Dislclaimer:
I own nothing but my mind and everything that pops up inside it. For those who read my other in-progress story The Element Benders, Jenalise is the same character as Mai Lee and Stefania is still Stefania except they're two totally different people with a different life in a different story, but they have the same personalities. I did this because i think im gonna take a break from The Element Benders, not really feeling it. Please enjoy and review! Thanks!
Guide to Idaleen's Form of Speech
Jenalise is sort of based on me. She's a ghetto Puerto Rican who definitely talks ghetto. I tried to make her talk as Hispanic and street as I could without making it too street that you wouldn't understand it. My dear readers don't get confused! This is a guide to her speech. (Oh and Jenalise is also called Leesey in the story. "Lee-see" lol.)Like many Puerto Ricans, when Jenalise says things that start with a Y, she makes it sound like a J or a "ch" sound because that's what it is in Spanish. So when she talks:
Ju=You
Jur=You're/Your
Chu=You
Chur=You're/Your
Juddont=You don't
Jurself=Yourself
Sometimes she'll say "Yo" or "yoself" in which obviously means "you" and "yourself." (If she's not using yo in that particular context, then it's just the normal meaning of "Yo.")
Leesey often makes "th" sound like a "d" sound:
Dat/Das=That
Da=The
Dis=This
Sometimes she will say "Den" which means "then"
Sometimes she will say "Dey" which means "They"
Sometimes she will say "Der" which means "There, Their, or They're"
Leesey often cuts off letters or syllables in words:
Wit=With
Tryin=Trying
Bein=Being
Goin=Going (I think you get the jist.)
Off-a=Off of
Actually…I basically spell things almost exactly as I/she would pronounce them:
Mah=My
Mahself=Myself
Tah (Pronounced "Tuh")=To
Sometimes she'll say "intah" or "tahgether" which means "into" and "together"
Leesey tends to add syllables or things to words that make phrases and words all her own. (Lol and I put in phrases that my friends and I actually use. J Yes we are weird people.) :
Fa-reakin=Freaking
Confuzzle-manuzzle=confuse
Agimatating=Agitating
Trippi-lippin=Trippin'
Crusty=Annoying, stupid, weird. (Ex: "Ju are bein mad crusty right now." or "You are being really annoying/stupid/weird right now." Ex:"Dat's crusty." or "That's annoying/stupid/weird." It all depends on what's going on in the story, I guess. )
Ohmahhgosh=Oh my gosh
Oh my geesh!=Oh my gosh (Yes I know that's a weird one. My friend made it up. My friend made up "crusty" too.)
Yeahh OHkay=Adds more emphasis to the "oh" in "okay." (I think you get the jist.)
Now for, I guess, "Street Slang." Btw most of you already know the meanings of these words, but for those who don't, here are the meanings! (NOTE: Some of these words may or may not be used like this where you are from, but they are used like this where I am from.)
Dumb=An adjective that means "very/really." (Ex:"That is dumb nasty" or "That is very gross." Ex: "You're being dumb quiet." or "You are being really quiet.")
Mad=An adjective that usually means "a lot" but can also mean "very/really." (Ex: "There was mad people there yo!" or "There were a lot of people there!" Ex: "You are mad weird, dude." or "You are very weird, dude.")
Trippin=Messing up. Fooling yourself. Lying to yourself. Annoying/weird/stupid
Buggin=Basically the same as trippin.
Creamy=Cool, sick, hot (Ex: "Yo, I am lookin mad creamy right now!" or "Yo, I am looking really hot right now.")
Dope/Chill/Ill=Everybody should know what these mean! But in case juddont, it means cool, sick, hot.
Avatar MY WAY! Chapter 1: Our Sweet Sixteen
"Janelise wait up!" Stef called after me.
"No! I am freakin tired of dis! Every single day it's da same fa-reakin thing!" I yelled back. I had walked away from Stef and this street vendor who was going to give us free hot dogs.
"Please stop!" I stopped and Stefania ran up panting. "Why are you always like this? Free food, Leesey! Free food!" Stef was angry now. I could see it in her pure gray orbs.
Now I was getting angry. "Don't even gimme dat crap. Ju know I hate it when people take pity on us! I don't care if we are two fifteen year olds who grew up on da streets of Miami! I don't care if we are two fifteen year olds who had no guardians and no one tah take care of us our whole lives! We have gotten through da toughest of times and worked for everythin we have! I don't take charity. Dat's what's made us strong and dat's how we learned tah fight for ourselves. Go ahead and get a hot dog. But imma work for mah meals." With that, I stormed away to our little shanty we were currently using. I worked as a bus girl at a small café next door and they let Stef and I rent for a few dollars a month.
