Aria's POV
Struggling to shove a box of candy into my sweatshirt pocket for the movies, I used my foot to open the door to the Alvarez apartment, where I was met with the image of Penelope handing Alex $10 for the movie
"$10? Is that enough?" I asked Alex, shutting the door, once again, with my foot
"Oh, maybe I wasn't clear. I'm actually going to a movie in this century. It's in color and everything. A ticket costs $9.50." Alex told his mother, building off of my last comment
"And I expect change." Penelope smirked
"It's cool, I brought supplies." I smiled, emptying my pockets, which I had just mated to fill, in order to reveal a bunch of candy
They all stared at me, looking at the obnoxious pile, "What? I like candy."
"No, I feel your pain. I never had enough money to go to the movies with friends." Elena spoke from the other side of the room, moving the conversation back to her brother
"Or enough friends to go to the movies with friends." Alex teased
"Oh, I know, why don't you go pluck your one mustache hair, and you can get the kid price?" Elena shot back, making me and Penelope laugh
"Why don't you pluck your 20 mustache hairs?" Alex asked
"Wow, so much burning so early in the morning. I love it." I grinned, opening a small pack of sour patch kids
Penelope quickly snapped the pack of candy out of my hands, refusing to let me eat sugary goodness for breakfast
"Jokes on you, because each one of these hairs is a blow to the patriarchy." Elena said
"Oh, you win." Alex surrendered, sarcastically, as Elena stormed off, "Come on, Mom. All my friends get way more cash from their parents."
"I can give you extra cash." I offered, taking some out of my phone case
"No!" Penelope yelled, watching me slowly stick the money back into my pocket.
"What have I told you about comparing yourself to other people?" Penelope asked
"To always do it and make sure I'm better." Alex shrugged
"No, that's your abuelita. Look, my, Uh, clinical hours got all squirrelly. So I'm gonna take you and Aria to the movies and show you how to have fun on a budget." Penelope said
"What? No." Alex groaned, shaking his vigorously
"It'll be great. It'll be like a date with your mom." Penelope insisted
"Should I leave?" I asked, weirded out
"No! No, no, no." Alex squealed as Penelope hugged him
"Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Oh." Lydia came rushing in holding her wrist, while we waited for her to finish, "Well, don't make such a big deal of it. I'm fine."
"What happened?" Penelope asked
"She tripped on the side walk in front of the building and hurt her arm." Schneider said, walking through the front door
"I had to break my fall. Some people's faces are worth protecting. Papito knows what I'm talking about." Lydia smiled
Alex nodded his head, smirking. I rolled my eyes, "How did you trip?"
"That stupid sidewalk was broken. The roots of the tree pushed it up." Lydia said
"Man, Mother Nature is turning on us. And after we've treated her so well." Schneider sighed, making me laugh
__________
After and hour of arguing, Penelope convinced Alex to let her come with us to the movies, "Ooh, Okay. Let's find four seats. One for me, one for you, one for Aria, and one for the bag of money we're gonna save."
We walked down the aisle, until we noticed kids from our school, and I hid behind Alex who pulled Penelope back.
"Oh, God. Those kids are from our school." Alex said
No offense to Penelope, but after going to the movies with Schneider, I don't see myself going to the movies enjoyably with an adult ever again. If you could even call Schneider and adult.
"You wanna sit with them?" Penelope asked
"No, no, no. Let's stay here." Alex rushed, pushing us quickly down the aisle
The kids heard us and turned around, so I held my hand up to wave, "Hey, guys."
Alex waved his hand that was still holding Penelope's, quickly embarrassing himself in front of our peers.
"Great. First I have no money, now I have no dignity." Alex said
I found a row, and Alex and Penelope followed me in. I slumped down in my seat, hiding from the stairs of the other kids.
"Maybe, but what you do have is...what?" Penelope laughed, pulling candy boxes out of her jacket
Alex and I looked at each other, before I quickly smiled and did the same with the stash in my pockets.
"Where'd these come from? My pockets." She cheated, as we threw it all onto Alex's lap.
"Is that why you're wearing cargo pants?" Alex asked
"First of all, they were very stylish in the '90s. Second, it is the key to sneaking food past any by-the-book ushers who might narc on you. Ba-blam. Licorice!" Penelope smirked, pulling out more candy
"Where'd you get these? The 99-Cent store?" Alex asked
"The 98-Cent Store." Penelope corrected
I took a coupe licorice from the bag and ate them while Penelope continued to talk, "See, we may not be spending a lot of money, but it's lit, right?"
Suddenly, Penelope whacked Alex's licorice out of his hand. I caught it and took a bite out of it, "Thanks."
"5-0." Penelope said, as and usher walked down the aisle and we attempted to act cool.
