The Perfect Balance

Chapter 7

It's currently Wednesday and my mom's driving (more like speeding) me and Diego to the plaza. I have fifteen minutes until my shift starts but we need to talk to Sue. As we arrive, my mom idles in front of the coffee shop and tells us she'll see us at the end of my shift. "You're just going to leave him here for four hours?" I ask my mom as I grab my bag at my feet. She glances at him as he taps away on his phone and shrugs.

"He brought his homework," my mom expresses and I glance at Diego's bag hanging off of his shoulder.

"Four hours worth?" I ask.

"You work at a book store. I'm sure he'll find something in there to read," my mom replies before insisting that she has to go.

"Are you ready?" I ask Diego and he replies with a short shrug. I lead the way to the coffee shop, pushing open the door. He enters without thanking me and I just roll my eyes, stepping ahead of him. I approach the counter to find Sue making coffee.

"Hey, Orion. You're a bit early," she greets me.

"Hey, Sue. I thought I'd stop by before my shift. Remember when I told you I had a friend looking for a job?" I ask as I place both my arms on the counter.

"Yeah, is that him?" she inquires as she peers over my shoulder. I turn around to see Diego looking around the cafe curiously, glancing at the paintings hanging up on the walls.

"Yeah," I answer before breaking my gaze away from him to look at Sue. "He doesn't really do much talking."

"Well, call him over and I'll see about hiring him," she replies with her bright smile.

"Diego," I call and he turns around. His eyes trail from me to Sue and then back to me. I nod for him to approach us and he does, stopping beside me at the counter.

"So you're looking for a job, I hear?" Sue asks, getting a nod in response from Diego. "What makes you want to work here?"

"Uh..." he trails awkwardly. He shoots me a sideways glare and I can tell he's mentally yelling at me for not telling him there'd be questions. "I like coffee?" It comes out as more of a question than a statement.

Sue gives a chuckle. "Do you work hard?" she questions and I know he wants to shrug but he plays it off by adjusting his shirt.

"Yeah," he answers quietly.

"Do you have any previous work experience?" she asks.

"I mean, I've done volunteer work, if that counts," he replies, unsure. This factoid surprises me.

"I have an application for you to fill out. When you hand it in, I'll get back to you about your hours," Sue answers.

"So he has the job?" I ask Sue and she nods. Diego offers a small smile but it doesn't seem genuine at all. In fact, I think it'd have been better had he not tried at all.

"But you got three strikes and then you're out," she warns sternly as she slides an application across the counter. Diego takes it in his hand and nods at her.

"Thanks," he mutters quietly.

"Thank you, Sue. I'll see you on my break for my hot cocoa," I call to her as I leave the store with Diego in tow. As soon as the door closes, I look at him. "You're lucky Sue's a nice lady. You'd have blown that interview had it been with a complete stranger."

"I don't talk to adults all that much. Whenever I do, they're usually yelling at me," he explains as we reach the book store. I grab the door handle and pull it open.

I don't really know how to respond to his statement so I just look around the store, locking eyes with Diana, who immediately looks at the boy standing behind me. "Just go find somewhere to sit and don't cause any problems."

"You have my word," he replies as he heads for an aisle off to the left.

"And try to get your homework done," I tell him.

"Most likely not," he responds and I sigh and head towards the counter where a shell-shocked Diana is standing

"What's he doing here?" she whispers, despite the fact that he's already disappeared behind some shelves.

"I got him a job at the coffee shop. He's going to be here until the end of my shift so don't do anything weird," I warn her.

"Would you look at that?" She smirks as she points to the employee schedule posted on a pole behind the counter. "You've got shelving duty again. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get some smooches behind the books." She imitates a kissing noise and I groan and shove my hand in her face as I slip out from behind the counter. I grab a book filled cart and head towards the first aisle.

It's not long before I reach Diego, who is sprawled across the floor with his phone in his hands. When he sees me, he offers me a short glance before going back to his device. "Did you get anything done?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"I beat my high score in this game I'm playing," he informs me.

"I meant academics wise," I clarify.

"Oh...then no," he responds.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"It's...5:28," he replies.

"Fill out that application and we'll bring it back at 6," I instruct him and he sighs.

"Do you guys have an outlet?" he asks. "My phone's dying."

"We do...in the front," I answer. "I can charge it for you."

"But I won't be able to play my game," he frowns and I scoff.

