When Bluebirds Fly | ✔

Part One : Chapter One

Even birds were assholes in this neighbourhood, whistling at glamorous girls strutting in skirts and shitting on me the first day of my work. I had worn my finest t-shirt and best-fitted jeans which hugged my bum pleasantly, but the bird took such a huge dump on me that there was a straight line of colourful crap starting from my shoulder and reaching generously to my thigh. I briefly considered wiping it off with a wet tissue and moving forward with deliberate ignorance and two bottles of Axe, but a far-fetched scenario of the boss firing me because of literal shit disturbingly crossed my mind.

I swore under my breath all the way back home- a tiny two bedroom apartment that my father and I shared. In my narrow cupboard were my books, some decent tops, naturally faded jeans, pyjamas, tasteless hand-me-down dresses from my older cousins and plain undergarments with mortifying holes. What I saw was growing poverty scornfully cackling at me as I warily picked out a fresh set of clothes. With a frustrated sigh, I struggled into them and hurried outside.

"Mariana?" My father had emerged from the bathroom wearing a white undershirt and beige trousers, the colour of what our shabby couch once used to enjoy being. "Where are you going?"

"To work papá," I said impatiently and he raised his bushy eyebrows. When I was little, I was taught spanish by my grandmother and cousins. All of us have been settled in the US for many generations, but we still had some relatives back in Mexico who visited us for Christmas. It became easier to communicate using Spanglish, but with my father, I spoke mostly in english. "I told you the other day, I got a part-time job at Bailey's Nuts."

"What the hell is that?"

"A doughnut shop, we had gone there after a parents meet in ninth grade, remember?" I pinched my nose in frustration, who was I kidding, my father didn't even know which grade I was in. "Never mind. Allison's boyfriend Tony works there and he got me this job. Wonderful, right?"

"Wrong. You're not required to work anywhere this summer."

I gave him an incredulous look. "I told you before---"

"I forgot," he cut me off, striding into the kitchen. I trailed after him. "Don't you have entrance exams to study for? That uni you wanted to get in. You can use this free time for that or-or those essays you upload on the internet about movies and stuff."

"Reviews papá," I corrected, taking a short glimpse of my modest watch. "I'm not going to any fancy uni, I changed my mind. The tuition fees are too high, I'll spend the rest of my life just paying off student loans. And I don't need the entire day to watch shows and write reviews. I can't waste these holidays being unproductive, I want to work."

My father wasn't pleased by my obstinate decision- how could he be, it was a matter of paternal pride for him. He had lost his job four months back and we were now surviving on his dwindling savings. Each day he ventured out looking for a salaried job, but nobody wished to employ a forty-something man who had dedicated his entire life to one company. He couldn't let me work for I would hammer his self-esteem. He wanted to provide for me, he didn't want me to struggle.

"For my sake," I pleaded in a low voice. "It'll pass time and I can buy dresses with the extra money."

I was lying. I was too paranoid to waste any money on unnecessary dresses for non-existent occasions. I would be saving that money in case a future crisis of homelessness occurred.

He remained quiet as he sliced an apple, popping a piece in his mouth and leisurely chewing it. I stared at him in anticipation and to my chagrin, he continued eating that goddamn fruit at tortoise pace. I studied his upright position, his shoulders betraying his health and slightly sagging. Once he was a muscular man with ladies chasing him who he paid no heed, but he appeared weaker these days. His jet black hair revealed some shiny grey ones at the sides and his burly body was now thinning.