Wildcard [ÉLITE]

―iv.

It seemed that every face in the halls of Las Encinas turned to stare at Daniela as she walked through the door. The trend continued as she made her way to her morning class. A few people giggled as they passed, glancing down at their phones. One boy, with his hands in front of his chest, did a dance, as if he was bouncing his nonexistent breasts.

Before Dani could step into the classroom, Valerio jumped in front of her, and pulled her aside. "I take it you haven't seen the video," he mumbled, holding up his phone. Daniela took it, and turned away as she watched. It was her, clearly. It took her a moment to place the video, but then she heard Guzmán's quiet laugh.

It had to be at least three years old. She was naked, and moaning, as she and Guzmán had sex. He'd been filming her while she was on top, and her tits were bouncing wildly. "What a great angle," she mumbled. "My tits look nice as hell."

Valerio let out a small sigh that showed he didn't exactly disagree. Dani shot him a look, and he had the decency to look embarrassed. But before he could speak, Nadia was on them. She grabbed Daniela's shoulder. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Dani shrugged. "Honestly, it's the least I was expecting."

"The same happened to me last semester, it's awful," Nadia continued. Daniela couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt the girl. Well, actually, she could. Being kind was reason enough to be ostracized at Las Encinas. "It'll blow over in a few weeks." Dani huffed.

Nadia look between Daniela and Valerio. "Does anyone know who sent it?" She asked.

"It wasn't Guzmán," Valerio said. "He wouldn't do that to Dani."

Daniela rolled her eyes. "It was Lu."

Nadia sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Other than Guzmán himself, who else had access to his phone these past two years?" Dani countered. "Knowing her, she probably saved all the blackmail material she could find as soon as she could." With a shake of her head, she added, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Valerio nodded, then glanced at Nadia, "Or the second." Nadia looked away.

Dani turned toward the door and marched in. Nadia tried to match her pace, putting a significant amount of space between her and Valerio. The latter followed reluctantly behind.

In the classroom, everyone look at Daniela. Well, except for a few who looked away instead of meeting her gaze. She stood in the middle of the room for a moment then rolled her eyes, and reached for the hem of her shirt. She tugged it over her head, and tossed it on her desk. "I'm sure Lucrecia has plenty more content where that came from," she said, turning toward Lu. "But since it's all out of date...take a good long look."

From the doorway, their teacher cleared his throat. "Ms. Molina."

Daniela gave Lu a look that said, "game on." She slipped into her seat next to Valerio and tugged her shirt back over her head.

Valerio leaned toward her with a smirk. "You know she hates it when you call her Lucrecia."

Dani smirked. "That's why I do it."

Twenty-Four Months Ago

Marina hung upside down from Daniela's bed, her dark red curls nearly brushing the ground. From that position she was eye-level with Dani, who sat on the floor, painting her nails.

Dani ignored Marina's stares in favor of obtaining the perfect coat. But, Marina didn't let her friend's apparent disinterest stop her lecture. "I can't believe you lied to his face like that." She'd worded the sentence at least three other ways, thus far, but none had gotten the response she was looking for. Finally, exasperated, she said, "Dani, I don't understand."

Daniela narrowed her eyes as she applied a fresh coat to her index finger. "I know you want him," Marina continued. "You know you want him. God knows he wants you. The whole fucking world wants you back together, chica."

There was a long pause, while Marina waited for Daniela's response, and Dani refused to give her one. Finally, Marina gave up. "Why'd you say it?"

Dani glanced up after a moment, looking Marina in the eyes. "Can you keep a secret?" Marina, sat up, and faced Daniela. She nodded. "You know that bill, the one my dad's been trying to pass? Better building codes and all that. The one that has your dad, and Carla's losing their shit?" She hardly waited for Marina's nod, rolling the bottle of nail polish between her hands. "My parents might have found something. It might actually convince everyone that we need this. That it could save lives."

"But it's going to ruin our dads'," Marina finished, quietly.

"Yeah," Dani answered, though it hadn't been a question.

Marina nodded, as if working things through in her head. "So you didn't want Guzmán in the middle of it."

"He was right," Daniela admitted. "Our parents will never get along. We're like the Capulets and the Montagues."

"They both die in the end of that one."

"Exactly."

Marina slid off the bed so she was sitting right in front of Daniela. "I hope you know I'm not going to give up on you two. You're supposed to be my sister, Dani."

Daniela forced a smile. "No matter what happens, you'll always be my sister."

After a moment, Dani returned to painting her nails. Marina stayed there, on the floor, for a moment. Then finally she said, "They have to do it. No matter what it means for my dad, or Carla's, or their company." Daniela glanced up. "The more I'm with Pablo, the more I realize how bad it can be when you're not like us."

Marina shook her head as if physically disgusted. "You always say your dad is trying to save lives, but what you leave out is that it's going to save their lives. But everyone knows it, and that's why no one cares. People like us don't think people like them are worth saving, but they are."

Dani nodded. "What if I need your help?"