"Curls, there's some eggs in the kitchen." Tim mutters from the doorway.
Curly keeps his eyes closed as he attempts to sink deeper into his mattress. His blanket was pulled up to his nose and he really didn't feel like leaving his bed but he knew he had important things to do. He slowly opens his eyes and squints at Tim who's staring at him. It's obvious he just woke up, being that his hair isn't greased back yet. Although his clothes are freshly pressed.
"Any special reason on why you cooking?" Curly asks.
Tim only cooked on the first Sunday of every month to keep up the tradition of being a close family. He'd cook traditional Chicano dinners and they'd all sit at the table and talk about what was going on in there lives. It seemed like each dinner would get even more awkward than the first. For the most part, they ate dinners at diners and quick fast food restaurants. Curly always told himself to slow down, otherwise he'd end up looking like his Tio's.
"Haha you're a real riot." Tim said with a dry tone.
Curly sat up and got out the bed once Tim left the room. He felt the air coming in from his window that he forgot to close the previous night. Surprisingly he wasn't tired, he got home at a reasonable time after he dropped Daisy off. As Curly pulled his clothes on he had been thinking about her, it was almost as if he could still smell her perfume. He couldn't figure out why she was on his mind being that he barely knew her, but it was a pleasant thought. He didn't have too much of those.
Once Curly reached the kitchen he noticed that Angela and Tim had already been eating. Curly made his plate and joined them at the table, Tim sitting at the head. In their household, sitting at the head of the table was a very important role, it meant you took on the responsibilities of the house and everyone was supposed to respect you. He couldn't remember exactly when Tim took the head of the table but it felt natural when he did. He could remember the arguing and the fights that went on with Ma's old boyfriends over the lack of respect the kids gave them. There wasn't a point to respect them, not if they were gonna be out the door after living off their mom.
"You seen Ma?" Tim asked.
Curly lazily moved his eggs around on his plate, eyes looking to Tim who slowly buttered his toast and then to Angela. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Ma now that he thought about it. He knew she was always down at that Hippie House everyone liked. She usually came home once a week and crashed on the couch, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days.
"No, and I'm glad I haven't see that ol' bitch." Angela snaps.
Curly rolls his eyes at the harshness of Angela's voice. He understood why she hated her so much and at times he did too, but she was still his mom and she'd always have a soft spot in his heart. Gloriana Garcia-Shepard was not perfect in any way, but he knew she had her own demons that she was dealing with. He knew he was bias but he couldn't help it, that was the woman who fixed him up after a scrape on the playground.
"Nah, I ain't seen her."
He thought about the last time he saw her and all he could remember was her having a screaming match about two weeks ago with her boyfriend, Joe. If he wasn't busy, he'd go by the Hippie house to check on her and maybe give her some money. Tim always hated when Curly did that, he felt as if she was taking advantage of him and Curly knew that she was. Maybe he felt that he had to beg for her affection, Tim had always been the favorite, he was the only kid she planned. Curly and Angela were mistakes and it was worse that they were twins.
Curly checks his old watch before getting up from the table. He had to be at the bus soon to get to Jose's house. He quickly washed his plate and threw it on the rack, almost breaking it in the process.
"Well, I gotta get going. Said I'd meet one of the boys down at school."
It was extremely rare for Curly to ever lie to Tim. He didn't want to think of it as lying, more like keeping something from him. Tim had known everything about Curly, even the details of his first time. Curly kept telling himself that he was doing it to help the alliance with Brumley, because if they lost them it would hurt the Shepard Gang.
The ride to Jose's was exactly how he remembered, long and bumpy and the bus smelled like a mixture of fart and sweaty bodies. He wondered when the hell someone actually cleaned this bus and he was more than excited when he got let off at the gas station. From there, he walked about five minutes to Jose's house, where he stood on the outside steps. He debated on if he should turn around and just forget about it but he took a deep breath and knocked,
"Damn, sobrino, you're here early as shit. Couldn't sleep?" Jose asked once he opened the door.
Jose was only wearing a dingy white undershirt and plaid boxers. His chain was hanging around his neck, the morning sun bouncing off of the gold and into Curly's eyes. He looked grouchy as he rubbed at his eyes.
"I had to come before school or Tim would know something was up." Curly explained.
Jose nodded and stepped aside for Curly to come inside. He checked the outside of the house before shutting the door and motioning for Curly to follow him into the backroom. It was dark in there, the only light was a small bulb hanging from the ceiling, ready to blow out any second and the sunlight coming through the black curtains.
