Enemies

“LAZARO! GET DOWN HERE NOW! YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL!”

“I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL, MOM! I’M SICK!”

“YOU ARE NOT SICK, CHILD, NOW GET DOWN HERE NOW SO YOU CAN EAT BREAKFAST!”

“Ugh, whatever.”

“I ate. Happy?”

“Yes, son, I am. Now get ready for school or you’ll be late.”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t ‘whatever’ me! I am your mother, you hear that?! Now go get ready. Make sure your uniform is straightened!”

“Hey, bro, what’s up?”

“Hey, man! Not much, how about you?”

“Well, my mom yelled at me this morning. She forced me to go to school.”

“Aw man, mom’s are like that, huh? Well, time for class. I’ll see you around!”

“Yeah, see you around.”

“Three times four divided by two. Anyone know the answer? Ah, yes Lazaro.”

“The answer is six, Ms. Stacy.”

“Very good, Lazaro.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“Who were the first people to fly? Lazaro?”

“The Wright Brothers, sir.”

“Correct! You are excelling in this class!”

“Sure, I don’t care.”

“Does anyone know what a noun is? Lazaro, do you know?”

“Yes, Mrs. Reed, a noun is a word used to define a person, place, or thing.”

“That’s right! You should write a book, Mr. Lazaro. I believe that it would be the next big thing!”

“All I want to do is eat. Not write books.”

“Well, lunch is next, so you do not have to wait much longer.”

“Hey, Lazaro! Come here!”

“What do you want, Natasha?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? You can call me Nat! And I wanted to ask you, can you help me study for the English test? You have the highest marks in all the classes!”

“I’d rather not. And I don’t care if I have the highest. I don’t even care if I have the lowest marks, Natasha.”

“Sure you do. Hey, can you slow down a bit, I’m still talking to you.”

“No. I’m hungry. Leave me alone. I’m not going to study with you. I don’t study, in general.”

“Fine, be that way. I’ll get Hyo to help me.”

“Wait, you wouldn’t dare. You know I hate him, and he hates me.”

“Yes, I also know you want to be better than him.”

“I see what you did here. I can’t believe you. Fine, I’ll help you. But only because I need to be better than Hyo.”

“First, draw your sketch. Then, make an outline using black paint. Once you finish both of those, paint it in with your acrylics. Wow, Lazaro, what a beautiful sketch! I think you will be a great artist when you’re older.”

“Thank you, Ms. Small. I do love art. I hope to be like you one day.”

“Well, thank you, Lazaro. You are on the right path to becoming a great artist. I’m sure you’ll be there in no time.”

“Como se dice ‘cat’ en español? Lazaro?

“‘Gato’, Senorita.”

“Muy bien.”

“ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, LET’S GET UP AND RUN A LAP AROUND THE GYM! LAZARO! GET OFF YOUR PHONE AND RUN!”

“Sorry, coach. I’m running.”

“Haha, yeah Lazaro get off your phone!”

“Shut up, bro. I’ll race you.”

“Alright, bet.”

“I….hate….running.”

“Same. Say, Lazaro, who really won that race?”

“I think it was a tie.”

“Ok, sure. We all know you just don’t want to admit you lost.”

“No, it was a tie. I saw Lazaro and you cross at the same time.”

“SHUT UP, NATASHA, CAN’T YOU SEE I’M TRYING TO WIN HERE?!”

“Jeez, sorry. Didn’t know you were so sensitive, Percy.”

“Ooo, she got you, Percy.”

“Oh my God, guys, shut up. I’m not sensitive.”

“Finally time to go home.”

“Yeah, maybe for you, Percy, but I gotta help Natasha study for English.”

“Oh no, good luck. She’s stubborn and annoying.”

“Trust me, I know. Well, bye. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Hey, Lazaro! Over here!”

“Hey, Natasha. Do you have your English books? I left mine at home.”

“Yes, I have them, but look who else I brought!”

“HYO?! NATASHA, WHY IS HE HERE? YOU KNOW WE HATE EACH OTHER!”

“Yes, I know. But I wanted you two to have some bonding time. So I decided to invite Hyo. Surely you won’t mind?”

“I do mind, in fact. I would appreciate if he left.”

“I’m not leaving. If anyone should leave, it’s you, Lazaro, since you’re so good at it.”

“Guys, don’t fight. How about we start by discussing why you two hate each other.”

“Neither of us came here to explain ourselves. We both came to help you, I assume.”

“Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here. I do not wish to speak about the incident that happened last year.”

“Ok, that’s a start. If it happened last year then maybe you guys should work it out.”

“No, it’s impossible. Lazaro’s too difficult. Trust me, I know first hand how he is.”

“I’m not the difficult one here. Hyo thinks he’s always meant to be right. It’s a terrible trait to have.”

“Maybe you’re both difficult. I think you guys should talk about it. Maybe it’ll help you understand the other’s anger more, and help you work out your differences.”

“Well, maybe, if Lazaro hadn’t gone and done something stupid, we wouldn’t be here.”

“Hyo, I told you, I didn’t do it! It was that girl remember?”

“What? Lazaro, you left me alone while I needed you.”

“Umm, guys? What happened?”

“Last year, Lazaro and I…we had been dating for a year. We didn’t tell anyone because we thought they might make fun of us. But on the day of our one year anniversary, Lazaro decided to leave me when I had just told him I needed him.”

“I DIDN’T LEAVE, HYO! THAT STUPID GIRL BASICALLY KIDNAPPED ME AND BROUGHT ME TO HER HOUSE AND FORCED ME TO-”

“OK THAT’S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU! Now, can we please just come to the conclusion that Lazaro didn’t mean to leave and Hyo didn’t know the story?”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Now, I’m going to find a book I’ve been wanting to read. You guys…I don’t know, talk or something. But no fighting. I’ll be back.”

“So, Lazaro, you really didn’t mean to leave me?”

“No, Hyo. In fact…I still love you.”

“I love you, too, Lazaro.”