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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.”