"Dust it off, five second rule." Penelope hushed when the man walked off
"Aria already ate it." Alex laughed
"I was hungry, and it just happened to land in my hand." I shrugged, turning back to the movie screen as the movie began
Halfway through the movies, Alex tapped my shoulder, "What?"
"Do you want to play the shoulder counting game?" He asked, smirking
"What?" I asked, again, sort of freaked out that he was going to mess with the people around us
"I'll show you." He shrugged, beginning to count his shoulders, "One, two."
I nodded, still confused as to what the hell he was doing, so I could go back to watching the movie.
"Three, four." He continued, counting my shoulder closest to him and then resting his arm on the other one.
"Wow, you're truly the king of smooth." I quietly laughed, attempting to be as sarcastic as possible
"Got that right." He slowly nodded, too proud of himself
"Well, jokes on you. Your arm is comfy and now you don't get to it." I smirked, lying my head on his shoulder
"See? Pretty great, right? Nothing keeps popcorn fresher than a shower cap you snagged from a hotel room." Penelope interrupted
"Okay, but aren't we breaking the law or something? I don't want to end up in jail. If the other prisoners ask me what I'm in for and I say gummy bears,I don't see that ending well." Alex quietly argued
"I think that would be hilarious." I disagreed, imagining Alex trying to survive in jail
"There is no law against outside food. There's a rule, but that's totally different." Penelope offered
"It's okay to break the rules?" I asked
"Absolutely not. Unless the rule's nuts." Penelope said, as I nodded my head in confusion, "Speaking of nuts..Goobers."
"They're so...warm." Alex groaned, taking the candy from her and quickly putting them on the floor
"You're welcome. And we saved eight dollars. You know how much a box of Goobers costs to make? A penny." Penelope said
"You really know that or—" Alex
"A penny!" Penelope insisted, "I scored these at a gas station on Pico. Mislabeled at 49 cents! I bought every box. We're gonna be serving Goobers at your wedding." Penelope said
"I'm good with that." Alex shrugged
"Do you have any soda in your pants?" I asked, getting thirsty from all the twizzlers I had been eating
She shook her head, making Alex and I sighed, before she laughed and opened her jacket to reveal three sodas.
Alex and I quickly grabbed one. We were about to open them until Penelope stopped us, "No, no, no. The usher will hear you. You have to wait for an explosion."
We waited for an explosion and then opened our sodas, smiling in relief before enjoying our drinks
___________
The next day, I sat on the couch with Alex and Schneider, watching the two of them play a video game on the TV
"Come on, people, let's go! We gotta get there before the polls close!" Elena snapped, rushing into the apartment
"They close in 11 hours." Penelope sighed
I tuned out the rest of their conversation and focused on Schneider and Alex playing video games, until Alex spoke up, "Hey, Mom, if you have time tonight, maybe you can take Aria and me to see another movie?"
"You wanna hang out with me again?" She asked
"The movie's R-rated, so we kind of need you." I added, high giving Alex as his eyes stayed glue to the TV
"But we have fun, right?" Alex asked
"Yes, we did." Penelope smiled
Elena kept arguing with her mother, until we agreed to take Lydia to the polls on our way to school.
We expected Lydia to follow out the door, but she shut it in our faces, refusing to let us in, "What the hell is happening? Why is she locking us out?"
Penelope tried opening the door, "Schneider, I need you key to the apartment."
"Sure." He smiled, handing it to her
"Thank you. I've been trying to get this away from you for two years." Penelope laughed, pulling out her own key
"Nice try. These are all you apartment." Schneider shot back pulling out a ring of keys, making me look at the man in concern
"They always forget to lock the door anyways, just walk in." I whispered to my guardian, making him nod in approval as we fist bumped
Penelope opened the door and we walked inside, as we began yelling for Lydia and looking to see where she had run off to hide
We saw her on the balcony and we all stuck our heads out the window, "Mami?"
"My leg is feeling better." Lydia smiled
Penelope scoffed, and we spent the next twenty minutes talking her off the balcony and back inside, "What's going on? Why are you acting like such a loca?"
"Are you afraid to vote? I mean, is it because in Cuba, any act of political expression was met with violent repercussions?" Elena asked, as we all moved to sit in the living room
"Yeah, sure. Make that the reason." Lydia nodded, as we all continued to stare at her waiting for her real answer, "Okay. I don't vote because....I am not a citizen."
"What?" I asked
"Yes, you are. You and Papi had your citizenship interviews while I was deployed in Afghanistan." Penelope insisted
"No. We were supposed to, but we never did. We ended up spending the whole afternoon in the park together, birdwatching. Which, of course, is what we call lovemaking. Which is ironic, because the birds were watching us." Lydia explained, sighing in with a smile
Alex and I looked at each other, disgusted, while Penelope continued to grill her, "Stop trying to change the subject. Especially to that subject. How did you never become a citizen?"
