Margo Catalina
chapter two-
red white and puke
Ma makes me wear a white dress. Because you cannot wear white after labor day, and it was labor day.
I didn't know why it had to be a dress, I still had to work with an unpredictable nine year old.
Char was always covered in glitter, or sticky boba hands that girl ran off of boba, that girl loved boba.
"It's gonna get dirty." I moan, as she tugs at my hair, curling it for me.
I didn't know what the big occasion was, it was just some dumb american bbq. I'd much rather ma's cooking. My stomach grumbles at the thought.
"It's not going to get dirty, because you better not get it dirty." She warns, finishing my hair with a red ribbon. So festive and so gross.
Deep down I didn't care if my dress got dirty. I cared that there would be kids from my school attending dressed like normal people and i'd be dressed like Ms. Freaking America.
And deep down Ma didn't give a shit about labor day, but she wanted to fit in and and be popular and build clientele.
I get it, and her doing my hair and makeup was a way to promote her work, but it was like I was a personal doll sometimes. Familia first always.
I rise to my feet, surrendering. At least I was pretty. I finish with a pair of worn Birkenstocks. Because my toes are pink and it's one of the last warm days for a while.
Back in Arizona my toes were out all year round. Then it was just, Shayna, Ryle and I and we were inseparable. Days were hot and I had a constant tan.
I've had a tan my whole entire life, i've known nothing else. I'm scared my family will go pale. I don't think i'd survive winter.
"Does Jill need to come over and help?"
I roll my eyes, J isn't in a damn dress. She's in a jean skirt, white blouse and red converse with two red hair bows. Like a normal regular teen, I want to punch her.
It's not her fault. I have perfect child syndrome. I'm the eldest, the poster child, if someone ought to wear a dress it's gonna be me.
I always did the pageants, the talent shows and science fairs. Always teacher's favorite, always good grades, of course I had to wear the dress.
It was a pretty piece of fabric. It was modest, not short, sat right above my knees and covered my chest. It still showed my figure though and maybe it was growing on me.
"Shoot!" I hiss, picking up my phone from the vanity, I had been staring at for far too long. I was late and Ms. Choi wouldn't like that.
"I gotta go, see you soon." I say, pecking Ma on the cheek, swift.
I nearly fall down the stairs on my way out, but the ground is dry today, so when I run across the yard, I make it over fast and unscratched.
My hair is so flowy and bouncy in the wind, I wipe the silly smile off my face, pushing the door open.
The house smells of wondrous, delicious aromas and I take back everything I said. The Choi's house is loud today, filled with festive Korean music and something loud on the flatscreen.
I spot the back of Char's small head behind the couch. Barely visible above the couch, she was so short and adorable.
I poke my head beside her, over the couch, resting it there on her shoulder.
"Gimme a bite." I say in a manly deep voice that always makes her giggle.
"Fatty!" she calls, but lifts the blue vanilla frosted cupcake up for me anyway. I take a huge bite, making her laugh even louder.
"You ate the whole thing, I need another." She stands to her feet, showing off her fabulous outfit. It makes me feel less stupid in my dress, I love Char.
Her hair is in two space buns and she wears and red tutu with sparkly blue sandal and a glittery white top. I told you the girl loves glitter.
Her mouth is also stained blue all over, as well as her fingers. I imagine my mouth is blue too now. I did have a massive bite.
"Come on, let's wash these hands first."
She sucks her teeth. It's hard to hear over the festivities, but I do.
"Huh?" I ask, tilting my head sassily at her. It's the only language she understands.
"Nothing." She says, turning to go wash her hands.
I make my way to the kitchen to help. Ms. Choi is smiling when she sees me. "You are gorgeous."
I'm beaming, she's a kind soul. The Choi's make me think that living here might not be so bad if they have people like them.
"Are you kidding, look at you."
The kitchen is filled with Choi relatives I don't know and i'm anxious a little. My familia is big too, back home. We run deep, but here I feel so alone. And especially here right now in this kitchen.
But Ms. Choi does still look radiant in her red dress and lipstick, her features are striking, her hair black as night and silky and so long pinned up with sticks. She's a goddess, my mom has been gushing all summer long about how she wants to do her hair.
