“No. Don’t give up. So, you think she was jealous?” His eyes lit up.
Ignoring him, I made a beeline for the first buffet table and snatched up a plate.
“Ouch. It’s hot!”
Javi handed me a tray to put it on. “Wait. What did you mean back there?”
I grabbed a fork, knife, and spoon on my plate. Just in case, I would be ready for all kinds of delicious food in all its forms.
“That you can’t be flirting with everybody if you’re trying to date her. She’s gonna think you’re not serious about her.”
Javi grabbed his own tray, plate, and silverware. “But I am serious!”
I reached past him to grab a salad bowl. “Don’t tell me that. Tell her. Make sure she knows that you’re not playing the field.”
My mouth watered as I scooped up the yummy Walldorf salad along with some fresh fruit. I glanced down at my plate and debated grabbing another one.
There was no way I was going to miss out on all the gourmet food.
“You know we can make as many trips to the buffet as we want to.”
I smiled at his words and moved on to the warm buttered rolls. By the time we made it to the end of the line, my plate was overloaded with food. We sat down at a two top in the back near the exit. I dug into my salad as Javi went to bring us back drinks. I let the distinct flavors of the dressing and nuts mix in my mouth.
“Good?” Javi smiled as he handed me a tall glass of iced tea.
I took it and nodded in thanks. The tea was sweet and mixed with lemonade and it was good. I gulped it down way too fast. Even their tea was better here than at my old school.
After lunch, we headed back toward the office building to meet up with my tío. My stomach was close to bursting and my body protested the long walk. I just wanted to crawl into bed and take a long nap. Or check out the beach which I still hadn’t done yet.
When we got to the office, a thin young woman was locking the door.
“My dad left?”
She jumped at the sound of Javi’s voice and faced us. Her eyes were large and wide set, but I couldn’t tell if she was startled or if she always looked like she’d just seen a ghost.
“Hello, Javier. Yes. I’m sorry. Your father just left, but he told me to wait for you to tell you that he will see you back home.” She fidgeted with her fingers. “He said to come straight home.”
Javi’s nostrils flared. “But I didn’t get to show her House Dragon yet.”
Her mouth parted. “I… I’m sorry.”
He waved her away. “It’s fine. Thanks, Myra.”
She blinked at me and clutched her folders to herself as she walked past us.
“Your dad couldn’t have called or texted you?” I held my stomach and groaned. “Now we have to walk all the way back to the car?”
Javi stared at the locked door, a strange expression on his face. Disappointed at his dad’s departure?
I frowned. “You okay, cuz?”
He sniffed and relaxed, fixing me with a smirk. “We don’t have to walk. Let’s take the portal.”
I froze. “The what? Did you just say portal?”
He gave me a mischievous grin and scurried down the hall. I followed, close on his heels. My heart pounded as he led me down the stairs.
“Javi, stop. What are we doing?” I hissed as he leapt the rest of the way down.
He didn’t stop. Instead, he picked up speed and led me to what looked like a cleaning supply closet.
“You can’t tell anyone we used this, okay? It’s supposed to be only for emergencies.”
I huffed. “Yeah, this is an emergency. If I have to walk all the way back, I’m going to puke. All over your car.”
He made a face at me and glanced past me. “Come on.” He motioned me forward.
I stepped closer as he laid his hand on the knob and muttered something I didn’t understand. The metal turned blue. My eyes bulged.
“What was that?”
He shrugged. “A chant to unlock the ward.”
The door popped open and I blinked in surprise. It was a supply closet. Javi took a step in and pulled me along with him. The door slammed shut behind us, plunging us into darkness.
“Grab my hand,” Javi called.
“I can’t even see my own hand.”
I yelped as he grabbed my wrist. There was a strange whooshing noise and he chanted something under his breath. A light exploded, making me jump back.
My skin crawled and my teeth rattled in my skull. As quickly as the sensation hit, it left. I stood, clinging to Javi and trembling.
We were in front of the Dragon House. Students were out of classes. Not one of them batted an eye as we magically appeared on the sidewalk.
“Did you like it?” Javi grinned at me.
My teeth were still chattering. I shook off the weird feeling and straightened to my full height. “You could have warned me! I wasn’t ready for… that.”
His grin widened. “That was nothing! Wait until you try the bigger portals.”
“Not happening,” I grumbled, stalking toward the car.
Of course, it was locked, so I stood beside it and waited for Javi. He took his sweet time, stopping to chat with some friends. I huffed, leaning against the door.
Why couldn’t he hurry the hell up? I wanted to go back and… plan an escape? My mind was on overload with all the things I’d seen.
“Ready?” He smiled, finally breaking away from his friends.
“Mr. Popular, huh?” I smirked at him.
He unlocked the car and shrugged. “Can’t help it if the people love me.”
I pretended to gag. We slid into the car, and I watched as he opened the console to retrieve his sunglasses once again. Though he didn’t say it, I could tell he was arming himself. For when we went back to face his dad. Suddenly, his arrogance didn’t seem so much like
