Chapter 7
Esmie jolted awake. Sunlight flooded her bedroom, temporarily blinding her and agitating the headache sitting behind her right eye. She burrowed under the covers to stop the blazing heat consuming her face.
“Mija, get up, you’re late for school!” Mamá yelled up the stairs.
Crap, she forgot about school. All she wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep last night’s nightmare away. Mamá’s pounded on the ceiling, Esmie’s floor, which was her warning she needed to move or else. Mamá coming upstairs would be worse than dealing with the burning headache.
Her feet snuck out first, then with a heavy sigh, she flipped the lavender-colored comforter off of her.
She sat up, her toes touching the cool wooden floor.
Thank Elohim, Mamá allowed Esmie the lavender accents in her room, instead of the original stark white.
The soft colors muted the sharp sunshine that wanted to knock her back unconscious.
Pushing up from her bed, she walked toward her closet within the opposite wall from her bed.
Esmie extended her hand to slide open the wood inlaid door when she noticed her reflection in the full-length hanging mirror.
Her curls were a wavy mess, tumbling over her face.
Smeared makeup added to the grungy touch.
Combing her hair away she gasped at what it exposed.
Her eye was puffy, almost closed, with a deep purple streak wrapping its way from the inside corner of her eye, underneath and around to the lower point of her eyebrow.
Esmie leaned in so quickly she almost bumped her head on the mirror.
The white of her eye was bloodshot but with purple lines instead of red.
If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she got in a fight, except the purple swipe shimmered, something a bruise wouldn’t do.
Mamá could not see her like this. She couldn’t even go to school like this.
Mamá’s footsteps thundered up the stairs.
Esmie leapt back under the comforter, pulling it tightly over her head.
The door swung open, and Mamá’s steps stopped at the foot of Esmie’s bed.
“I told you to get up already. Don’t make me tell you again.” Mamá’s stern voice held an unsaid warning that if Esmie didn’t figure out something soon, she was going to be in deep trouble, notwithstanding the large purple welt on her eye.
“I’m not feeling well.”
Mamá stomped her foot. “Don’t play games with me today.
You can’t miss school. It’s the Brookshire Internship Fair.
I already have several corporate and city representatives lined up to speak with you.
” She tugged on the comforter out of Esmie’s grasp, but Esmie ducked her head under the pillow, pulling her knees tight into her belly.
“Mamá, they will have another internship fair next week at the Capitol building downtown. I can get a pass from school to go. I really don’t feel well today.”
“The Capitol Law Enforcement Division will be at school.”
The Law Enforcement Division was going to be at her school?
Esmie swallowed the argument on her tongue.
She sat up, ensuring her tangled hair hid her face.
From between her limp curls, Mamá’s cross expression with her arms folded over her chest and her legs spread, almost made Esmie hide back under the pillow.
“Is Leo going to be there?”
“Yes, and if you aren’t there, he will be very disappointed. He wanted to show you what he does. You have an appointment with him this morning.”
Heat flushed Esmie’s face. She stared at her hands in her lap.
In the past year, she had only seen her brother a couple times for the holidays.
Because of his performance in school, he was hired to work in the Law Enforcement Division Lab on high tech, and highly confidential, government business.
He was always busy, but it didn’t stop him from sending messages home and texting her.
He kept the text cryptic as he knew their mother would pick through them with a fine-toothed comb.
Esmie hated being on their family plan still, but Mamá hadn’t allowed her to get a part time job while attending college.
She was anxious to speak with Leo alone, especially without Mamá’s perusing eyes and antenna ears. Maybe he could help her with this situation? He was the only one she trusted. But she couldn’t go to school looking like this. She wouldn’t even be able to leave the house showcasing her eye.
“I want to see Leo, but I think I have pink eye.” Esmie covered her face with her hands.
Mamá slapped her hands against her thighs. “Aye nena, you always have something wrong. Let me see.” She leaned forward to touch Esmie’s face, but Esmie jumped backward and fell off the bed onto the floor with a thump. “?Esmie, qué pasa contigo?”
“I don’t want you to touch it! It’s infectious and I don’t want you to get it.” Esmie cowered against the bed post facing away from Mamá. It was a lame excuse. She prayed to Elohim the discerning woman wouldn’t pry further.
Miraculously, Mamá pulled back and sighed.
“Oh, of all days. Okay. I will get some warm compressions and the eye medicine.” Esmie blew out the air she held and glanced over her shoulder.
Mamá paused at the door, swiveling back around with her hands on her hips.
“You’re still going to school. You’ll just be late.
I’ll call now and let them know. Then we will get your eye fixed up.
I have an extra eye patch you can use to keep it safe from anyone else.
” With that, Mamá turned on her heel and pounded down the stairs muttering ‘Dios mios’ and other laments in Spanish all the way down.
Esmie’s hands covered her head. Escaping Mamá’s inquiries was only the first step, although one of the hardest. Now, Esmie had to arrive at school without anyone else noticing.
An eye patch was not an attractive look and if any one of the gossips at school, including her best friends, caught sight of her, she’d never live it down.
How would she be able to go see the different business representatives?
Then again, it was better than them seeing the purple.
Either way, today was going to be a long day.
Esmie curled up on the floor wishing it would swallow her up.