"Come. Come. Come." she calls me over, and I obey.
She places a warm hand over my shoulder. "Everyone this is Margo."
I smile, she called me Margo, she usually calls me Marigold, my real name, but not in front of them.
I wave cutely, with a polite smile. "Hi Margo." A young boy calls.
"Hello Marg—"
"Enough." Ms. Choi says it so calmly and it silences him. She's the opposite of my mom. My mom was so fiery and loud and she was so airy and calm.
I try not to laugh at the boy, he's near my age, and prepping deviled eggs, mmm. I didn't realize how hungry I was, until now. I hadn't eaten all day though.
"How can I help?"
She looks relieved. "Ice these, I gotta check papa on the grill." She leaves shortly after taking a tray of steaks, oh my god!
Chandler swaggers in and his cousins parade around him, pulling and tugging at him, like he's a celebrity.
I turn my back to them, to ice the vanilla cupcakes, alternating between, white, blue and red. It's easy to tone then out with the foreign music, blasting in my ear.
Char appears beside me. "No." I look down at her. She looks appalled and I almost laugh.
"You snake, you eat my entire cupcake and now you won't let me have one."
"It was NOT the entire thing, oh my god."
She takes one anyway, running off and there's nothing I can do, because I cannot abandoned post, especially after the way Ms. Choi ran off.
I resume my duties, making it through the vanilla. By the chocolate cupcakes I want to eat one too. I'm ravenous, I ignore it, frosting the chocolate with red icing.
"Can I have one?" He's low down, so that his hair falls into his face. He's smiling and he's so tan and his eyes are hazel, I didn't notice.
"No." I step back, what was he so close for?
He examines me in a way that makes me feel very seen, like he was observing everything about me. It made me even more nervous. It made me remember that I was wearing a dress.
The other day he was wearing much less, I blush at the thought. He was bothering me, why couldn't he just leave me alone?
I give in, trying to hand him a half frosted chocolate. He smiles, taking a vanilla white frosted.
"Good girl." He says, before leaving the kitchen.
Air returns to my lungs. I don't like him, at all. I finish the rest of the cupcakes, annoyed and find Ms. Choi.
She's into a glass of wine already and she's around women her age. I guess that meant to attend to Charlotte because the party seemed to have started.
The music had changed to pop and the grill was loaded with food already done and plates served.
I make my way into the house, I feel out of place and strange. I wanted ma and J to come now. For now Char would have to distract me.
"Why are you wearing a dress, for me?" Chandler says, intercepting me in the hall, standing in front of me like a wall.
He's so tall and annoying, I tell him so and try to move out of his way to the living room.
"You're so little and angry."
"What did you say?"
He leans down closer, so we're eye to eye. "You're so little and—"
"Shut the fu—"
"The front door!" Mr. Choi intercepts, still wearing his apron and sporting tongs.
I'm so embarrassed and Chandler is doubled over laughing, I want to choose violence, but I just walk away.
I didn't want the Choi's to know I use words so colorful. I wanted to cry.
I spend most of the rest of the afternoon sulking with Charlotte who seemed to be in a crumby mood as well. She wouldn't tell me why, but when she asked me I didn't tell her either.
Char abandons me a couple hours in, I can hide in her room no longer. Her friend Harmony from down the road is here so i'm all alone in this world.
I think mom and Jill should be here by now. I rise from Char's fuzzy rainbow carpet and slip my birks on to show face.
I'm done hiding like a hermit. Chandler wanted a war, he was so gonna get it and plus I was starved and angry.
I make my way through the kitchen where the teenagers linger and the adults have made their way outside. I spot mom and Jill and make my way to them.
"Who are you?" a girls voice interrupts me for what seems like the millionth time today. I'm hungry, i'm cranky and I want to bitch about it to my sister and mom.
I remind myself that this girl is probably a classmate and that I should be friendly, even though her tone is...questionable.
"Hi, i'm Margo, I moved from Arizona at the beginning of summer."
Suddenly the kitchen is full, somehow. The girl has friends, scary friends that are staring. A girl with red hair smiles at me.
