Simone Elkeles - Rules of Attraction

ALSO BY SIMONE ELKELES

Perfect Chemistry

Rules of Attraction

Simone Elkeles

Copyright 2010 by Simone Elkeles

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in the United States of America in April 2010
by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Elkeles, Simone.
Rules of attraction / Simone Elkeles.
p. cm.
Sequel to: Perfect Chemistry
eISBN: 978-0-8027-2085-6 (hardcover)
1. Mexican AmericansJuvenile fiction. [1. Mexican AmericansFiction. 2. High
schoolsFiction. 3. SchoolsFiction. 4. Drug trafficFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.E42578Ru 2010 [Fic]dc22 2009049235

ISBN 978-0-8027-2230-0 (e-book)

Table of Contents

To Karen Harris, an incredible friend, mentor,critique partner, writer, and so much more. I wouldhave been lost without your guidance and friendshipthese past seven years. Thank you a million times overfor sharing this journey with me.

Rules of Attraction

I want to live life on my own terms. But Im Mexican, so mi familia is always there to guide me in everything I do, whether I want them to or not. Well, guide is too weak a word. Dictate is more like it.

Mi'am didnt ask if I wanted to leave Mexico and move to Colorado to live with my brother Alex for my senior year of high school. She made the decision to send me back to America for my own good her words, not mine. When the rest of mi familia backed her up, it was a done deal.

Do they really think sending me back to the U.S. will prevent me from ending up six feet under or in jail? Ever since I got fired from the sugar mill two months ago, Ive lived la vida loca. Nothing is ever gonna change that.

I look out the small window as the plane soars above the snowcapped Rockies. Im definitely not in Atencingo anymore... and Im not in the suburbs of Chicago, either, where I lived my entire life before mi'am made us pack up and move to Mexico during my sophomore year.

When the plane lands, I watch other passengers scramble to get off. I hold back and let this whole situation sink in. Im about to see my brother for the first time in almost two years. Hell, Im not even sure I want to see him.

The plane is almost empty, so I cant stall anymore. I grab my backpack and follow the signs for the baggage claim area. As I exit the terminal, I see my brother Alex waiting for me beyond the barricade. I thought I might not recognize him, or feel like we were strangers instead of family. But theres no mistaking my big brother... his face is as familiar to me as my own. I get a little satisfaction that Im taller than him now, and I dont look anything like that scrawny kid he left behind.

Ya ests en Colorado, he says as he pulls me into a hug.

When he releases me, I notice faint scars above his eyebrows and by his ears that werent there the last time I saw him. He looks older, but hes missing that guarded look he always carried around with him like a shield. I think I inherited that shield.

Gracias, I say flatly. He knows I dont want to be here. Uncle Julio stayed at my side until he forced me on the plane. And then threatened to stay at the airport until he knew my ass was off the ground.

You remember how to speak English? my brother asks as we walk to the baggage claim.

I roll my eyes. We only lived in Mexico two years, Alex. Or should I say, me, Mam, and Luis moved to Mexico. You ditched us.

I didnt ditch you. Im goin to college so I can actually do somethin productive with my life. You should try it sometime.

No, thanks. I like my unproductive life just fine.

I grab my duffel off the carousel and follow Alex out of the airport.

Why are you wearin that around your neck? my brother asks me.

Its a rosary, I answer, fingering the black-and-white beaded cross. I turned religious since I saw you last.

Religious, my ass. I know its a gang symbol, he says as we reach a silver Beemer convertible. My brother couldnt afford a bangin car like that; he must have borrowed it from his girlfriend, Brittany.

So what if it is? Alex was in a gang back in Chicago. Mi pap was a gang member before him. Whether Alex wants to admit it or not, being a badass is my legacy. I tried living by the rules. I never complained when I made less than fifty pesos a day and worked like a dog after school. After I got canned and started running with the Guerreros del barrio, I made over a thousand pesos in one day. It might have been dirty money, but it kept food on our table.

Didnt you learn anything from my mistakes? he asks.

Shit, when Alex was in the Latino Blood back in Chicago I worshipped him. You dont want to hear my answer to that.

Shaking his head in frustration, Alex grabs my duffel out of my hand and tosses it in the back of the car. So what if he got jumped out of the Latino Blood? Hell wear his tattoos the rest of his life. Whether he wants to believe it or not, hell always be associated with the LB whether hes active in the gang or not.

I take a long look at my brother. Hes definitely changed; I sensed it from the minute I saw him. He might look like Alex Fuentes, but I can tell hes lost that fighting spirit he once possessed. Now that hes in college, he thinks he can play by the rules and make the world a shinier place to live. Its amazing how quickly hes forgotten that not too long ago we lived in the slums of the Chicago suburbs. Some parts of the world cant shine, no matter how much you try and polish off the dirt.

Y Mam? Alex asks.

Shes fine.

And Luis?

The same. Our little brother is almost as smart as you, Alex. He thinks hes gonna be an astronaut like Jos Hernndez.

Alex nods like a proud papa, and I think he really does believe Luis can live his dream. The two of them are delusional... both my brothers are dreamers. Alex thinks he can save the world by creating cures for diseases and Luis thinks he can leave the world to explore new ones.

As we turn onto the highway, I see a wall of mountains in the far distance. It reminds me of the rough terrain in Mexico.

Its called the Front Range, Alex tells me. The university is at the base of the mountains. He points off to the left. Those are the Flatirons, cause the rocks are flat like ironing boards. Ill take you there sometime. Brit and I take walks there when we want to get away from campus.

When he glances at me, Im looking at my brother like hes got two heads.

What? he asks.

Is he kidding?Me est tomando los pelos? Im just wondering who you are and what the hell you did with my brother. My brother Alex used to be a rebel, and now hes talkin about mountains, ironin boards, and takin walks with his girlfriend.

Youd rather I talked about getting drunk and fucked up?

Yes! I say, acting like Im excited. And then you can tell me where I can get drunk and fucked up, cause I wont last long if I dont get some kind of illegal substance in my system, I lie. Mi'am probably told him she suspects Im into drugs, so I might as well play the part.