"excuse me," I said. "I need a second." I stood up, pushing my chair back from the table, and walked out to the tinkling of chimes in the doorframe.
My car was parked at the back of the parking lot, so I trudged through the dark, and across the patchy asphalt to my battered old Volkswagen Beetle. It was the color of a booger. I hugged my hoodie tighter around my shoulders as the chilly air blew through my hair. I climbed into the passenger’s seat and sighed. All the tension that had been building up inside me for the past half hour trickled out of me in a good, long sigh.
Putting the keys in the cup holder, I settled into the seat, and leaned it back all the way, until I was staring straight up through the windshield. It was a clear February Tuesday, and the night sky would have been beautiful, if not for the loud fluorescent street lamps blaring through the parking lot. I sighed. I wouldn’t have been able to see the stars anyways. Damn light pollution.
From where I sat, I could get the smallest glimpse of my school. I had a good view of the front corner, right where the theatre was. I lived in that theatre, in the lighting booth. It wasn’t as high tech as some of the other schools, but it worked. We didn’t need anything fancy to put on fantastic shows. Well, at least most of us.
The driver’s side door flew open. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Charlie climbed into the seat. “You can’t just walk out on abuelita like that.”
“She was attacking me. What else what I was supposed to do? Sit there and take it?”
“You could hae at least made an effort to change the subject or something. Storming out just made things worse."
I turned away from Charlie. "I just don't see why mom had to arrange a dinner to 'talk it out'...or why she sent you out to talk some sense into me."
"You know I would have come out here anyways." Charlie moved to grab my hand, but I pulled away.
"She... She just doesn't get it. I just... don't see why she can't just accept it. I'm not gonna be anybody else. I'm not gonna change." I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to cry. I wasn't gonna cry in front of Charlie.
"I think she just needs some time. Abuelita's just... old-fashioned." Charlie smiled. "She needs to get in with the hip new crowd"
"Go to a couple gay bars to see how the world works nowadays" I chimed in. We both laughed. She and I had kind of a rhythm. We bounced back and forth to a beat no one else would get.
"So, wanna come back inside?"
"gimme a minute to compose myself, and for abuelita to cool off."
"ok." Charlie hopped out of the car, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
-to be continued