"How old are you?" a latino boy with curly brown hair and glasses asks.
"Um, eighteen, why?"
"I was wondering if you wanted a beer." He smiles at me kind and it makes the peering eyes seem less scary. Too bad I don't drink.
"No, i'm okay."
The main girl, Latina with brown hair and brown eyes stares at me long. She doesn't like me I think. "You don't like beer?"
"It tastes like pee."
The boy with glasses and red head laugh, but her friend doesn't.
"You're friends with Chandler?" The girl asks.
"That's my exit cue." The boy says, leaving, noticeably uncomfortable.
Okay, this girl was doing a little too much now. "All these questions, when I haven't even gotten your names." I say to the two girls.
The brunette smiles, she's wearing red lipstick, jeans and a red tank top, simple. Of course she was mad, look at me then look at her. I've always had haters this was nothing new.
But this place seemed to be crawling with them. I don't like to be this way, i'd much rather be nice and sweet it's easier and I believe in karma and I don't want any bad karma. I've had enough.
"I'm Selena."
"Hi, Teddy." The red head gives a genuine smile that meets her eye, like she hasn't any care in the world. At least I know she's not a minion.
"Did you want a drink, we have truly, twisted tea, vodka—"
"I don't drink."
"You don't drink?"
"Never."
"Jello, then?"
"What?" I'm so confused, why the hell would I want jello? I want some meat.
"Jello," Selena gestures to the counter of jello cups in front of her, red, white and blue.
"No, thanks."
Teddy looks just as confused as I am. Maybe she's too slow to be a minion because she can't follow along.
"It's a family recipe, Margo. you have to try it." Selena insists.
"The red is strawberry, everyone always thinks cherry." She smiles.
"The blue is blue razz and white is lemon." She hands me a strawberry.
I take it to speed this whole ordeal along. "Thanks." I say turning to leave.
"Try it." She insists, Teddy and Selena pick one up too, both strawberry. Slurping it down in one bite.
I do the same. It's delicious. "Thank you, it was good."
"Here." She hands me a blue and white. "Now these."
I try them both. "Oh, I like the blue the best, you lied!" I'm not as stressed anymore. I feel loose and chatty. I forget about my hunger.
"Me too." Teddy agrees showing her blue tongue, she'd had many.
I'm dazed and I don't know why.
"Do you like girls, Go?" she asks in a flirtatious manner, tone changing. Was Selena hitting on me now, after all that? And the nickname?
This had to be some new twisted form of bullying. I was seeing double and I was beginning to get scared.
"Excuse me." I say, nearly toppling over out of the kitchen, ditching the two girls. I'm scared, did they poison me? No, but they'd had plenty.
"I didn't hear a no." Selena calls on my way out. I hold onto the walls for balance. I honestly didn't care, I looked great.
I steal a glance at myself in the hallway mirror. My curls had fallen loose into a bouncy wave, long brown and draping over rosed pink face. I looked off. Like drunk.
I've seen my dad drunk enough to know or relatives or people even around me now. What the fuck I've never drank before!
I was having a mini panic attack in the hall. Because the drunkenness was beginning to take over.
"You're so wasted." Says a high Chandler. "Aren't you working?"
I begin to cry. "Your friends poisoned me with jello." The tears are uncontrollable i'm too fucking drunk, I sob.
I've never drank before for a reason. I hated seeing papa drunk, it was a disgusting sight, enough to make you never want to drink yourself.
"Who?" He asks slowly, he's too high to do anything to help. So useless, big dumb high oaf. I cannot stand him.
"Get out of my way or i'm gonna puke on you." I slur out, eyes mascara streaked and face blotched.
He's always standing, blocking my damn way. I hated here all of a sudden, I dreaded the first day of school worse now. I've never met worse fucking people, I did nothing to that girl.
I need to throw up to feel better and eat and drink water. I wanted to take a plate and go and that is exactly what I would be doing.
I wasn't finished crying. I missed Arizona.
Chandler finally moves out my way, surrendering. "I'm sorry that happened to you." he says. "You look like a good girl who doesn't drink."
