Us & Others

The Set Up: Darrius Abraham Booker

Connie's a bitch. I know it. The whole gang knows. Fuck, if you've checked twitter lately, you'd know it, too. But it wasn't always like that. Deep down inside that designer dripped barbie doll was a girl who cared-like-really cared. If she saw you with a plastic straw, she'd bite your head off. This girl tracks her carbon footprint in the same notebook as her calorie intake.

It's not like she's mean, she's just...intense. That's all. But only cause she cares so much about the big picture. That's what it's always been about to Connie. Everything she did wasn't about the right here, the right now-nah-for the Constanza Irene De Luna, it's about the upcoming, the next big thing. Even her fucking nickname was a statement. "Constanza meant business," she'd say but, "Connie meant pleasure." She wasn't Connie 'cause that's what her friends called her or 'cause she hated the name Constanza, she did it so that when the day came to take on the title "Constanza," the world would know she meant business. And that's what I love about her.

See, Connie and I spent most of our lives being prepped to replace our parents. Connie's madre, Mayor De Luna, has been prepping her to be president since homie burst out the womb. My pops stuck a football in my hands the moment my motor skills allowed. Every Sunday barbeque was filled with the town folk patting our parents' backs for creating tiny clones to take over the world. I'd be drafted into the NFL just like dear old dad, and Connie was set to be the first hispanic and first female president of this here great U.S.of A. Our parents basked in the glory while we withered away in their shadows.

Connie definitely had it worse. Emulating her mother, Connie made every decision like she was on a never ending campaign. If she made all the right choices, followed all the right rules, she'd win the election that reigned supreme in her little head.

The only time Connie hit pause was when she was with me...and when she was with Seth, the local plug. I don't know what it was about scrawny white boys that drove Connie wild, but they did. Normally, Connie goes through a new guy every few months, but this one stayed put. He was the only one who bothered to stick around long enough to knock down all her dumb walls. No matter how many fits she had, drinks she'd tossed, and names she'd call him, he continued to call her out on her bullshit and sedate her crazy ass. She didn't deserve him. I admire him for it.

Seth and Connie and I became a trio when they started dating. I didn't mind it at first. It gave me a break from being Connie's everything. I loved the girl, but it was exhausting to be her only outlet. Since birth, we've been there for eachother. She told me my feelings were valid. That I mattered. That what I looked like didn't mean shit compared to who I was. She was the only person I could talk to about boys. So, no matter what she needed or asked for I was down. Even if it meant tagging along on her and Seth's weekly movie nights.

The movie nights felt more like a date for me and Seth. Connie would rather read a book about women in politics than watch a film about one. She only did it cause Seth had a passion for horrors, indies, and anything based off a comic series, and,for me, every film was further research for when I put something on the big screen. There were a few nights where Seth and I would shoot some little sketches and shit we made on the fly, inspired by our most recent watch. At this point, Connie would be making a smoothie and practicing whatever speech for whatever cause her mom assigned her to that week. I used to look forward to those Wednesdays. Till I met Klaus.

I fucking hate math. It can suck my left nut. But I'd spend my summer swimming in algebra for Klaus Warren Fitz-Wang. As much as it pains me to say it, I'd still do anything for that boy and his dumb ass name.

I know I shouldn't have kept Klaus from Connie for that long, but I just liked the idea of no expectations. We didn't need to date or anything. All I wanted was his time. But that wasn't good enough for Connie. "You've got to make your move, Darrius, before it's too late." She drilled that into my head. So after spending about a month refusing to drag Klaus to every movie night, shopping trip, and rally, I finally caved for this stupid spring break trip. The first of many mistakes.