Free Rules Of Attraction by Simone Elkeles Page B

me I shouldn’t come back to Mexico. “It’s not safe
    here for you,” she told me.
    “Auséntese, Carlos, stay away.” I wasn’t surprised. My entire life
    has been full of people leavin’ me or tellin’ me to stay away from them—
    mi papá, Alex, Destiny, and now mi'amá.”
    Alex is lying in his bed, his forearm covering his eyes. “You’re not
    goin’ back to Chicago, either. Professor Westford and his wife are
    lettin’ you live at their house. It’s a done deal.”
    Livin’ with the Professor means I’ll also be livin’ in the same house
    as Kiara. That’s a bad move on so many levels. “Don’t I have any say in
    this?”
    “No.”
    “¡Vete a la mierda!”
    “Yeah, well, you created the bullshit you’re livin’ in,” my brother
    tells me.
    “I told you those drugs weren’t mine.”
    He sits up. “Carlos, since you came here all you’ve done is talk about
    drugs. They found chora in your locker, along with an insane amount of
    OC. Even if they weren’t yours, you’ve made yourself the scapegoat.”
    “This is such bullshit.”
    A half hour later, after I get out of the shower, Brittany is back.
    She’s sitting at the table, wearing a hot pink velour sweatsuit that hugs
    her curves. I swear that chica should just live here . . . she’s around all
    the time.
    I walk over to my bed, suddenly wishin’ this wasn’t a studio
    apartment. I’m a pissed-off guy thirsty for revenge. I won’t rest until I
    know who stuck those drugs in my locker. Whoever it was is gonna pay.
    “I hope you don’t get expelled,” Brittany says in a sad tone. “But I
    know Alex and Professor Westford will do all they can to help.”
    “Don’t sound so depressed,” I tell her. “Now that I gotta move out,
    you can be here whenever the hell you want. Lucky you.”
    “Carlos, retroceda,” Alex says roughly.
    Why should I back off? It’s the truth.
    “Believe it or not, Carlos, I want you to be happy here.” Brittany
    pushes a brand-new cell phone toward me. “I got you this.”
    “For what? So you and Alex can check up on me?”
    She shakes her head. “No. I just thought you’d want one so you can
    call us if you need us.”
    I pick up the phone. “Who’s payin’ for it?”
    “Does it matter?” she asks.
    My family obviously can’t afford it. I turn my back on Brittany and
    the phone. “I don’t need it,” I tell her. “Save your money.”
    The three of us pile into Brittany’s Beemer a few hours later. I
    should have known Brittany would come on this little adventure to drop
    me off at the Professor’s house, probably to make sure I’m really out
    of her and my brother’s hair.
    Alex pulls onto one of the winding roads leading up into the
    mountains. When I look out at the big houses on either side of the
    road, it’s obvious we’ve entered the rich side of town. Poor people don’t
    post signs like ‘NO TRESPASSING, PRIVATE DRIVE, PRIVATE
    PROPERTY, MONITORED BY CAMERA SURVEILLANCE’. I should know
    because I’ve been poor my entire life, and the only person I know who
    ever posted a sign like these is my friend Pedro, and he actually stole
    the sign off a rich guy’s yard. We pull up a brick driveway leading to a
    two-story house built right into the mountain. I sit up and take in my
    surroundings. I’ve never lived in a place where you couldn’t easily throw
    a stone at your next-door neighbor’s window.
    You’d think I’d be thrilled at the chance to live in this fancy house,
    but it just reminds me I’m an outsider. I’m not an idiot; I know as soon
    as I leave here I’ll be as poor as I always was—or in jail. This place is
    just a tease, and I can’t wait to get the hell out of here. As soon as we
    park, Westford comes out of the house. He’s a tall guy with gray hair
    and a lot of wrinkles around his eyes as if he’s smiled too much over the
    years and his skin is rebelling. Before I even step out of the car, three
    more people pile out. It’s like a