His eyes are so red and low, and he looks cute and kissable. His hair drape's perfectly around his freckle sun-kissed face. Yeah, i'm drunk, at that note I find the bathroom.
I don't find it without stumbling around first. Chandler is behind me, after I nearly knock a photo off the wall.
"What the hell did she put in those damn things?" I ask. "Drugs?"
He laughs. "There's only alcohol."
"I've never had alcohol."
He opens the door to the bathroom for me with wide eyes, visibly shocked. "Really?"
Instead of answering, I gag as soon as I see the toilet. Before I know it i'm vomiting a purple goo
that paints the toilet bowl. So gross.
The red white and blue had turned grey in my stomach. I hurl again and again. I had to get the poison out.
Chandler closes the door and holds my hair back out of my face, although it's too late for that.
I feel empty and better when i'm done. Chandler holds onto my hair longer than he should as I stand to my feet, pulling myself up with the sink counter.
My fallen curls escape from his fingers, when I reach down to flush the toilet. I rinse up and fix my hair.
"Feel better?"
"Yes." I say. "I'm starved." And exhausted. I would make a plate and run for the hills. Today was awful.
"Well there's plenty to eat." he says. "Just stay away from the jello." He makes fun, before leaving.
I roll my eyes, leaving out a couple minutes behind him to avoid suspicion. The last thing I needed was someone from school seeing me leave the bathroom with him.
I find Ma several margaritas in, lounging by the pool with other middle aged women who appeared equally as drunk. As well as Ms. Choi who had the rosiest face of them all.
I hear Ma's loud soulful laugh before I can even slide the patio door open. It's lit up with fairy lights and it's fairly chilly out.
"Where the hell have you been, loca?" Jillian is behind me with a plate bigger than her. Piled high with burgers, hotdogs and yummy looking sides. Macaroni salad and potato salad and yum I think I saw corn on the cob.
"Is that plate for me, darling?" I say, trying to grab a burger. She dodges the plate from my grasp.
"Girl no, this is my to go plate." she says. "This party blows, I'm out."
"Me too." I sigh. "After I get Char ready for bed."
"I can't believe we have school in morning." She says taking a hotdog from her plate and biting it.
"Don't remind me." She hands me the rest of her hotdog and leaves and I devour it.
It takes me longer than I should to find Charlotte, but i'm still feeling loopy. "Char!" I call through the house.
I didn't care about Chandler or his friends wandering eyes on me. I didn't care about the teenage girl giggles.
After minutes of frustrated looking, I turn to Chandler where he sits on the couch with friends. "Have you seen your sister?"
Nobody pays me any mind, so I stand right in front of him. "Have you seen your sister?"
"How would I have seen her when I was dealing with you puking everywhere?"
His words are ice cold and sting, they take me aback.
His room of friends go quiet. I take back all the nice things I thought about him. I wish I had puked on him.
The girls giggles do bother me this time as it is the only sound.
"Nobody asked for your help, I'd rather you hadn't been there, in case you forgot I told you to stay away from me."
"You were helpless, falling everywhere, you needed my help, darling."
I was raging at this point. He was clearly drunk and pissed about something, but my rage had been building all day long and it was about to spill over.
Not in front of all these people, have some decorum. The voice of reason is always so loud all the time, but now it's barely a whisper.
"Chandler." The brunette boy from the kitchen warns his friend. He was being so mean.
"Kenji." he says sarcastically turning to the boy with glasses. He reaches down for a sip of beer.
"You don't get to be a jackass because of some stupid girl drama." Kenji says.
"I can see why she doesn't want you." I add before leaving, matching his coldness.
The room fills with oou's and oh's. He is pissed I see it on his face before I leave. He deserved it. He's a bipolar, evil, angry tall jackass as his friend would say.
Char is passed out in the Choi's bed already dressed in pajama's and ready for bed. She's a godsend angel. I kiss her on the cheek and turn out the light.
I make myself a quick plate before leaving. I was dreading the first day of school even worse now.
a/n
jillian's aesthetic has been updated under character aesthetic if u wanna check dat out 😗😉