Veinticinco

I received a phone number by a guy I only met once. As if my week wasn't crazy enough. You see, after Hernando went to the hospital with Alejandro, two things happened.

One, Hernando is now part of El Leon for what Alejandro considers his loyalty.

Two, after Hernando mentioned to everybody how Alejandro was partly saved by me, I have received waves and warm greetings from members of El Leon. Apparently, saving the leader of a gang gives you a street cred all your own.

Of course, I didn't do it for the street cred. I did it because I thought Alejandro was an innocent bystander caught in the middle of El Leon's carnage.

All that aside I haven't forgiven Hernando for leaving me alone that night to take care of the mess. Which means by the time my mom came home there was still blood one the coffeetable and living room carpet. "What happened?!" she shrieked.

"I can explain. Hernando brought Alejandro here from El Leon because he was injured and..."

Then my mom went into a violent outburst. Where along with a string of cuss words both in English and Spanish, she let something slip. "Your father is probably rolling in his grave for you saving his murderers!" After my mom realized what she said, she clammed up and told me to go to my room. Which I did because I was too shocked at this information.

I still am and it makes the warm greetings I've been getting from El Leon painful. My mom told me my dad was just at the wrong place wrong time and got shot on his walk home. He was getting some extra groceries for home that night. Mom also told me that they never found who did it... apparently, whoever did it was just never caught. Or as most violent cases involving Latino communities...the police didn't stick around long enough to find answers.

No matter what really went down though, it doesn't change the fact my dad was murderered. Why? I don't know. I'm afraid to ask my mom. She had a reason to stay quiet for so long and once I know the truth, I can never unlearn it.

I don't remember much about my dad. Just small black and white memories of a man who used to know me. He never got the chance to know me better. Neither did I.

It's all in the past now, but mom's admission just brought me more questions I wasn't expecting. Kit noticed I wasn't myself, he knew it. He must think it has everything to do with the note I received from Sun.

I left the note in my backpack. Every now and again I glance at my backpack. It's driving me nuts, but I'm not ready to speak with him. I can't. I shouldn't. I have way too much going on in my mind right now.

"Hello?" says Sun. I press the hang up button on my phone and groan.

Just like I thought, my phone started to ring. "Hi," I say. "I received your note, Sun. How have you been?"

Sun laughs as I hear a door close in the background. "Did we lose connection or did you just call me and hang up?" When I don't answer he adds, "Because there's no need to be nervous. I can confidently say that I never felt this way about anyone before and I know it doesn't make sense. We only met once, I get that but--"

"I'd like to meet under the stars," I blurt out. Sun sounded so sincere just now and I felt a connection too. I've felt stringer connections but nonetheless, it doesn't make sense to me either. So, why not?

Why not forget for a moment what's happening around me and just take a break. "Okay! I know exactly where we can too." I frown at Sun's excitement.

"Sun, I forgot to mention...it might be a while before I can. I'm grounded for two months." Sun chuckles on his end of the line. "What are you laughing about? Did you think I was a goody-goody?"

"Now that you mention it I thought you were. You're the last person I'd imagine being grounded. What did you do?"

"I helped the wrong person and my mom found out." I told Sun everything but Alejandro's name. How I helped the leader of a gang by making sure he didn't bleed out. How for now, my mom covered the bloodstain with a blanket under the coffeetable till she had the money to buy a shampooer. By the time I finished, there was no answer on the other line. "Hello?"

"You've been holding that in for awhile huh?" he ends up asking.

"Yes, I have and...and it feels great to tell someone. Thanks for listening and I'm sorry we can't meet under the stars right away but..."

"But we are meeting under the stars."

"What?" I ask him. "We're on the phone."

"Open a window and look up," he replies. I walk to my bedroom window, open it, and look up and gasp. "Thank God we live in city who hates light pollution right?"

Above my head were shimmering stars. "I haven't looked up at the stars in a long time."

"Well, that's what we'll do then. Until you aren't grounded anymore, we can talk on the phone and look up at the stars, together. How about it?" Suddenly, I understood what girls mean when they feel butterflies in their stomach.

"Yes, I'd like that," I reply.