Same as always,” she told me, pushing her black hair off her shoulders. “How was school?”

“She rejected Darien,” my brother said from behind my mom. “He asked her out, and she just said no.”

My mom eyes turned to me. “¿Por qué?”

“Porque yo no quiero salir con él,” I told my mom. Basically, I said I didn’t want to go out with him.

“¿Y por qué no? He’s a nice boy, Cecilia.”

“Then you date him, porque yo no estoy.” My mom gave me an evil look before going into the kitchen.

“Cecilia, whose number is this?” I heard her ask.

“Oh, Laurie Cortez from the school district. She said to have you call her back.”

“Did she say why she wanted me?”

“Maybe she thinks you’re hot and wants to date you. She seemed nice, you should say yes.”

“That’s not funny, Cecilia,” she said. “Come get your bag and take it to your room. I don’t need it dirtying the kitchen.”

“Cochina,” my brother said as I walked past him into the kitchen.

“Mom, stop being so mean to Michael,” I said as I grabbed my bag.

“I didn’t do anything Cecilia,” she told me as she dialed the phone number on the fridge.

“You looked at him evilly when you realized I’m not dating Darien. Don’t worry, I’m not dating anyone.” I left the room with my bag and walked through the living room, where I grabbed Mike and went to my room.

“Any reason we’re hiding out in your room?” Mike asked, laying on my bed as I took a seat at my desk chair.

“My mom doesn’t like you,” I said simply. “And I’d rather her not shoot you dirty looks to your face. She can do it through the wall.”

“Wow, you’re protecting me from your mom?”

“I wouldn’t define it as protecting,” I told him, looking at myself in the mirror on the back of my door. “Do you think I’d look good with bangs?”

“I don’t know, cut them and we’ll find out.”

“No,” I said incredulously. “You only do those hair cuts that may go bad at the beginning of summer, incase they suck. Then, if they look good, you re-cut it at the end of summer for school. That way, all of the people you didn’t see think it’s a new style, and the people that did see you still think it’s cute. I thought that was common knowledge.”

“What if it’s a bad haircut, but you’re going out in the summer with some friends?”

“You find a matching beanie or something.”

“And if you’re going to the beach?”

I frowned, thinking of what to do then. Finally, I said, “I don’t know. Buy a regular hat and if you go in the water, no one will really notice anyways, unless it’s that bad, in which case, just stay home.”

“Have you experienced this before or what?”

“Seventh grade I let my brother cut my hair, but only because my mom trusted a fourth grader with scissors. That’s why I missed Stacy’s party that year. We dubbed it 'the hair incident,' on my mother's request.”

“Would you happen to know what Darien was really doing? He swears to this day he had the flu.”

“He stayed home with me and helped fix my hair. Then we played dorky board games with my mom and Gino.”

“You guys were such dorks,” Mike said, laughing.

“Okay, you didn’t see my hair. It was like… I don’t even know. It was uneven and just… Not normal. I swear, you’d think it was a four year old that did it or something. It was terrible.”

“I can imagine. Gino’s eyes are uneven which would explain the unevenness of the hair. He’s never had much style anyways.”

“Stop insulting my brother. Only I can do that.”

“You were thinking the same thing, so shut up and don’t be so dramatic.”

“I hate you,” I said, standing up and moving in front of the mirror. “But really. Do you think I’d look okay with bangs?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” In the mirror, I saw him roll over to look at me. “I’m not exactly a fashionista, you know.”

“Maybe not but you’re my buddy. My pal. My home boy. You’re supposed to give me advice.”

“My advice is to go for the bangs, but if it comes out bad, blame Janet for not being here to give you proper advice and if it comes out lovely, no need to thank me.”

“Wow, thanks so much,” I said, blowing a strand of dark brown hair out of my face. I was then hit in the face when someone opened the door and I let out a string of swear words which surprised Mike.

“Cecilia, tú no hablas como esé.”

I instantly forgot about the pain when I looked up to see my father standing above me.

A/N: So. The Spanish may not be perfect, for which I’d like to apologize. But in my defense, I only took one year of Spanish.