Ch 2 - This Guy Óskar
Excerpt from my ONC 2026 book, To All the Óskars. Read now on Wattpad!
The next class I had was Spanish 2. Joshua’s aunt, Ms. Ruiz, taught Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. Her classroom is colorful. She has posters on the walls, decorations on her desks, and a corner in her room with bins of art supplies.
In her classroom, desks are clustered in fours. AJ, Joshua, and I sit together, leaving one spot empty just like we did last year, except for today.
“Where’s Joshua?” I asked, glancing at his usual seat before looking around.
“Hallway, some guy bumped into Kayla. He’s holding that girl back from a fight she deserves.” AJ grumbled.
I get up from my seat. AJ follows, and we glance into the hall.
“Watch where you go, freak!” Kayla snaps. Her face was red. If she were a cartoon character, steam would be waving her ears. She was staring at a guy, fists balled up, and ready for a fight.
“Kayla, calm down, he’s new,” Joshua says, standing between Kayla and…Óskar. Oh no. How could his day get worse? He bumped into me, and now he bumped into the queen bee.
“You’re being dramatic. I apologized already,” Óskar scoffed, rolling his eyes. He looked Kayla up, then pointed at her shoe. “Look, someone else stepped on your shoe. Go yell at them or something. I have class, don’t you?”
Kayla made a face before she tried to lean into Óskar’s face. Joshua tensed and stepped in front of her. “Don’t, he’s new. Back off, for once. Please.” He huffed. Kayla grabbed his shirt, and by now, administrators were walking closer. Principal Davidson pulled Kayla and Joshua aside while Vice Principal Peng took Óskar. The hallway quickly filled with murmurs.
I got back to my seat. Kayla was your average bully. She ate freshmen for breakfast and juniors for lunch. She was mean. She spread rumors, participated in cruel pranks, and always got her way. No one ever really talked back to Kayla when she yelled at them, except for Óskar.