“Carlos, she just looks so lonely,” I said, looking at my best friend who was scrolling on his phone. He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow, like he was asking why that mattered. “She’s new, Carlos. Don’t you know what it’s like to be the new kid on the street?”

  “You act like I’ve moved around,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “And I’m not surprised you know that.”

  “Well, duh,” I said, chuckling. “I know every girl in school, how could I not, with my awesome looks?” I struck a pose, and heard a ugh from beside me. I looked at the seat across from me and saw Tessa and Cassie looking at the new girl and smirking.

  “José’s mine, new girl. Got it?” Cassie said, looking down at the new girl. The new girl blinked and gnced at me, like she was surprised. What she was surprised about, I didn’t know. When Cassie realized she was looking at me, she growled, “Got it?”

  I stood up, grabbing the seat behind me to steady myself, and said, “Leave her alone, Cassie.” Cassie looked at me, her shock visible. I realized this was my chance to make her mad at me, and added “We’re not dating, Cassie, and we won’t be dating in this lifetime.” Tessa started choking, and Cassie looked at her, obviously furious and embarrassed, before looking me in the eye. “So sit down, and stop pestering the poor girl,” I finished, smirking. Cassie sat down next to Tessa, gring at me furiously.

  I looked at the new girl, and something in her hazel eyes sparkled. I smiled at her and asked, “May I sit with you?” The new girl looked at Carlos, and I said, “I’m José, and this is Carlos. Don’t mind him, he’s just in a grumpy mood because his mother got mad at him for no reason.” After a minute, she nodded, and I sat next to her, ignoring the looks I got from Tessa and Cassie.

  I sat next to her and said nothing. She seemed like she was nervous, and right now, all she needed was support. “No gusta habndo en inglés,” she said after a minute, gncing at me. “Me lmo Lucía, y essoy en el sexto grado.”

  “Soy José, y estoy en el séptimo grado,” I said, offering a smile. “?Por qué no te gusta habr en ingles?” Lucía’s hazel eyes were always moving, and I could tell she was pretending to be less nervous than she was. “No importa, Lucía, esta bien estar nerviosa.” She looked at me like she didn’t believe me, and I added, “Aquí todos son amables, y si alguien te causa algún problema, dile que hable conmigo o con mi amigo, ?vale? José Hambera, o Carlos Santos.”

  She nodded, and I slowly put my arm around her shoulder. “Gracias, José, pero no tienes que fingir que eres mi amigo.”

  “I’m not pretending,” I said, getting her to look me in the eye. Her eyes widened in surprise, and I think she finally realized that I wasn’t like the people she had met in the past. “I promise, Lucía,” I said, holding out my pinky. “Pinky promise.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carlos cringe, but I ignored it.

  She shook her head, and started speaking in rapid Spanish. “No soy importante, ?vale? La escue es más importante que yo y yo estoy...simplemente no te preocupes por mí.”

  “No digas eso, Lucía. Eres importante, y quien te dijo que escue es más importante que tú misma o tu salud está loco.” Her hazel eyes pierced my dark brown eyes, and I realized that someone close to her, perhaps her father, had told her that. “Lo siento,” I asked softly, thinking I had overstepped.

  She ughed lightly and hugged me tightly, surprising me. My eyes widened as I hugged her back, and when she pulled away, she was blushing lightly. “Muchas gracías, José, muchas gracías.” I smiled and was about to say something when she put her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

  I looked at Carlos, who looked impressed. “Calrse boca,” I said, knowing he was about to say something. He shook his head, smiling. “Look, I meant what I said, and I think she knows that,” I said, looking at him. He shook his head again, and I realized what he was thinking. “I wasn’t-that’s absurd-I don’t-Carlos!”

  Lucía started ughing, and I couldn’t hold my smile back. “So you’re the funny one, Carlos?” She asked, looking at Carlos with a smile. He nodded, and she said, “I can’t believe I’ve made new friends this fast.” My eyes widened slightly when she spoke English, but I didn’t comment on it, but unfortunately, Carlos did.

  “I thought you said you don’t like talking in English?” He asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “I don’t because my head is wired in Spanish, not English. It takes a minute for me to transte things to Spanish, because I understand Spanish best,” she said slowly, like she didn’t know if she was using the right words to say what she wanted to say.

  “Eso es comprensible, y si es más fácil, José y yo podemos habr en espa?ol para ti,” Carlos said, standing up as the bus stopped in the school parking lot. I picked up my bag and nodded, agreeing with him. Lucía looked at Carlos, then looked at me, and nodded gratefully. “?Tienes tu horario?” She nodded and handed a paper to Carlos. Carlos read it quickly and said, “Tenemos todas s cses juntas, tú y yo. Te mostraré dónde ir, Lucía.”

  “Gracías, Carlos,” Lucía said, smiling. Carlos smiled and stepped into the aisle, getting behind Tessa, who gave him the finger. Lucía’s expression changed to anger, and I put a hand on her shoulder before she could walk into the aisle. She looked at me and said, “Pero el le dio-”

  “Lo sé, lo sé,” I promised. She opened her mouth to say something, and I said, “Pero él puede cuidar de sí mismo, no le gusta que otros peleen sus batals por él.” She nodded, and I knew she finally understood what I was saying. I smiled at her and walked off the bus, with her following me. She followed me to the cafeteria, and I couldn’t stop smiling at her shyness around everyone.

  She grabbed my hand as we walked into the line, and I started blushing. I know she did it subconsciously, but still. I don’t usually hold girls' hands, since every girl in the school would be talking about it, but Lucía was different. I didn’t know why, or how, but she was different from everyone else, and I was okay with that. I had a feeling we would be good friends for a long time, if not forever.