Chapter 2- Joaquin

Joaquin

June 14, 2014

Sacramento, CA, USA

   I sit next to my little brother, Jonathan, on the couch.

   "What time is it?" he asks me eager to go home. I honestly want to go home just as bad as he does, but I don't show it since I'm not a seven-year-old, unlike him.

   "It's five." I say after checking my phone.

   We're stuck at this party for my mom's friend. She's having a baby shower. Although the food is delicious, the party is extremely boring. I know that both Jonathan and I ache to go back home and play on our PlayStation 3. I want to talk to Aliya later too. Ever since we moved to Sacramento from Santa Rosa, I've missed her so much. Thank God that we both have phones.

   "When's Aliya coming?" Jonathan asks me. He has a little crush on her, just like me. I've had a crush on her ever since I met her for the first time.

   "She's supposed to stay at our house in a week." I say with a smile on my face. Ever since I moved here, she has stayed at my house and I have stayed at hers. I always love preparing the guest room for her. I make the bed with more care than I make my own. I always make sure to buy her favorite food, pizza, and her favorite drink, lemonade.

   My phone starts to ring. I take it out and look at who's calling. It's Gabriel. I find it strange since he never calls me.

   "I have to go outside and answer this call. I'll be right back." I tell Jonathan. He nods his head.

   I quickly go out the door to the front yard of my mom's friend's house. Luckily, no one's out here.

   "Hey, Gabriel." I answer.

   "Hey, Joaquin. I have some bad news to tell you." he sounds like something is stuck in his throat.

   "What is it?" I ask, my heart beat rises.

   "Francisco's dead." I stand in place for a second.

   "What?!" I ask. This can't be happening right now! How can Francisco, my best friend, be dead?! He was my brother basically, but now he's gone?!

   "I wish it wasn't true, I really wish it wasn't. He hung himself in his closet. My mom came home and saw it."

   "I can't believe it! He seemed fine! How can my best friend do this?! He should've reached out to one of us."

   "That's what I was thinking. I'll call you later today for funeral details, ok?"

   "Wait! Did you call Aliya?" I can imagine her pain and that fact kills me too, besides the fact that Francisco's gone.

   "Yeah, I did. She didn't take it well. She didn't cry, but I could tell she was about to."

   "I'll call her too. I'll be waiting for your call." Tears start to form in my eyes.

   "I'll call as soon as I can. Bye, Joaquin. Keep your head up."

   "You too, Gabriel. Bye." I hang up. I hold my tears and go to Jonathan.

   "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." I say. He nods his head again.

   I make a silent prayer in my head hoping that no one's in the bathroom. If there is, I'm afraid that my tears will spill out in front of anyone.

   Once I arrive at the bathroom, I discover that no one's in there. I go in and lock the door. Then, I let every tear out. My life will never be the same again. My big brother is gone.

   I remember the secret we once shared and then swore each other we would never tell anyone...

   There was a heat wave one summer. It was 100 degrees outside every day for weeks. That summer stands out in my mind since that was the summer Aliya travelled eight hours north for a few weeks to visit some relatives. I remember she went to a city called Fort Jones.

   Francisco was around twelve and I was eleven.

   We were both sitting in Francisco's front yard taking a break from having a water gun fight.

   "I miss Aliya." I sadly told him.

   "I miss her too a lot." he said and then sighed.

   "Can I tell you a secret? Promise not to tell anyone."

   "I promise."

   "I...I have a crush on Aliya. Ever since we met her for the first time, I had feelings for her. She's just so beautiful with her dark brown hair, her hazel eyes, and her light skin."  I smiled. Even though, Aliya was white, I always thought of her as Mexican since she was and still is highly interested in Mexican culture.

   "I've had a crush on her ever since we met her too." he smiled.

   "Really?" I looked at him shockingly.

   "Yeah. Look, I know you're going to be my best friend no matter what, so let's make an agreement. I promise that if she ever chooses to be with you that I will be fine with it and still be friends with you both."

   "And I promise that if she ever chooses to be with you that I will be fine with it and still be friends with you both." We then shook hands on it.

   "And we can't tell anyone, especially her."

   "Oh no, we won't."

   I make a prayer for Francisco and then go find my mom.

   "What's wrong, mijo? You look like you've seen a ghost." she asks me when I come up to her. Luckily, she's sitting with Jonathan on the couch without anyone else in the room.

   "F-F-Francisco's d-d-dead." I say trying not to cry again.

   "What?!" she says. Jonathan has the same shocked expression as her. My parents considered Francisco as a son and Jonathan knew him his whole life.

   "Yeah."

   "Let's go home. I know you can't fake being happy for this shower and neither can I. I'll go get your dad. You two go to the car."

   I go and get into the back seat with Jonathan. He starts crying and I hold him close. I start crying too.