February.
Alvarez's Apartment.
I head down to the Alvarez's Apartment because that's where Schneider told me he was going to be. I think I made my decision about changing schools.
I see Penelope unlocking the door and Alex and Elena waiting. "Hey, guys." I walk up to them.
"Hey Bianca." Alex and Elena say at the same time. Penelope opens the door and a sight I'll never get out of my head is there. Schneider and Lydia salsa dancing.
"Ugh," Elena groans, "I get it, we're Cuban!" She rolls her eyes, "Can you believe this living stereotype?"
"I know it's- Uh oh. What's happening?" Penelope starts dancing, "Uh oh, it's my hot Cuban blood." She dances more.
"I must dance." I say dramatically and start dancing along. Alex grabs be and we start salsa dancing. Penelope brings Elena into the dancing circle and we all have a dancing session until Penelope's shoulder gave out.
"Ah, there goes my shoulder." I she sighs but starts smiling again, "Whatever, I needed that. I had a crazy annoying day."
"It couldn't have been as bad as mine yesterday." Elena complains.
"Oh, wait until I tell you what happened at school yesterday." I say, sitting down next to Alex.
"Alright, how about we all take turns. Elena, you go." Penelope organizes our conversation.
"Okay. At lunch, no one scraped their food into the new composting bin." She said very annoyed, "Even when I stood there, in front of the trash cans."
"Zach Miller hit her with a hamburger." Alex spilled and we all gasped.
"Nooo. He threw it in the wrong bin and I deflected it.." She defended herself.
"With your face?" I ask.
"Yeah. No one was listening to me!" She pouts. Then Alex went on about how she was calling everyone, "Earth murderers".
"I'm sorry mija, I get it. In five seconds I go from smiling and nodding to lighting a car on fire." Penelope admitted. We all gasp.
"You lit a car on fire?" Alex and I ask.
"That happened only once! And it was... Kind of an accident." And Lydia nodded, agreeing with her. "Anyways, that's why you and me, we gotta watch it."
Schneider scoffs, "And Bianca. She slapped a girl yesterday." I look at Schneider. Damn. Gotta expose me like that? They all gasp.
"You slapped someone?" Elena asks. I roll my eyes.
"Yes, I did." I say, "But I'm not proud of it."
"Well you shouldn't be, because that's pretty-" Penelope got cut off my Alex.
"-Baddass." He smirked and Pen smacked his arm. He laughed and asked why.
"Well, she called me a bitch so," I laugh a little and they look at me with worry, "I asked her, 'what the hell did you just call me?' and then she started being rude, and when I said things in Spanish because I didn't want her to know what I was saying, she said and I quote, 'I'm sorry, I don't speak Mexican.'" All their jaws drop and eyes widen. "So I looked at her and slapped the shit out of her."
Alex held up a hand for a high five, "Aye!" He smirked and it made me laugh.
"Sorry for saying shit." I looked at Penelope and Schneider and she waved it off.
"I get it. I do. Y'know, like today. I barely got a word in before el bobo started interrupting me, talking over me. I couldn't even get my point across." She gestured with her hands as we all listened. Elena said that was sexist and Pen said, "No. He's not smacking me on the ass and going, 'Oye, mamita!'"
Lydia sighed and pouted, "Ay, that makes me miss your abuelo." Schneider grabs her hand and squeezes it.
Penelope goes onto talking about how real sexism is found in the army. She then talked about how she was such a badass soldier, they saw her as that and not a woman.
"Why do men and women want to be the same?! We should celebrate out differences." Lydia stands up, "I would never trade these for that." She gestured to her lady parts and Schneider's. Alex puts his face in hands.
"I'm officially traumatized." He 'cried'. I rubbed his back in comfort.
"She's right! Everybody wants to see those. Nobody wants to see this." Schneider got up and gestured too.
"Ay dios mio, I'm traumatized too." I put my face in Alex's shoulder.
"Okay, everybody stop gesturing!" Penelope shut it down real quick.
"Mom, now, men assort their power by mansplaining." Elena corrected her.
"Mansplaining. Is that like manscaping?" Lydia smile, "I just learned it and I love it." I try to hold in my laugh as I get up to get a water from the fridge.
"No, mansplaining is when a-" Elena starts but Schneider cuts in.
"When a man explains something to a women that she already knows, but he acts like he's teaching her." Schneider explains to Lydia very slowly and my jaw drops as he is the living example of what we're talking about. "Does that make sense?"
I lean up against the counter in the kitchen, "Oh my God." I say as Alex gets up and walks to the kitchen.
"What? I was just explaining what mansplaining- Oh wow!" Schneider mimics an explosion sound. Penelope explains that this is just men being men.
"Mom, this is a real problem! The sexism I'm talking about is all the disrespectful things men do that-" She gets cut off once again
"That they don't even realize." Schneider finishes her sentence.
"Schneider!" I yell.
"Sorry, I cut you off. Talk as long as you want. Not that you need permission from me. I'm just.. You know what? I'd like to hear from the ladies. Women. Females. You guys. Not guys, humans." Schneider covers his mouth so he could shut up.
Lydia starts laughing. I do too, "Ju broke Schneider." She says.
Elena sighs, "Mom, this may not seem like a big deal, but this stuff chips away at you."
"Penelope, you gotta call Scott out." I say walking back into the living room.
"Why would I waste my time?" She shrugs.
"Exactly. You will never win men over by confronting them." Lydia points with her finger to every word, "You flirt with them, you hypnotize them. Then you do whatever the hell you want."
"I hate to say it, but she's right. Look," I say and look at Alex who just returned to the living room. "Alex, I really like your hair." I smile at him. He smiles back, "Also, can you give me $20?"
"Y-yeah." He agrees. They all laugh.
"See." I laugh a long, and Alex looks confused. "I don't want your money I'm good."
"And then, they'll think they're the boss, when really, you are the boss." Lydia continues.
"But why can't they just know you're the boss?" Elena asks. Lydia get's a disappointed face and a pout.
"Ay, no. They'll be so upset." She shakes her head no. Elena says that this is horrifying. "Oh si? Well no one ever threw a hamburger in my face. I laugh and so does Schneider.
"Man, I'm glad I'm a guy so I don't have to worry about sexism." Alex admits. We all sigh and shake our heads.
"Oh my god." I put my forehead in my hands. "Well, Schneider. I think I made my decision."
"Really? What is it?" He asks.
"I am now officially transferring to you guys' school."