19
A Distraction I Didn’t Think I Needed
Diana
Did I just really tell someone that they don’t know how to be selfish?
That’s one of two things that are keeping me awake on a Sunday morning. In fact, it’s so early that the damn sun is barely out. I actually did fall asleep but I had a recurring dream where I asked that question—which ended up with a completely different outcome—and it kept on waking me up because of some stupid explosion.
You know how dreams are.
The second reason? Because I need to video-call my family. It’s only seven in the morning in Miami and both my sister and Dad do not believe in sleeping in. Especially on today of all days. I’m sad that I can’t be over there today but the call is the closest I can get.
After tossing and turning for what feels like an eternity, I feel awake enough to move and slip out of bed. I quietly tiptoe around the darkness of my and Lucia’s bedroom, being careful not to wake her up, and grab my cell phone, black robe, and fuzzy slippers as quietly as I can to not wake Lucia up.
Once I descend the stairs—like the graceful quiet fairy that I amnot—I head for the back door and right outside the backyard.
Since moving to college, I have always made sure to wake up as early as possible before class or work to call my family on this day. Every year without fail. Thankfully, it’s Sunday—a day in which I have neither. I still need to wake up due to the stupid three-hour time difference between here and Miami.
After taking a seat by one of the lawn chairs outside, I press the call button on Crystal’s contact and wait for her to answer. It’s no surprise that she answers after three rings. Her face pops up on my phone and I smile. I last saw her in person before moving in July but she’s grown so much since. She may only be sixteen but Crystal will always be my baby sister.
“Oh, finally!” My sister says. “Dad was worried, you know.”
I roll my eyes. “No, he wasn’t.” Though with my dad, it’s possible. He has this panic mode that Mom called “Defcon Ultra,” which is a pretty accurate representation. When we lost Mom, it got worse.
“Oh yeah,” she says. “You didn’t contact us at all last month.”
“Because I was busy with midterms,” I remind her.
My sister narrows her eyes at me. “Not that busy, Di.”
Thankfully, Dad enters the frame before I can answer Crystal’s question, and his brown eyes light up in relief. “Mijita!”
I laugh softly. “Hola, papá.”
“How are you? Passing your classes? Staying safe? No drugs or drinking?” Dad asks in Spanish. He stacks one question after the other like a rushed game of Jenga and I have to ask him to repeat. I grew up speaking Spanish because neither of my parents wanted Crystal and me to lose touch with our roots but it's still hard to keep up with him.
“Calm down, Dad.” With how fast he’s talking, you’d think there was a fire. I try to update him on my classes but he freaks out about my calculus class—hello? Scholarship kid over here—because of course he does. It’s in his nature to be worried about me.
“Did you fix it?”
I nod, smiling about that ninety I received. “My grade is better than ever.”
Crystal finally takes over the screen. “What’s that smile for?”
Almost instantly, my smile disappears. “What smile?”
“Don’t act coy with me, Di,” she accuses. “You look like a lovesick puppy.”
“Crystal, when have you ever known me to be lovesick?”
“Fair point.” She taps a finger to her chin in thinking. “Oh, did I tell you about my driver’s test? I passed!”
At the mention of driving, my heart drops slightly but I don’t show it on my face. “That’s great! On the first try?”
She smiles brightly as she nods. “It was so scary but I did it. My actual license doesn’t come in for a few more weeks but I can finally go to the beach without Dad now.”
“Hey,” Dad calls. “I’m a fun chauffeur.”
