A Tragic Kind of Wonderful(24)
“Hey, Z!” someone calls. My hair stands on end. Zumi hates that nickname.
“I heard you’re a free agent now.” It’s Tina Fernandez, her voice like a knife twisting.
Zumi passes her without turning her head. Gloria opens her locker a few feet away. Elena leans against the wall but doesn’t look natural doing it, playing a part she’s not well suited for. I don’t see Sofia, but come to think of it, I stopped seeing her with Team Fernandez months ago.
“That can’t feel good,” Tina says. “Who’s gonna hold your leash now?”
Zumi stops. I hurry forward.
“What you think, Elena?” Tina says. “Know anyone who’d want Annie’s leftovers?”
Zumi turns but I manage to get between them before she’s fully around. Zumi leans back when she sees me.
“Don’t, Zumi.” I touch her forearm—
She recoils, wincing, and then whirls away around the corner.
Tina stands beside me. “Didn’t need your help, tontita.”
“Yes you did,” I say. “But I wasn’t helping you.”
I round the corner and almost bump into Zumi. She’s standing still, tense, facing me. Her mouth and eyes are taut like she has stomach pains.
“Zumi …” What do I say? I’m sorry Annie abandoned you? I’m sorry I did it first?
Finally I say, “You called me yesterday.”
She doesn’t reply.
I lean toward her. “Please say something.”
“I called to ask why.” Her voice is low and hoarse. “Why you. Then I changed my mind. I didn’t want to wonder if whatever you said was a lie.”
It’s the perfect thing to say to render me speechless. But I have to say something.
“We hadn’t talked in over a year, I swear. She just showed up.”
“Connor said she gave it to you because she’s a coward. What do you think?”
“You know what I thought of her.” That’s what my last argument with Zumi was about.
After a moment, she says, “Doesn’t matter now.”
She turns and walks away.
“Zumi, I—”
“I’m late for class.”
*
I wander around most of lunch looking for Zumi and Connor. With five minutes left, I see Connor alone on the brick wall. I walk up to him and wait. Connor will talk plenty if you give him room and some indication that you’ll listen and care, that his words won’t be wasted on you.
He finally points to the apple in my hand. “That your whole lunch?”
“Yeah. Keeps the doctor away. Where’s Zumi?”
He doesn’t answer.
I take a bite of apple.
“She’s already gone to Calc,” he says.
I lean against the wall. “You guys had no idea at all?”
“We knew her dad was there teaching. We thought he was coming back this summer.”
“Maybe that was the plan. Maybe they recently decided to move there instead.”
“They didn’t decide it on Friday. Annie must have been sitting on this awhile.”
“What happened when you drove to her house?”
“You know how nice it was. I guess they sold it without needing to put up a sign. Zumi looked in the windows long enough to see the rooms were empty. Then she went back to the car.”
“Did she cry?”
He glances at me, surprised, and then looks away again. “Zumi never cries.”
“I know, but it’s not like her to do nothing. Why isn’t she pissed off? Throwing things and pounding on doors and walls and … I’ve just never seen her … shut down.”
“You’ve never seen her humiliated.”
“Nothing embarrasses Zumi,” I say.
“Humiliated. It’s different.”
I climb up and sit on the wall beside him. He holds out his bag of corn chips. I shake my head.
“She’ll break through it,” he says. “Then she’ll get pissed off and it’ll all come out in flames. It always does.”
The bell rings. There’s more I want to talk about. No time now.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
He turns his head like he’s going to look at me, but he doesn’t quite make it. He starts packing his lunch trash.
I stand.
“Mel?”
He takes the apple core from my hand and stuffs it into his bag.
“Thanks, Connor.”
*
After school, Holly and I reach the sidewalk and Declan still hasn’t joined us. Holly sits on the curb. None of her other friends are around so I join her. Today she didn’t tie her hair back; it’s been flopping all around, having fun. I shove my hands deep in my pockets.
Connor and Zumi drive by. It doesn’t look like they’re talking.
“What’s up with them?” Holly asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Declan said you stared at Izumi all through Chem today.”
Holly always uses her full name, believing that only her friends or ex-friends call her Zumi.
“What exactly happened between you?” Holly asks. “You know, last year?”
It’s a simple question. An obvious one, too, but she’s never asked before.