"I was busy, you know! I was working, raising a family, helping my family to raise their family! Oh, you're welcome. But anyway, it's doesn't matter because I have a green card. I get social security, I pay taxes." Lydia insisted
"Whoa. You have to pay taxes with a green card?" Schneider asked, groaning loudly and then pulling out his phone
"I am a permanent resident. So it's almost the same thing. It's not big deal." Lydia shrugged
"This actually makes me so much happier. I understand. It's not that you don't want to vote. You can't." Elena sighed in relief, feeling a little bit better about the whole situation
"Yeah. Of course." Lydia lied
"Then this is great! Because green card holders can become citizens easily. You just have to take tests. I'll download the forms. We'll get you in line to become a citizen." Elena said
"No, thank you!" Lydia cried, quickly running off
"She is so infuriating!" Elena snapped, making everyone jump
"I know, but right now she's embarrassed, and you being all over her is not the answer. Let her calm down." Penelope said
__________
I sat on the couch, reading, waiting for Alex and Penelope to get back from the movie. I opted out of the movie, realizing I was way behind on my homework load
Alex and Penelope quickly walked through the front door, and I moved to the kitchen table to help Schneider with his Spanish notecards.
"What if one day they decide to send all non-citizens back to where they came from?" Elena asked, catching my attention
"No! I can't go back to Canada! It's just so cold!" Schneider groaned, while Alex pat him on the shoulder.
"So become an American citizen. Both of you." Elena suggested
"I agree with Elena. If for some reason they sent Schneider back, I'd be alone." I added, although I knew it was highly unlikely
"They're right. What's the problem? Don't you like being in this country?" Penelope asked
"Of course. I like to be in America." Lydia sighed
"I know you do. So what is the problem?" Penelope asked
"When Berto And I learned that in order to be sworn in as Americans, we would have to renounce our Cuban citizenship, we could not bring ourselves to do it. Cuba is home." Lydia revealed
"But you've been here for almost 60 years. This is your home now. I know you miss Cuba. But you know there's no going back, right? Even now that Castro's dead, nothing really changed." Penelope insisted
"Yes. But you know, maybe someday it will. My papi made sure that I had the deed to our house." Lydia said
I tuned out the rest of their conversation, feeling as though it was too personal. I held Alex's hand and played with his fingers. He smiled at me and I rolled my eyes.
Suddenly, he got up to join their conversation, so I let go and shuffled around Schneider's Spanish notecards
"It's true. Whenever someone asks me what I am, I always say I'm Cuban. I don't even think about it." Alex added to the part of their conversation that I hadn't been listening to
I smiled, happy that he was proud of who he was, while Elena took her turn to speak up, "Yeah. When people ask me what I am, I say, 'I'm a human being..not defined by labels or the artificial construct of borders.' But I also say I'm Cuban."
"I hear what you're saying. And I love you. And...I will think about it." Lydia decided, going to her room and shutting the curtain.
"Well, I've made my decision. I'm gonna become a citizen. Now, the English test should be a breeze, but as far as civics test goes, I'd better put on my thinking toque, stock up on Timmies and study like a real keener, Eh?" Schneider joked in a Canadian accent
"I don't mind people moving here. I just wish they'd learn the language." Alex said, making me sigh and shove him off the couch.
__________
Everyone went their separate ways after the serious conversation, as I moved to Alex's room to play video games while he did something some where else in the apartment.
He walked in a few minutes later, taking the game control out of my hand, "I'm gonna get a job."
"Doing what, exactly?" I asked, snatching the controller back out of his hands
"I don't know yet, but I know I don't want to look like a crazy person at the movies." He sighed, sitting next to me
"Good idea." I smiled
"You could get one with me." He suggested
"No, I'm too lazy. I'll support you, though." I offered, giving him a smile before I turned back to the screen
He sighed and lay on his bed, snuggling into his pillows
"Also, before I forget, I got you something." I smiled, pulling out a box of Sour Patch Kids.
"What's this for?" He asked, using his elbows to hold himself up
"It's my favorite candy. So, the next time we go to the movies, you don't have to buy it. You can save that money for something else." I said
"Or I could just eat them." He suggested
"I'd kill you." I threatened
"But then you'd be lonely." He shot back
"I have other friends." I shrugged
"Ehh." He argued, making me punch him in the thigh, "I'm kidding."
"I gotta go, Schneider is going to burn the apartment down if I don't get back soon." I sighed
"Okay. Goodnight, Ari." He smiled
Screw it.
"Goodnight, Alex." I rushed out before I leaned down kissed his cheek, then sped out of the room.
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