Nicolas: A MissTaken Story - Ch6

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Chapter 6

The next two weeks dragged on torturously for Nicolas. School was of no purpose for him. There was almost no teaching going on—not that he felt they ever really taught him anything. What they presented, he either knew, or he wasn’t interested in knowing.

School probably wasn’t going to matter for him anyway now. He had an easy job that paid well, and soon he would have a luxurious apartment to live in––for free. What did his diploma or grades matter?

Nevertheless he suffered through it, to satisfy the expectations of society, and of his family.

Each day he spent several minutes in his room, combing through his possessions, making a mental list of the most important items, working out in his mind how he would carry them all on his scooter the Saturday after graduation.

It would be the best way to avoid drama. He’d go to work on Saturday, spend Saturday and Sunday night with Oscar, and move into his new place. He’d let his parents know sometime after that. It would already be done at that point, so nothing to argue about.

Nicolas sighed. He knew that wasn’t precisely how it would turn out. His mother would call him—probably Saturday night. Would she involve Oscar’s parents? Maybe it would be better to stay at a hotel. He was reluctant to spend his money that way. Maybe he’d spend the first night at Oscar’s, she wouldn’t be able to do anything that quickly.

Graduation day came and went. The best part was when it was over.

Nicolas didn’t really hate school, it just … wasn’t for him. It was so boring.

He’d always struggled with school. Not with the material, he got good grades. The classes were tedious. He couldn’t sit still and pay attention for that long, especially when the teacher kept repeating the same stuff over and over. He already knew it. The repetition was mind-numbingly aggravating.

But it was over now. No more long pointless lectures, real life was finally ready to begin. Nicolas was excited by the prospect of new challenges, new adventures.

Did the Templarios ever rob banks? He’d never heard of it happening. He wasn’t sure how he would respond if the offer ever came up. On the one hand, that was straight up theft, completely different from taking party cash from rich spring breakers.

On the other hand, the thought of outwitting the advanced security systems; slipping in undetected, emptying the vault, and leaving no trace … just thinking about it caused his heart to race.

Nicolas rose early on Saturday morning, packed his bag, and slipped out before anyone else was stirring. He pushed the scooter for half a block before starting it, as an added—albeit unnecessary—precaution.

The day’s collections went smoothly, and the three friends arrived at the collection office almost simultaneously. Luis was at the desk—he frequently was, though sometimes one of his assistants would manage the money while he attended to other matters.

“Ready to move into your new home?” Luis asked as he counted out a portion of the money and handed it to Nicolas.

“More than ready,” Nicolas replied with more enthusiasm than he intended.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to just give you the keys now?” Luis asked. “You can move in today if you like, get settled before I stop by on Monday to help you learn your responsibilities.”

 “Really?” Nicolas’s eyes widened.

“Of course.” Luis grinned. He opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew three sets of keys.

“Thank you, sir.” Nicolas eagerly accepted the keys.

“It is my pleasure.” Luis grinned. “I won’t say anything to your friends. I will let it be your surprise.”

Nicolas waited impatiently for Oscar and Javier to complete their reports.

“Where we gonna eat?” Javier asked when the three friends walked outside.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m in the mood for a nice juicy steak,” Oscar offered.

“How about that place down between the golf courses?” Nicolas suggested.

“Hah!” Oscar snorted. “Says the guy with the scooter, who doesn’t have to pedal.”

“C’mon,” Nicolas cajoled, “it’s a nice place. Plus, we can take another look at our new apartment.”

“Hey, yeah, good idea.” Javier’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “We can stare wistfully at the outside of the building, wishing we had keys.”

Javier’s eyes widened as Nicolas jangled the keys in front of him.

“No way, man. Are those our keys? I thought we weren’t getting them until Monday.”

“Monday, Saturday.” Nicolas shrugged. “One day is as good as another.”

“Well, quit standing there pretending to be cool, let’s go!”

Javier ran to his bicycle, jumped on and raced down the street.

Oscar glanced at Javier, then at Nicolas. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Javier and I will catch up with you at the condo in a few minutes.”

Nicolas chuckled. “See you there, man.”

Oscar and Javier made record time, arriving dripping in sweat. They took advantage of their new air conditioning and a shower to cool off and achieve a more presentable state.

“Hey,” Javier spoke to Nicolas, “can you give me a ride to my place to grab some things for tonight?”

“Sure.” Nicolas replied. “What about you, Oscar?”

“Nah.” Oscar shook his head. “I’m gonna stay at home tonight. Maybe have my father help me move stuff tomorrow.”

