𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏.
lydia entered, holding out coffee for everyone.
"thank you." i smiled, taking my specifically red mug.
"abuelita, how are you this happy in the morning?" elena questioned.
"oh, it's easy, mamita. every night i dream of your abuelo, and we are playing dominoes, and i win!" lydia grinned. "over, and over, and-"
"okay, i got it!" elena said.
"hey, guys, you're in luck. i finally found a vintage store that had a chair that matches your dining set." schneider walked in through the front door, carrying a chair.
"it's not really extra, there's 6 of us." schneider said, and set down the chair.
lydia gasped at his shirt.
"what?" schneider questioned.
"what the hell are you wearing?" penelope asked.
"oh. che guevara, yeah! viva la revolucion, am i right?"
"you are wrong." lydia frowned.
"do you know-" alex began.
"i got this. do you know-" elena began.
"kids, calm down. do you know what this comemierda did?" penelope questioned.
"grew an awesome beard and modeled for t-shirts?" schneider asked.
"he was castros right hand man!" lydia said.
"he burned books, he banned music, he personally oversaw exocution squads! he was a mass murderer!" elena explained.
"it's as if you walked into taylor swifts home wearing a kanye shirt." alex said.
schneider pulled off the shirt, and stomped all over it. "i'm so sorry, guys!"
"it's okay, we know that sometimes you are a bobo and don't know what you're doing!" lydia said, and placed her hand on his chest.
cherry awkwardly looked down.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
penelope walked through the front door.
"oh. finally you're home! i have great news." elena stood up.
"that reminds me, papito has great news!" lydia also stood.
"i do! in school, we have our nation project, and today we picked our counties. we chose alphabetically by last name. finally, makes me proud to help an alvarez." alex stood up.
"so not the brave military mom wounded in the line of duty?" penelope asked. "okay."
cherry looked over at elena.
"i'm listening to you." she reassured.
"thanks." elena nodded. "let me guess, you went for the easy a and picked america?"
"no. stupid travis aaron's got america. i chose cuba." alex said.
"no, papito, cuba chose you." lydia put her hand on his face.
"it'll be nice for you to do some research on where we're from." penelope said, filling her plate.
"eh, i'm probably just gonna film abuelita blabbing for a while. you know, her cuba, cuba, cuba, ay! azucar!" alex shrugged.
"you have captured my essence." lydia places a hand on her heart.
"i won't even have to write a paper! it's like no work."
"be less excited about that part. put some effort in." penelope encouraged.
"hey, why are you so hard on him?" lydia asked.
"are you kidding me? what happened to an a is an a, but a b is an f, and a c stands for china, because that's where you're going to live now."
"okay, that's true, but papito has such a pretty face to fall back on."
cherry mumbled something to herself.
"worst-case scenario, i'll just marry some rich lady. best-case scenario, i'll marry some rich lady named cherry." alex grinned.
cherry didn't even look at him.
he shrugged it off; it wasn't unusual.
he was used to it, by now. being ignored by her, while he desperately wished she'd look at him.
"that's my boy! my future daughter in law." lydia glanced over at the girl.
cherry tried not to gag; she loved lydia, just not alex.
"but alex isn't-" penelope began.
"sh!" lydia cut her off.
"remember me?" elena called out. "can i finally share my news?"
"i'm sorry, mama. please tell us." penelope said, returning to the dinner table.
"sister fidelis told me i'm a finalist for the voices of tomorrow." elena grinned.
penelope and lydia gasped.
"the singing show? nietecita, i could not be more proud!" lydia smiled.
"it's a writing program." elena said.
"oh." lydia frowned
"that's still cool, though." cherry smiled.
penelope stared at her daughter, with a concerned look.
"yeah, that's great." penelope agreed.
"it's a really big deal! only 30 students get chosen out of the whole country." elena smiled.
"but wait- how much does it cost?"
"all expenses paid."
"that's what i'm talking about!"
"i mean, they say it's an ivy league stepping stone. not that i buy into the aristocracy of the ivy league, but it will be rewarding to turn harvard down."
"if you get into harvard, you're going. columbia even better, it'll be easier for abuelita to pronounce. so, if they pick you, what do we get to put in the alvarez museum? come on, a trophy? a medal? a ribbon? and don't say the value of a job well done, we need hardware!"
"i don't think i get anything."
"there's got to be something. i need a visual record of how hard you guys are killing it."
"because that means you're killing it."
"because that means i'm killing it!"
"but i'm not even in yet-"
"shh! we're going to have to make some space."
alex immediately perked up.
