Merci Suárez Plays It Cool

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 5 — to survive I motion at the thermometer we keep hanging on the patio The needle is pointing at the red numbers It's already ninety degrees It's the best defense I can think of though I hope she doesn't point out other less flattering parts of Tuerto's nature namely that he's a heartless murderer He kills everything birds mice voles lizards even baby possums and leaves them as grisly presents I think back to the first time Tuerto left us a dead sparrow in Lolo's garden I was so angry at Tuerto for killing that pretty bird We feed Tuerto I cried He doesn't need to kill things But Lolo just cradled the little body in his palm and helped me bury it so its spirit could live in the flowers There's no stopping Mother Nature in the end preciosa he told me though we tied a silver warning bell to Tuerto's collar after that Mami sighs and yanks the chain for the ceiling fan trying to circulate the air conditioning that never quite keeps up with Florida in July I suppose you're right about the heat she mutters Then she reaches under the chipped saltshaker on the kitchen table and hands over today's List of Doom I try not to look bitter as I review my list of chores I should be with Papi and Simón this morning way out past the cane fields in the Glades If they finish that job early they're planning to fish on Lake Okeechobee for a little while Mami however had other ideas for my time and ruined the fun She says chores build character Which is porquería You have to clean your room today she tells me as if I can't read her list myself It's a mess Tuerto is nesting in sweaty underwear It's mostly Roli's I say Go see for yourself if you dare It requires the moves of a ninja just to get past our door with Roli's boxes from college all over the room He hasn't unpacked from when he came home in May Naturally she ignores this Let him sleep she says Roli worked the graveyard shift at Walgreens again last night so he's out cold snoring como si nada on the other side of the curtain that divides our room Mami loads the percolator with El Pico and lights the flame You have your summer reading too Don't forget There's only a couple of weeks left before school starts From the corner of my eye I see the incriminating stack of library books sitting on the shelf near the back door exactly where I left them

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 6 — three weeks ago I read the business book my free choice in two days but I haven't even started the other two mostly on principle Why should I do homework for a teacher I haven't even met But the not so secret faculty motto at Seaward Pines Academy is apparently Work em till their eyes bleed It's kind of hard to read if I have all these other chores too I say Besides is summer reading even legal to assign during an official vacation period Legal I grab my phone from the charging station and type the word vacation into the dictionary It says right here Vacation An extended period of leisure and recreation I give her a knowing look We'd never get away with this kind of infringement on an employee's personal time in the business world I should know since I am currently writing the Sol Painting Inc. employee handbook for In fact I'm pretty sure my rights are being violated I may have a case here Only if you mean a case of poor planning says We've been over this Merci Reading is recreational I give her a look Not with those books How would you know if you haven't started them She peers out the kitchen window toward Abuela's house where the lights are on There's a small flash of worry in her face What I say walking over The summer has been tough on my grandparents especially Lolo The heat seems to have melted his mind like butter in a pan and that has everyone around here on edge His new medicines were supposed to help with that but if anything he seems worse Nada she tells me although I'm not sure whether to believe her It just looks like they're up already Check in with before you get started She might need you to watch Lolo while she showers this morning I try not to make a face at her I hate when she calls it watching Lolo It's not like he's a baby or worse like the twins who are every babysitter's nightmare Lolo has always liked to walk the neighborhood though every once in a while now he forgets where he is which makes jumpy What is that like I wonder To suddenly not know your own block or recognize our houses or on some days even know your own name

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 7 — Anyway I try not to think about that too much And I don't mind taking walks with Lolo either even if we're moving slower these days He's quiet but I can still tell Lolo anything I want and be 100 percent sure that he won't tell anybody else shakes a box of bran flakes into a chipped bowl You want some of this It looks like a stack of bark shavings No thank you I say holding up my hand That stuff tastes like Styrofoam She shrugs and pours milk over her cereal It also keeps the digestive tract moving she says I noticed you took a long time in the bathroom yesterday I give her an icy stare and head to the refrigerator It's bad enough that my screen time is closely monitored that I'm required to store my phone in the kitchen overnight that I have to do chores during my vacation Now my bowel habits are being surveilled too Prison inmates probably have more privacy The cool blast from the freezer soothes me when I yank it open I pull out the last two packets of blueberry toaster waffles I hid at the very back At least Roli hasn't devoured these yet Maybe he read the sticky note that I taped on the box the one with the skull and crossbones I drew Hands off the stash Bro These waffles are Lolo's favorite and mine too even though and Abuela claim they're not real food Where are you going says as I head past her and down the hall with my breakfast To attend to my digestive tract I say trying not to sound too snarky And then to check on

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 8 — CHAPTER 2 IT'S BEEN WEEKS SINCE I've seen anybody from Seaward Pines Once summer started we all went our own ways Wilson spends all of July with his dad and cousins in New Orleans Hannah is away at a prisoner type summer camp in Georgia where they don't allow phones except for calling home once a week Lena and her dad left on an RV trip to the Badlands in South Dakota to photograph bison So it's been lonely I'd even be happy to hear from Edna Santos who can pluck my last nerve at times but she's been away too sunbathing on some island near Boston called Nantucket And where have I been Right here at of course same as every single summer since I've been alive I haven't even had a chance to hang out with Roli much since he's working all the time If he's not at the pharmacy he's helping I pull open screen door and step into her kitchen which is just as hot and steamy as ours She's at the stove scrambling eggs and frying ham steaks and the smell is heavenly The house is already loud too with cartoons blaring from the TV and the crash of dominoes coming from the next room where Axel and Tomás still in their pajamas are hanging out with Lolo They hate to wait for to wake up and make them breakfast so sometimes they ditch their place and come next door to and Lolo's instead You're early Abuela says glancing at the clock on the wall It's 7:45 a.m. Lolo and the boys haven't eaten yet I know but I was up already and I thought Lolo and I could take a walk before it gets even hotter out there She flips the sliced meat around in the frying pan with her long fork and gives me a stern look when she sees me put the frozen waffles I brought over in the toaster You'll spoil his appetite she says

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