I Don't Want to Lose You Read Free Page B

make sure it wasn't too showy.  For the last three years I had been getting called “rich girl” because of how nice my clothes were.  While I didn't necessarily live in the hood as far as my neighborhood was concerned, I still lived in the hood.  Even though the high school was literally a six minute walk away, I had to be careful.  I tried not to dress too nice because I didn't want to get jumped for what I had on and find myself walking home shoeless, shirtless or less something else needed to not be arrested for indecent exposure.
                  When I walked through the prison gates of the school, I immediately saw Oscar standing nearby and he started walking towards me.  Everyone called him “Puppy,” but I never knew the history behind it. He was cute in his own way.  He was stocky but his wavy, dark hair and deep dimples were a nice distraction with his darker skin from his Honduran background.  Until we had math class in ninth grade, we didn't know each other very well.  I just knew him as a comedian among his friends.  But we had the misfortune of having a math teacher who was there to collect the pay more than to teach and so that allowed us plenty of time to get to know each other for me to see there was more to him than being the funny guy.
                  “Buenas dias,” he greeted me.
                  “Hola, Oscar.  Como esta?” I replied in Spanish.  I had taken Spanish I in ninth grade.
                  “Buen, buen.  Y tu?”
                  “Eso es lo que hay,” I replied meaning “It is what it is.”
                  “Do you know where to go for your picture and schedule?” he asked.  The school was trying out a new way to do this before the first day of school.  In the past, the schedule was mailed and the ID picture was taken sometime during the first week of school.
                  “No, but I'm sure I can find it.  I'm in no hurry.”
                  He started walking in front of me.  “Come on, I'll walk you.”
                  We made our way to the gym, which was where I thought I needed to go, but Oscar obviously thought I needed an escort.  We stopped a few times for me to hug classmates and ask them about their summer.   When we got to the gym, we broke off because others were taking my attention and I didn't think he needed it.
                  After I got my identification card and stood in line for my schedule, I decided that I would go back home.  I was hungry.  As I was walking out of the prison gates to freedom, Theo rushed up to my side.
                  “Hey, Theo.”  I had to do a double take.  He had a crew cut.  “Theo?”
                  “Yeah, I chopped it off.”
                  “It looks cool.  It looks spiky.” Sounding like a little girl asking to pet a bunny, I asked, “Can I touch it?” 
                  “Go ahead.”
                  “Boing, boing, boing,” I said as I let my hand bounce up and down on top of his hard hair. “Cool.” I moved my hand to the side of his hair to feel the softness of it. It felt like rubbing on a teddy bear.  “That feels so soft.  I like it. I could do this all day.”  I started walking again and he walked with me.
                  “So how was your summer?” he asked.
                  “It was okay.  I spent most of it reading books and watching television. Nothing exciting to report.  And yours?”
                  “It was all right. I hung out with my friends and practiced a lot with my band.”
                  “You got a band?  Who's in it? What's it called?”
                  “I'm on guitar. Ralph doubles on bass and guitar. Puppy plays guitar.  Jonas is on keyboards and Edgar is on drums. We haven't agreed on a name