Page 30 of Something in Between

He rolls his eyes. “You’ve heard one of my dad’s speeches you’ve heard them all. Plus the food is always awful.”

I groan. “It really was. That chicken was disgusting.”

“Of course I still ate the whole thing,” he says with a grin.

“So did I!”

We laugh, and he puts me so at ease that I almost snort when I giggle.

“I’m glad I’m here though, I was beginning to think I’d never see you again,” he says, a serious look on his face.

“Oh,” I say, blushing furiously, not knowing quite what to say. I feel bad he thought I was avoiding him, which I was, but not for the reason he might think.

I try to find my composure and change the subject. “Your dad made a good speech though.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah.” I do. I don’t agree with the congressman’s politics, but I agree with what he said about education and striving.

“Hey, you want to meet him?” Royce asks suddenly, as if to make up for acting so jaded before.

“Your dad? Sure,” I say, even though I’m a little scared. What if Congressman Blakely can tell that I don’t have papers? That I’m practically the enemy? Of course this is an irrational, paranoid thought, but I have it anyway. Then I tell myself Ishouldmeet his dad, because once I have, maybe I can go out on a date with Royce without my dad getting upset that he didn’t meet Royce first. As if meeting one parent counts somehow?

Am I getting ahead of myself? Why do I think Royce and I are going to date? Royce whisks away our champagne glasses and before I can think more on it, we’re next to Congressman Blakely, who’s deep in conversation with another important-looking person.

“Dad,” Royce says, touching his arm.

The congressman doesn’t seem to hear his son.

Royce bounces on his heels a few times. He shoves his hands in his pockets and leans toward me. “He does this sometimes,” he says. “Watch this.” He turns back toward his dad. “Congressman Blakely, Majority Leader, may I present Jasmine...”

“De los Santos,” I say.

The congressman turns now, all smiles, as if a light switch automatically flips as soon as a stranger is present. He takes a split second to survey me. “Pleasure to meet you, Jasmine. You’re one of our honorees from California, aren’t you?”

I’m amazed at his knowledge. There are three hundred of us. “Yes, the Los Angeles area,” I say. “Pleased to meet you, Congressman.”

“The honor is all mine. May I introduce you to Senator Lauren Silverton from Wisconsin?”

I shake the senator’s hand, which is soft and perfectly manicured. She’s one of the few women in the Senate, and I’m ecstatic to meet her. “It’s an honor,” I tell her.

“We’re so proud of you,” she tells me with a warm smile. “You and all the honorees are the bright lights of our country.”

The two of them beam at me. Royce’s dad says, “I heard you wrote a great essay. We need more students like you making America great.”

“Thank you both. It’s wonderful to be here,” I say, noticing Royce smirking.

“Dad, Senator, if you’ll excuse us,” Royce says.

They nod and smile. “Yes, lovely meeting you,” the congressman says, turning away.

And that’s it—nothing scary about him. It’s odd though, I thought I was meeting Royce’s dad, but it turned out I was just meeting the congressman. I’m not sure my dad would think this counts as a meet-the-parents moment, it was so impersonal.

Royce hands me a new champagne glass once we’re far enough away from his dad. “So, here you are.”

“Here you are,” I say, taking a sip.

“IRL,” he says.

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