Isabel was still undecided about her major. Her mother had been a schoolteacher for years before being diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. Thankfully, she’d beat it. Even after the chemo taking so much from her mother and her father insisting she not go back to work, her mother insisted she had to.

Growing up, Isabel heard all the stories her mother told her about her students. She seemed to revel in it and even though her dad often made cracks about how unappreciated teachers were for all the hard work they did. Isabel noted how he never came home speaking fondly of his day at work, like her mother did so often. As much as her sister was pushing for her to go into law—maybe someday between them they could start their own firm, Isabel’s heart was leaning towards her mother’s first love—teaching.

After the ceremony, they went out for a swanky dinner in Laguna, at one of her dad’s favorite restaurants. A few of her friends had mentioned getting together later that evening to celebrate, but Isabel had plans early the next morning. Even though she was attending the University of San Diego, just over an hour away from her home in Laguna Beach, she would be staying in a dorm. Even more than her parents, her sister Pat that had always pushed her to excel. She did it all through grade school and high school. Unlike her brother, who was going to Loyola, Pat was studying close by and living at home. Isabel needed to get away. Already, because of their insistence, and because none of them had taken the summer off after high school, she was enrolled in summer school. Both her father and sister Pat had been hammering at her for months now, “Knock it out, no sense in wasting time.”

So tomorrow was orientation and her summer classes started in a week.

“I’m really proud of you, Isabel.” Her father squeezed her hand during dinner. It was rare for her father to say anything heartfelt. It almost brought a tear to her eye.

“Yeah,” Pat added, “and you were worried about not making Valedictorian.” Her sister rolled her eyes. “I knew you had it in you, Bell, you just have to believe in yourself more.”

Isabel smiled. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Now the real fun begins,” Gina said. “College life and college men.” Her eyebrows bounced up and down.

Her mom chuckled. “Just don’t get too caught up in that stuff and let your grades slip.”

“I won’t.” Isabel couldn’t even imagine getting caught up in that. She had one boyfriend all through high school. The rest of the time, she spent most of her weekends studying and reading. Just like tonight, while everyone else was out celebrating graduation, she’d be hitting the hay early.

“Art, I thought you were bringing Sabrina to dinner tonight.” Her mom said, taking a sip of her wine.

Art shrugged. “Changed my mind.”

“Why?” Her mom asked.

“Is she still working at the Quick-Mart?” Pat asked, with a smirk.

“She’s putting herself through school, Patricia.”

Isabel chewed slowly, taking in the glare her brother gave Pat.

“It was just a question.”

“Yeah, well those kinds of sarcastic questions are the reason I didn’t want to bring her.”

Pat’s eyes opened wide as if his comment surprised her. “It’s nothing personal, Art. You should know by now, no one will ever be good enough for my little brother, least of all some trailer trash working at the Quick-Mart.”

“Pat,” her mother warned.

“I’m just—”

“Oh, but that arrogant ass**le you’re dating—”

“Hey!” Her mom reached over and swatted Art on the back of the head. “I will not have that kind of language at the dinner table.”

“Your mother is right,” her father added, “lower your voice and apologize to your sister.”

Art apologized through his teeth, though it was anything but sincere. That pretty much ended any mood for small talk between her siblings. Her father asked Gina about her flight itinerary. Everyone agreed to keep their schedules open to be there to see her off since she’d be gone for months. Isabel never understood why Gina had chosen to go so far to school. As much as her family could drive her nutty sometimes, they meant the world to her and she’d miss them terribly if she was ever away from them for that long.

Even now that she’d be staying at a dorm, she was still close enough that she could drive back on a whim if she ever needed to.

CHAPTER 2

The Real World

Romero

Now that he was eighteen, Romero could be a doorman at his uncles bar. He knew they expected him to be there for good, eventually graduating into working inside when he turned twenty-one, but that wasn’t in his plans. He’d let them down easy when the time came, but for now, he’d enjoy the dancers and waitresses so easily accessible to him.

After high school, he continued to work out, maintaining the physique needed to man the door for unruly drunks who wanted in or needed to be thrown out. He’d been working there all summer.

Romero enjoyed the job. It gave him the experience he needed for what he was planning. While his friends would all be in college, he was doing his own prerequisite work. For years, he’d thought about possibly becoming a cop, then making detective like the ones he saw in movies and on television. But he decided not to go that route. He hated being on a schedule. That was the same reason he decided college wasn’t for him. Unlike Angel and Eric, he barely managed to stay eligible to play football during high school. It wasn’t that the classes were too hard for him. He just never really cared enough to pull top grades.