She smirked. “He’s poison on a stick,” she said. “There isn’t a girl here he hasn’t tried to ruin or ruined.”
I smiled.
“And don’t give me that fable about the fox and the grapes he called sour because he couldn’t reach them, either. It’s not sour grapes. I’ve been with Christian, and it’s no big deal,” she added.
“Oh?”
“Now that I think of it,” she continued, smiling herself, “in your case, it’s not a big problem. You should go out with him.”
“And why is it not a problem, Sophia?”
She leaned in to whisper. “You’ve already been ruined, remember?” she said, and walked on ahead of me to join Alisha. She whispered something, and the two of them laughed extra loudly.
All sorts of curses slipped out of my tight lips as I watched them and then, maybe looking for the excuse I needed, I hurried down the hallway and reached Christian before he stepped into the boys’ locker room. He turned, surprised.
“You don’t have to call me,” I said. “I cannot go to the movies with you.”
“Why not?” he asked, his shoulders rising with indignation.
“I’ve decided not to date anyone yet. I have too much to learn. I’m not ready.”
“Huh? You’ve been out on dates. I know for a fact that you once went on a date with Stevie Towers.”
“And it was not successful. For either of us. Thank you for the invitation,” I added.
“What are you going to be, a nun?”
“Maybe,” I said.
He suddenly widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows. I could see he believed me.
“You’re making a big mistake if you do,” he said, and went into the locker room.
I looked in the direction Sophia and her friends had gone. The fire burning inside me died down, and now I chastised myself for my Latin temper. “La cólera es el mejor amigo del diablo.” Anger is the devil’s best friend, my grandmother would say.
I was sorry about being impulsive and doing exactly what would surely please Sophia. I considered calling Christian later and telling him I had changed my mind, but now I thought I would look foolish. It wasn’t a good idea. He would ask why I had changed my mind, and I would have no answer.
Either Christian was too proud to tell other boys he had been turned down for a date, or there simply was no time for him to discuss it with anyone, but at the end of the school day, Sophia apparently still did not know what I had done. I enjoyed watching her brood about it in the car while Señor Garman drove us home.
When she got out, she turned to me, however, and asked what I intended to say to Christian when he called.
“I’m not sure yet,” I told her. Why not let her turn and twist in the agony of her jealousy for a while longer?
She marched into the house ahead of me.
While I was up in my room changing my clothes and organizing my homework, she went down to see Tía Isabela and give her the latest gossip. Contrary to what she had anticipated, however, Tía Isabela wasn’t disturbed or worried about it. She brought it up at our dinner table.
“Sophia tells me Christian Taylor has asked you out on a date for Friday,” she said.
Although she hadn’t set down any rules about it, I always told Tía Isabela about any activity I was doing and any place I was going, except, of course, my visits to the Davilas’ home. Usually, she acted indifferent.
“Yes, he has asked me,” I admitted.
“Really? Christian Taylor. His father is a cardiologist at the Eisenhower Heart Institute. Did you know that?”
“No.”
“What do you know about him?” she asked.