Yadriel tucked his portaje and its sheath into the waist of his jeans and pulled on his backpack.
He listened carefully at the door and paused every couple of steps going down the stairs, but the house was silent and empty. That was odd, considering Lita was usually busy in the kitchen by now. He opened the front door, and Julian made a run for it.
“FREEDOM!” he whooped, bounding down the front steps.
Yadriel laughed and shook his head. Julian was in great spirits. Yadriel hesitated in the doorway and pulled his dagger out again. Did he really need it? Was it bad luck to assume the worst? Was he just welcoming something to go wrong by taking it to school? Maybe he should leave it—
Before he could make a decision, the door to the garage opened and Lita walked into the kitchen.
“I’ll make some food,” Lita said as she went to the stove.
Tío Catriz and his dad walked into view, each of them carrying a large box. Yadriel froze, panic cementing his feet to the floor. The voice in his head screamed at him to make a run for it, but it was like his body was short-circuiting, refusing to budge.
“Where should we put this?” his dad asked, his back to Yadriel.
Tío Catriz turned and immediately locked eyes with Yadriel over Enrique’s shoulder.
Tío Catriz’s face went from surprise to confusion. Before Yadriel could react, his gaze went to the portaje gripped in Yadriel’s hand.
Yadriel’s heart dropped to the floor.
Catriz had seen the dagger in his hand. He would recognize it as a portaje immediately.
For a split second, his tío’s expression went blank as he stared at the blade, but then—
Then he smiled.
“Put them in the living room,” Lita instructed, waving a hand as she put a pan on the stove.
Enrique started to turn toward the living room, where Yadriel remained rooted in the doorway, clutching his portaje.
Yadriel was doomed. His dad was going to see him with his portaje, caught red-handed.
A loud crash made everyone jump.
The box Tío Catriz was holding had toppled out of his arms, spilling prayer candles and copal incense all over the kitchen floor.
“Aye!” Lita gasped, clutching her chest.
“Careful of the glass!” Yadriel’s dad warned as broken shards crunched under their shoes.
“I’ll grab the broom!” Lita rushed to the garage.
“Ah, lo siento, hermano,” Tío Catriz said as he and Yadriel’s dad bent down to pick up the larger pieces.
“Don’t worry, we have plenty more,” Enrique reassured him.
Snapping out of it, Yadriel quickly slipped his portaje back into its sheath.
Tío Catriz caught his eye over his dad’s shoulder and gave him a small wink.
Relief and gratitude flooded Yadriel. His tío had just saved his ass, and he didn’t even seem mad that Yadriel had a portaje. He looked—well, he looked proud, which was a sentiment Yadriel hadn’t been gifted in a very long time.
He should’ve known that Tío Catriz would be on his side. He wanted to tell him everything, but right now wasn’t the time.
As they picked up the broken pieces, Yadriel slipped out the front door and ran to the gate, where Julian and Maritza waited.
“There you are,” Maritza sighed, pushing herself up from where she had been leaning against the gate. She wore a black puffy jacket and tight jeans, her hair pulled back in two short French braids.
“Jesus, how are you so slow?!” Julian demanded, throwing his hands up. “I thought you were— Hey, what’s with the smile?”
A huge grin plastered across Yadriel’s face, his head swimming. His heart felt ready to burst, and it hammered in his chest.
“My family showed up,” Yadriel blurted out. “Tío saw my portaje—”
Maritza’s eyes bulged. “What?”
“Uh-oh,” Julian said, glancing back toward the house.
“No, no, it’s okay!” Yadriel rushed to add, delirious laughter bubbling through his words. “I didn’t get in trouble! He even distracted Lita and my dad so I could get away without them seeing me!”
Maritza shook her head in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Julian grinned. “Awesome!”
“He was seriously chill about it?” Maritza asked, frowning. “Do you think he’s going to tell your dad?”
“No, I don’t think so, he wouldn’t out me like that,” Yadriel said. Julian beamed back at him, but Maritza was uncharacteristically worried. “Seriously, Itza,” he said. “My tío gets me, he’s the only one who does—”
Hurt flashed across her face.
“Aside from you, of course!” he added quickly, giving her an affectionate nudge.
“Are you going to tell him everything?” Maritza pressed, her delicately lined eyebrows tense with worry.
“I mean, yeah, probably.” Yadriel shrugged. It’d be good to have an adult on his side. When it came time to reveal everything to his dad and Lita, it would be good to have his tío standing in his corner. “Obviously, not right now,” he added. “We need to get to school and then see Rio.” Yadriel started to walk down the street, gesturing for them to follow. His smile was so big, it was hurting his cheeks.
Julian bounded after him, but Maritza stood there for a moment frowning, her arms crossed over her chest.
“I guess,” she finally sighed before following after them.
“See? Everything’s working out!” Julian said, dimples flashing as he grinned over at Yadriel.
“It is,” he agreed, heart racing. It was one more step in the right direction. One step closer to becoming a brujo. One step closer to being himself.
He was still riding the adrenaline rush when he got to his first class. He was in a great mood, and Julian was in an even better one. Yadriel didn’t even mind when Julian, after immediately becoming bored in math class, got into some light mischief.
Julian waited for Ms. Costanzo to write math problems up on the whiteboard and then once people stopped paying attention, which didn’t take long, he would erase a random number when Ms. Costanzo wasn’t looking. Three times she had to reference her notes, a confused look on her face as she tried to figure out where the mistake was.
Julian perched on the edge of his desk and cackled. Yadriel had to stuff his fist against his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud.
During lunch, Maritza joined them behind the bleachers. She helped Julian practice his ghost skills by flicking a triangle of paper back and forth, lining up their fingers like goal posts to aim for.
Yadriel sat back, eating a dry cheeseburger from the cafeteria. He liked watching Julian when he was focused in on something. His heavy brow got all scrunched up, eyes sharp as he caught the very tip of his tongue between his teeth. He was so animated. When he made a goal, he’d punch the air and let out an excited whoop. When he missed, he’d throw his hands up and dramatically flop onto his back in the grass. Yadriel caught Maritza eyeing him more than once. Each time, he tried to force the stupid grin off his face, but it always came right back.
By the end of the day, exhaustion was starting to win out. After two nights of very restless sleep, it was a miracle he’d made it that long. To make matters worse, the last class of the day was history, and Mr. Guerrero was the absolute worst. He spoke in a monotone completely devoid of inflection.