Celebrity Undercover

7. Mr Ramirez

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies." -George R. R Martin.

"I want to meet these friends of yours," my mum insists as she cuts the tomatoes. I had just come back from the mall and my mum was bombarding me with questions on who I was with. It wasn't helping that she saw me coming out of a Rolls Royce.

"Fine i'll invite them over for dinner or something one day," I give in, making my way to my bedroom.

"Next weekend honey!" She shouts at me and I groan before opening the door to my bedroom. How am I going to get out of that? But I guess Alec wouldn't come, he doesn't want anyone to know that he's here anyway, or he might also come with a disguise but then I wouldn't want to lie to my mum.

I open my Literature book and start to do my homework. Spending the rest of my Sunday evening at home.

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"S-So my mum wants to meet you guys," I start saying, as I shove the Greek snack in my mouth,"she saw Alec dropping me off in his expensive car," I continue, glaring at Alec when I mentioned the expensive car part, which he only smirks to,"and I told her I made new friends, and now she wants to meet you guys."

"Okay! When?" Alex asks excitedly, taking a bite on her salad. I didn't expect that reaction from her, I thought she would find a way out of it.

"Um this weekend, so I was thinking maybe on Friday evening over dinner?" I suggest, playing with the hem of my green sweater. Yes, I went back to wearing it. It's my favorite sweater come on, it's very comfortable and the cold weather isn't helping.

Alec was quiet during the whole exchange, his eyes focused on us as we talked. I got nervous, I knew he wouldn't like the idea but maybe I was still hoping that he would come. I mean I do want my mum to meet my first ever friend since I turned fifteen.

"Great! I'll be there!" She says, clapping her hands together. For the first time, she was wearing something other than a dress, she wore skinny jeans and a pink tank top with a pink jacket. I guess she finally noticed the cold weather.

She turns her attention to Alec, quirking her perfectly shaped brow,"and you?"

Alec nods his head, taking a bite from his snack,"i'll be there," he answers making me shocked. I half expected him to say he couldn't come because then more people would know he was here in Sitka.

"Are you not afraid that people will find out you're here?" I ask him, adjusting myself on the bleacher properly.

"It's not like your mum is going to call E! News to inform them of my current location," he says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. A small smile made its way on my face when I look at my two new friends. The bell rings signaling the end of lunch and Alexis walks away from us quickly shouting about something to do with a strict History teacher.

We quickly gather the lunch boxes and I help him keep them inside his bag, walking hand in hand towards Spanish class.

"Is something wrong?" I ask Alec in the middle of the lesson, whispering so Mr. Ramirez doesn't hear me.

"No, why?"

"Because you've been quiet ever since I asked you to meet my mum, if you don't want to, I can tell her you couldn't make it," I tell him, leaning towards him a little so he could hear me better.

"Summer it-" he starts but was quickly cut off my Mr. Ramirez, "Mr. Armstrong and Ms. Moore, is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

"No sir," Alec replies at the same time as I replied,"sorry sir."

Mr. Ramirez is one of the few strict teachers in school, he was serious when it came to his lessons, that's why he didn't shrug it off like I know most teachers would have, and the fact that he never even knew Alec before he came to school also makes him treat Alec like the rest of the class.

"I expect you to stop talking and listen to me from now on," he says sternly, before he goes back explaining. I listen as I don't like getting into trouble, but that was until I felt something hit my arm, I look down to find a piece of an eraser. I glare at Alec but he had a serious look on his face,"it's not that I don't want to meet your mother, believe me, I do, b-"

"Alright that's it! Alec and Summer, out of the class, now," Mr. Ramirez shouts, completely furious. Damn. He really needs a chill pill.

I stand up slowly and follow Alec outside the class. He sits down, leaning on the wall and he pats the empty space beside him, gesturing for me to sit there. I sit down, cross legged, leaning on the wall.

"When you mentioned your mother, I couldn't help but be reminded that I didn't have one, that's why I was quiet, she was a big part of my life. I still remember her urging me to follow my dream of becoming a singer when I was nine, the way she prefers adding honey to her dessert to make it more healthy even though she adds chocolate or artificial flavors on them, the way she always pushed me to do my best, the way her blue eyes sparkle with happiness whenever I sang for her, the way she would massage my scalp whenever I had a head ache, she was my best friend, my everything," he says, his bends his head low, as if he was hiding his face. I knew he was probably crying and he didn't want to let it show.