"Now ese..I'll give it to you, ready and packaged with an address for the places to sell it where Timmy can't catch up. IF, you give me 35%."
Curly eyed Jose standing there. He didn't like the sound of it and the whole situation seemed sketchy. All he could hear was Tim telling him Jose couldn't be trusted, but right now he didn't have any other choice. He needed to sell it fast so he could get back on track with Brumley. Jose stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, Curly wanted to tell him to "Fuck yourself" but he decided not to.
"30%, I ain't know you was gonna charge me for shit I coulda did myself." Curly growls.
Jose shakes his head slightly and lets out a sarcastic laugh.
"Okay vato. 30%, if there's a next time I want 35."
Jose turns towards the table and pulls out a brown paper bag, carefully adding the prescription powders into the bag. Curly stalks over the table and reaches for a bottle and examines it. Each bottle has the same amount of cocaine in it, carefully leveled off, it barely looked like anything.
"Okay nino, each of the bottles get sold for $20 each, entiendes, not a dollar less. You go straight a la casa, put this shit somewhere safe alright."
"Claro..what about the address?"
Jose laughed again as he folded the paper bag, imitating a shoppers bag. "Relax vato. Call me tomorrow afternoon, alright? Enjoy the night, find a pretty chica."
Curly's mind travels to Daisy Johnson again. All he can think about is her smile and her laugh. It wasn't often when he wanted to take a girl on a date, but he really wanted to. He liked her awkwardness and the way she fiddled with her fingers. She'd probably never agree to a date but he figured there was no harm in asking again.
Jose pushed Curly out the door and rode the bus back home. The shopping bag was small and he already knew the place where he was going to hide it but he'd need a temporary spot before going home, otherwise he might run into Tim. He went passed the lot and hid it under the seats of an old car, no one would find it, people were focused on making out and fucking, not reaching under the seat. He'd come back for it once school ended and he'd hide it under his floorboards.
Curly took a deep breath and walked in the direction of the local Catholic school. He was lucky that it was around 11 and they were on their lunch break, he was going to ask her out today. And if she didn't say yes he'd just show up and ask again tomorrow. He knew he had to have her. As he walked, he saw some girls in their uniform chatting along the sidewalk. Some of them giggled at the sight of a greaser and some sneered. He was used to the looks, the girls who acted stuck up were always the ones to fall in love.
He noticed Daisy standing on the side of school, her hair was in a ponytail with a headband and her school uniform. She was talking to another female, one he thought he had saw before but he wasn't sure. She was lightly tanned with short hair, smoking a cigarette as Daisy chewed on a piece of gum.
"Daisy, can I talk to you?" Curly asked once he approached them.
Daisy's eyes widened in shock and her cheeks raised slightly from an embarrassed smile. She looked between her friend and Curly, not knowing exactly what to say. Curly had froze for a moment as he looked at her, he was always surprised when he saw her and it seemed like she got prettier each time. If that was even possible. He cleared his throat and took a breath.
"Sorry, I gotta talk to Daisy for a minute." Curly says to her friend.
He grabs her wrist and leads her a few feet away behind a section of the school. He notices as her friend watches protectively but also very intrigued. Curly cuts his eyes back to Daisy as she nervously chews on her lips.
"Curly, you can't just show up at my school!" She stutters. "Sister Catherine might see."
"Fuck Sister Catherine..look, Daisy. Let me take you out for a coke." Curly pleads.
Daisy face lights up at Curly's offer before it falls again. "I can't, Willy is gonna be pissed."
Curly has a weird urge to touch her face and kiss her. He steps back slightly before he does something he regrets. "Just one date alright? I know you like me too." Curly grins.
She smiles again and he feels like he might actually melt. It was the purest thing he had ever seen and it was as if she didn't even know she had the ability to do that.
"Alright, Willy's going to a party Saturday and James will be visiting our Aunt. You could pick me up at seven." She says quickly. "I gotta go 'fore Sister Catherine catches me."
She quickly walks off, looking over her shoulder once and smiling at Curly before leaning in close to speak to her friend. He can hear he friend asking who that cute greaser was and her giggle in response. But he's happy as hell because he just scored a date with Daisy, and then he remembers he's got a shit ton of coke hiding under the seats of an abandoned car.
Thanks for reading, please review! I would love feedback and things I should improve. :)