“Sure?” Javier questioned.

“Yeah, it’s all good, but can you guys wait till after we eat to go play moving van? I’m starving.”

Lunch was spent with Javier wheedling and coaxing Nicolas into taking advantage of their opulent new home to throw a party and invite some beautiful women over, and Nicolas flatly refusing.

“It’s as much our place of business as our place of residence.” Nicolas firmly planted both hands, palms down on the table. “We’re responsible for merchandise going in and out. We don’t need a bunch of strangers coming and going.”

“So, what did you guys tell your parents?” Oscar interrupted, changing the subject. “About who we work for, I mean.”

“I told them I was hired as a courier,” Nicolas said, “I didn’t say anything about who I work for.”

“Hah!” Javier laughed. “I told my family I work for an import-export business.”

“Really?” Oscar stared incredulously. “And they bought it?”

Javier shrugged. “They appreciate the extra money. What about you?”

“I haven’t told them anything yet.” Oscar stared into the distance. “They just think I’m doing odd jobs, or just messing around, or something.”

“What about the money?” Javier furrowed his brow.

“They don’t know about it. I’ve been saving it up.”

“What about you moving out?”

Oscar’s eyes flicked between Javier and Nicolas. “I just told them I’m moving into an apartment with some friends, to be closer to work.”

“And they didn’t ask about the work?” Nicolas stared intently at Oscar.

“Nah, their hands are pretty full with the surprise twins my mom just had. I’m guessing they’re mostly just happy to gain a little more space, and to have one less mouth to feed.”

“Aww, sorry, man.” Javier placed a consoling hand on Oscar’s shoulder.

“Oh, no.” Oscar shook his head. “It’s not like that. They love me and all. They’re just dead tired all the time. Those two little babies are like vampires, just sucking the life out of them, you know?”

“Huh.” Javier snorted. “Man, I am never having children.”

After lunch, Nicolas and Javier made a few trips between Javier’s home and the condo, moving his possessions a couple bags at a time.

Oscar stayed at the condo, watching TV from the bed in the room he had chosen, just to make sure one of the other boys didn’t steal it before he could move his possessions in to formally lay claim to it. They had all agreed Nicolas should get the master bedroom, since he was the reason this opportunity had even come to them.

Once Javier was settled in, the three went down to the pool. Nicolas and Oscar didn’t have swimming trunks, so the three just sat at the edge, dangling their feet in the water, and watched as the sun set.

Javier renewed his efforts to win Nicolas over to the idea of hosting a few parties.

“We can lock the merchandise in one room,” Javier pleaded, “It’ll be safe. Nobody even needs to know it’s there.”

“No. I’m not taking any chances on something going wrong. I’m not interested in getting lost in the jungle, thank you very much.”

“What?” Javier and Oscar both squinted at Nicolas.

“Nothing, forget it,” Nicolas mumbled, then his expression hardened: “No parties.”

“I think we should take a vote.” Javier looked hopefully at Oscar.

“Sorry, man.” Oscar shook his head. “I’m with Nicolas’s on this one.”

Javier opened his mouth to protest but Nicolas cut him off with a wave of his hand as he pulled out his ringing cell phone. It was his mother’s phone number.

Nicolas answered reluctantly.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” His mother’s tone expressed aggravation.

“I’m in Ixtapa.”

“It’s already after dark, you should be home by now.”

“I’m not coming home.” Nicolas forced himself to remain calm. He wasn’t going to let her get him going. Not this time.

“What did you say to me?”

“I’m not coming home.”

“You get on your little scooter and you drive yourself home right now.”

“No. I’m not coming home tonight, Mamá.”

“What do you think you are going to do? Sleep on the street?”

“No, I’m staying with a friend tonight, and tomorrow. Then I’m moving into my own place on Monday.”

Silence.

“Fine.” She spoke tersely, then the line went dead.

Nicolas took a deep breath. It was over now. He’d stood his ground, and he hadn’t gotten emotional. He mentally patted himself on the back.

“Everything okay?” Oscar eyed him closely.

“Yeah.” Nicolas smiled at his friend. “Everything is great.”

“Sure?” Oscar raised one eyebrow.

“Yes. I just declared my independence is all.”

“Independence?”

“Yeah. My mother is so controlling, she couldn’t accept that I was an adult now—couldn’t let go, you know? So, I had to let her know I wasn’t her little baby anymore.”

“Uh huh.” Oscar’s face was expressionless.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Javier opened his mouth to resume the debate on parties, but Oscar stopped him short with a shake of his head.