"can we take down the shadow box with our baby teeth in it?" alex begged.
"why would we do that? abuelita has a whole necklace planned." penelope said.
"who would ever wear that necklace?" alex said, confused
"your bride, at your wedding!" lydia pointed out.
"would you?" alex looked over at cherry.
"i'd kill myself if i had to marry you." cherry blinked.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
cherry sat down in the couch.
she looked up from her phone.
"i'm not cuban, stop recording me." cherry glared.
"you look pretty." alex complimented.
"you're a weirdo." cherry looked back down at her phone.
alex continued to record his abuelita, like he was supposed to be doing.
lydia recounted a story from her past.
"what are you doing? history is coming alive before your eyes! and that's too small a camera for too big a star!" schneider spoke dramatically.
"what?" alex questioned.
"keep talking." lydia grinned.
"you are so lucky she's here! i know nothing about my grandparents, and i never will." schneider frowned. "and they live in pasadena! i mean, the traffics just.. anyway, this is a huge opportunity for you. with the right production value, this might qualify for a student academy award. oh yeah, the soscars, it's a thing."
"i could win a trophy? something for the alvarez museum besides my teeth?" alex questioned.
"i stole those. i'm gonna use them to curse you." cherry said, sarcastically.
"don't forget your umbilical cord!" lydia smiled.
"what the hell kind of museum is this?" schneider questioned.
"i'm gonna make a movie! i'll write a script, cast it, edit it. wait.. am i making more work for myself? am i excited about it? is this what it's like to be elena?" alex questioned.
"i will start my beauty regime now! i will be ready at dawn." lydia reassured.
"okay, but i have to go to school."
"oh, good, 'cause dawn was pushing it."
lydia stood up from her chair.
"come, let's paint our nails." lydia motioned her over.
cherry stood up, following her.
penelope entered the house, holding a piece of orange mail.
"look what came in the mail!" penelope called our.
elena shoved past alex.
so did lydia, and cherry.
"looks like someone's gonna be the next danielle steel! what? she's a writer!" penelope said.
"dear ms. alvarez.. every year, thousands of students apply nationwide to fill 30 prestigious spots. we are pleased to inform you of your acceptance to the voices of tomorrow! i did it!" elena cheered. "screw you, harvard!"
"no, no! she didn't mean that, harvard!" penelope said.
"you are this years.. diversity candidate?"
"diversity candidate!"
"being a diverse person.. that's not even grammatically correct. you have a unique perspective and we value your contribution to our conversation. ugh."
"what? that sounds great!"
"no, they're saying i only got in because i'm cuban."
"an award for being cuban? finally!" lydia smiled.
"you should take opportunities when they come. when you're my age, you might regret having missed your chance." penelope advised.
"i want a spot, not a diversity spot." elena frowned.
cherry awkwardly walked back to the couch.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
cherry watched the performance from the couch.
elena was still upset about being the diversity candidate, and penelope was upset that she was upset.
they both stormed off.
they tried to focus back on lydia, but after they talked about her moving from cuba, she suddenly got teary-eyed and left.
alex sat, thinking silently.
he looked over at cherry, who was busy texting.
for some reason, alex didn't want to flirt with her.
why? what was the purpose of it?
sure, she was pretty.. and funny, and sweet, to everyone but him.
but he was so tired of speaking to her.
of trying to be nice to her, or even have a conversation where he wasn't flirting.
because she never answered.
she'd just glare.
or roll her eyes.
sometimes, if she was annoyed enough, she would insult him.
cherry hated him.
at first, she didn't have a reason.
but then, alex, clouded by jealousy, ruined her date with the one boy she'd ever liked.
now, he thought she was a weirdo.
all because alex had this stupid crush on her.
god, he could never take any sort of fucking hint. he could never stop flirting.
cherry despised him.
when alex did flirt, cherry would immediately shoot him down.
"hey, cher-"
"shut the fuck up."
that quickly.
sure, alex pretended to be confident.
like looking at her didn't make him nervous, or scared.
his heart sped up.
his cheeks would blush, and he'd feel too scared to even look at her.
yet, he always managed too.
he'd look at her with a stupid grin, and make a stupid joke.
but he was so tired of it.
of waiting for something.
maybe a laugh.
but it never came, his voice would he followed by complete silence.
what was the point of flirting and waiting for her to like him back, if she never would?
there wasn't a point.
alex realized that, as he stared at her.
as hard as he tried, she'd never like him the way he liked her.
so why bother trying?
why flirt with her at all?
why be nice to her at all?
why like her at all?