"I know how it feels to lose the one you love, I lost my dad too. He was everything to me, we always did everything together. I miss him, but I know he's with me, watching over me," I tell him, curling up my legs and wrapping my arms around them, my chin on top of them.

"The stupid media portray me as some delinquent spoiled celebrity, who always drinks, parties, have fights and play with girls. After my mother's death, it got worse, the paparazzi were following me everywhere I went, asking me how I felt about my mother's death. I was still mourning for god sake. That night, when I fought with the paparazzi, the reality that my mum wasn't coming back hit me, so I went to the bar to drown my sorrows in alcohol, I knew it wasn't right, but I wanted to forget, even if it was just for a few minutes. It was going great, I had forgotten about it for a while, until a paparazzi comes up to me to ask me about my mother's death again, reminding me what I almost forgot. That made me angry and I lunged to hit him, but before I could throw a punch at him, the guards stopped me. That's when I decided that I had to stop singing, I was done with the media and everyone knowing who I was, so I decided to choose somewhere anyone would least expect."

"So you chose this small little island in Alaska," I completed his sentence for him. He nods with a sigh.

"Don't stop," I tell him.

He looks up at me, furrowing his eyebrows as he studies me,"don't stop what?"

"Singing. Your voice is amazing, and the fact that your mother was pushing you to sing means that she wouldn't want you to stop doing what you love."

He sighs, running his hand through his hair,"thats the thing, there came a point where I didn't enjoy singing anymore. I was singing songs not for the sake of enjoyment, but for the sake of what the people wanted, they even auto tune my voice. It wasn't the same anymore."

"Then start over, sing what you want to sing, with your own voice," I tell him with a smile, just when the bell rings.

Mr. Ramirez comes out of the classroom and looks at us as we quickly stand up, dusting off our backs.

"I don't want this behavior happening again, I expected more from you Ms. Moore. I don't want you two sitting together during my class, you hear me?" He says sternly, looking at us through his thick glasses. We both nod before he sends us off with that warning.

"Well he is one scary teacher," Alec mutters, immediately lightening up the mood, making me chuckle.

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"You want me to drop you home?" Alec asks as we made our way out of the school.

"So you can attract attention from my mum with your car again?" I ask him mockingly, adjusting my bag strap. I know my mum isn't going to be home today, she usually has a longer shift on Mondays and Thursdays.

"Oh come on Summer, it's not that bad," he reasons out, walking towards the limo.

"It's a freaking limo Alec. Who brings a limo to school?!" I ask him, waving my hands in the air for emphasis.

"The windows are tinted and I don't want to wear a disguise everyday after school," he says, as a man in a black suit comes out of the driver's seat to open the door for us.

I wave my hands at the guy and the limo to put emphasis, "do you see this?!" I ask him, which only earns a chuckle from him. He enters the car, holding my hand and pulls me inside the limo.

"How gentlemanly of you," I say sarcastically, adjusting myself on the seat properly. I've never been inside a limousine, I look around me, studying it. There were seats at each sides of the limo facing each other and one opposite a wall dividing this part of the car with the driver's seat, which was where we were seating. On the wall there was a small cabinet with drinks and champagne glasses and there was a small flat screen tv at the side.

"You want something to drink?" He asks, as he fills a glass with some orange liquid and takes a sip.

"Um no, I don't drink alcohol," I tell him, suddenly feeling shy when I realize we are alone in the car. It's not like we are never alone, it's just that, the last time we were alone in the car, he was driving. It's different from now as we were practically sitting in the same seat, with him beside me.

He laughs lightly before shaking his head. "Don't worry, it's red bull," he informs me, showing me the can.

"O-Oh, t-then i'd like some." Of course the stammering came back. Ugh! I thought I was done with those.

He chuckles as he pours some for me too, handing me the glass,"you tend to stammer when you're nervous. So tell me, Summer Moore, why are you nervous?"

A blush crept up my cheeks and I choke on the red bull,"i-i'm not n-nervous."

"You can't lie, you know that right?" He continues to mock me, taking another sip from his red bull,"do I make you nervous?"

I shake my head, not trusting myself to answer him as my blush deepened. He touches my cheek, rubbing it with his thumb,"then why are you blushing?"

"Y-You know I blush easily!" I tell him, removing his hand from my cheeks, he's taking advantage of the situation. He knows how shy I am.

He laughs lightly, shaking his head,"you're one of a kind Summer Moore."