Free Spain or Shine by Michelle Jellen Page A

intercepted by a girl in a low-cut halter who clung to his arm. Someone who received that much unsolicited attention from girls had to be full of himself. Elena decided she was better off where she had begun and where she had ended, at a distance.

Chapter Five

    In all of Elena’s daydreams about San Sebastián during the months leading up to her semester abroad, not once was it raining. In her mind it was a place impervious to rain. Yet, on Saturday morning the gentle tapping on the tile roof of the Cruzes’ apartment sounded completely natural. A little rain made sense in San Sebastián. How else could the mountains stay so green and the flowers so full of color?
    â€œWhat do you think of Alex?” Elena asked from her bed, where she was watching Jenna paint her toenails. The two girls were rehashing the previous night’s festivities.
    â€œHe’s cute. I think he’s into Marci, though.”
    â€œAre you crazy? He’s into you. He was asking me about you the other day in class.”
    â€œOh? What did he say?” Jenna didn’t look up. Elena could tell she was trying to play it cool.
    â€œHe asked me if you had a boyfriend back home.”
    â€œWhat’d you tell him?” Jenna asked.
    â€œI said you were available.” Elena smirked. “He likes you. I think you guys would be so perfect together.”
    â€œYou do? Well, I’ve only been in San Sebastián for a week—there are still so many boys I have to meet.”
    Elena rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Like that guy Miguel we met at the end of the night?” Even though Elena had promised herself she would keep a distance from him, she was curious if Jenna liked him since he was so obviously into her.
    â€œHe was pretty cute.” Jenna shrugged.
    Pretty cute, Elena thought. He was gorgeous. Before Elena could respond, Señora Cruz opened the door a crack and poked her head through.
    â€œJenna, you have a phone call from the dormitory manager.”
    Â 
    After speaking with the dorm manager, Jenna announced that her room was clean and dry and ready for her to move back in.
    â€œThe manager wants me in by this afternoon,” Jenna explained.
    â€œYou’re leaving?” Alita whimpered. “Will you still come to visit?”
    â€œOf course,” Jenna assured her, giving Alita a hug.
    Alita hovered close to Jenna as she gathered her cosmetics from the bathroom and stowed her stray clothes in empty pockets of her duffel bag. Elena helped fold some of the shirts Jenna had left scattered across the floor after her mini-fashion show the previous night.
    Señora Cruz offered to give Jenna a ride. Alita tagged along, but Elena preferred to say good-bye at the house.
    â€œWant to go to the beach tomorrow if it’s not raining?” Jenna asked as she headed out the door.
    â€œSure,” Elena returned. She didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal, but she was relieved that Jenna didn’t equate leaving the Cruz household with leaving Elena behind for good as well.
    â€œSee ya tomorrow,” Jenna called as she disappeared down the stairway. Elena could hear Jenna’s sandals clicking on the stairs, followed by the clunk of her duffel as it hit each step on her way down to the street.
    Elena shut the front door and walked into the quiet kitchen. Señor Cruz was sitting at the kitchen table huddled over a cup of steaming coffee and reading EI País, Spain’s national newspaper. He looked up as she entered.
    â€œHola, Elena. Café?” he offered, nodding toward the nearly full French press on the stove.
    â€œOh, no, thanks. I think I’m going to do some homework.”
    â€œGood idea,” he answered, turning back toward the window next to him, where drops of water ran down the glass. “I have always thought rainy days were good for working.”
    Elena smiled. “Me, too.” She liked that Señor