"Good, you need to get your homework done," I mutter. He stares at me as I shove a few books in their rightful place. When I glance back at him, I see that he has his eyes narrowed and lips pouted. "Fine. At least do the application."

"Whatever," he replies as he digs around in his bag for his charger. "Don't go through it," he insists as he hands me his phone wrapped in the white cord.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I tell him with a roll of my eyes. "I'll be back. Just watch this." I motion vaguely to the cart before walking off.

I jog to the front just as Diana finishes ringing someone up. "Is that his phone?" she whispers as she stares at the slim device in my hand and I nod, plugging it into the outlet.

"Yeah," I answer as I place it on a shelf behind the counter so Diana won't accidentally step on it.

"Let's go through it! Does he have a pass-code?" she whispers and reaches for the phone. I immediately look at her with wide eyes as I protect the phone with a cupped hand.

"How about we respect his privacy and not touch it?" I retort and she scoffs.

"You're no fun," she complains.

"Leave it alone, Diana," I warn. "I don't want to get blamed if you see something you don't want to see."

"Who said I wouldn't want to see it?" she offers up a wink and I scowl before turning towards the shelves.

I jog back to the aisle where Diego is now sitting up with his knees facing the ceiling and the application to the coffee shop on one of his textbooks. It's silent for a few moments as I work and he fills out his papers. "Orion?" he addresses as I continue to stock the shelves.

"What?" I respond.

"When it asks why I want to work there, what should I put?" he questions.

"Why you want to work there," I tell him. He's silent and I look to see him staring at me with a flat look on his face, so I shrug. "Why do you want the job?"

"I don't," he answers honestly. "I'd rather be out and about hanging with my friends but your parents think I should keep busy."

"Well you can't exactly put that now can you?" I respond. "Just say you want to be an active member of the community or something like that."

"Can you repeat that?" he asks and I do, allowing him to copy down my words.

I continue to work until six o'clock comes around, which is when I'm was officially on break. I jog over to fetch Diego. I find him surrounded by a textbook and a notebook. But, instead of working, he's balancing a pencil on the tip of his nose, moving ever so slightly to keep it balanced. As I approach, I notice that there is half a page worth of writing on the piece of paper and I shrug. At least he got something done.

"Come on," I startle him and he turns to look at me. I watch as the pencil falls from his face.

Rather than speaking, he lazily shoves his stuff into his bag, not even bothering to zip it up. As we approach the front of the store, he carefully places his bag over the counter and Diana smiles at me as if insinuating something. "Have fun on your break, Ri."

I glance at her before nodding at Diego to hurry up. He walks alongside me to the coffee shop with his application in his hand. We enter and I head towards the counter ready to order. I look at Diego and suddenly wonder if he's hungry. He's been sitting in the bookstore for two hours and I know he hadn't eaten anything when we got home from school. I'm not even sure if I saw him at lunch and he definitely didn't eat anything for breakfast.

"You want something?" I ask him and he shakes his head. "You sure? You didn't eat much today."

"I had food last period," he leans on the counter and offers me a smirk, "when I was skipping class."

I roll my eyes at the last part of his sentence and wait for Sue to finish her phone call before ordering my usual. She looks at Diego and smiles when he hands her the completed application. "I'll get back to you sometime this week," she informs him as she looks over the application with a nod.

I walk to my usual spot at the window and sit down, waiting patiently for my hot cocoa. Diego walks over and hesitates before taking the seat across from me. I gaze out the window, not bothering to speak until I think of something I've been wondering for the past few days. "Where do you go?" I blurt.

"What?" he replies, slightly confused.

"When you sneak out at night? Where is there to go?" I clarify.

He thinks for a moment before he licks his lips and continues. "A lot of places."

"Like where?" I ask and he shrugs again.

"It depends on what I want to do," he answers as he stares at me. I take advantage of the eye contact, allowing myself to admire the hazel color. "Is this about Saturday?" I'm surprised he's acknowledging it.

"Yeah," I reply. Instead of answering, he gazes out the window and I have a feeling he's not going to reply. "You're so good at it."

"At what?" he asks.

"Sneaking in," I respond. "I would've been so loud."

He chuckles as he stares at the wooden table. "Practice makes perfect."

"A medium hot cocoa," Sue interrupts as she delivers my drink.

"Thanks," I smile at her and she nods before walking off to another table. "So where do you go?"

He looks at me, assessing my face for a moment before chuckling and turning towards the window. "Maybe one day you'll find out."