Stef is an amazingly fast runner. It's actually unbelievable how fast she can run. I mean even the few friends we had from growing up on the streets can't believe how fast this chick is. It's inhuman. But anyway, she ran full force, grabbed two hot dogs and zipped to the small shack before I even got there. "Eat it." she stated with a serious expression.
"No." I snapped back. I could see my golden eyes blazing in the window. (I know what you're thinking. "Golden eyes? That's not possible!" But it is. My eyes are the color of pure gold. And my hair is a natural red-tinted jet black color. Weird huh? Yeah I know.)
"Jenalise Sofia Ayala, EAT the food." she said more forcefully while sticking the piece of meat in my face.
"NO." I yelled pushing her hand away. I stepped behind her and opened the door to our tiny apartment. Our beds were a bunch of cushions, pillows and blankets in a pile. I picked up some of the clothes we owned and put them in my bag to bring to the laundromat the next day. I changed out of my work uniform behind a screen and put my earnings in our second savings container. It's about as big as a milk jug and was almost full. I smiled remembering how we earned everything we have and everything we have learned. I remembered the sweet old Cuban woman that taught Stefania and I how to read and write and how to speak Spanish. I am Puerto Rican but seeing as though I had no parents, I never learned my native tongue but now I speak Spanish better than English. I have an accent when I speak normally, too. I never really knew where that came from. Stefania saw me staring at our two jugs of money.
"I'm sorry." she said quietly. "I always forget about your pride and honor mentality. I know we are supposed to work for the things we want. It's just that we do it all the time. I mean, can't we get a break every now and then? We both work so hard but are never even given a second glance by some people and it's just so frustrating. I like it when people see our struggles and decide to help."
I sighed. "Jur right. I'm sorry, Stef. We do deserve a break. I get dumb tired from workin and what not." I turned around to face her. "But do not get attitude wit me. And do not try tah pull somethin' like dis on me again. Because next time I will get angry and next time I will deprive you of da free waffles I get from da café!" I said in my ghetto Puerto Rican way. I was just joking though. We both laughed and plopped onto our cushion-beds.
"Agh! It's mad hot in here!" Stef said as she turned on a high powered fan my boss had given us.
"Stefania, shut da fan of. It's not hot in here. It's nice and comfortable and I don't want no freakin air blowin in mah face."
"Honestly, Leesey, I really don't understand how you can deal with this humid weather. I mean sure, since I grew up here, I can handle the heat most of the time but some days I can't bear it. How do you walk around in hoodies on days where it's over 90 degrees Fahrenheit?" She said the last sentence slightly irritated and I smirked.
"I dunno. We have differences. How come you like running so stinkin much? I hate running unless it's necessary. And how come jur such a fast runner? I've never seen anyone run as fast as ju can. Like I said, we are different." I twirled a switchblade around in my right hand as I said this.
I don't really know why Stefania and I decided to learn how to throw and fight with daggers. All I know is that we felt it was necessary. We both agreed it was because we live in the slums but if either of us felt any other motivation, we never spoke of it. I put the blade away and took out the dagger I found while Stef and I were still in the orphanage. (It was a crappy orphanage. All they did was feed us junky food and then send us off to do what we wanted, so Stef and I left at eight years old. We have been living on the streets of Miami, Florida ever since.) It's a beautiful knife with a black, obsidian handle with an ornate carving of a golden dragon wrapped around the handle. I figured it must have been pretty expensive, but I felt it was special so I kept it. I aimed and threw it at the makeshift target on the wall. (It was actually just a piece of cardboard with a bunch of holes and slits taped to a wall.) It hit dead center.
"Wow. That was really good!" Stef said in amazement. She then threw hers and it landed in the same spot, our knives side by side, perfectly balanced, neither falling. Our eyes widened but then my stomach ruined the moment.
"Um…Stef?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I…um…have da otha hot dog?" I smiled and laughed.
She laughed. "No…haha just joking. Here." She handed it to me and I ate it all happy like. "So tomorrow is our birthday." she continued. (Yes, we share the same birthday even though we aren't even related. April fourteenth. We were both turning sixteen years old.)
"Yep…I'm going tah make ju a waffle cake at da café. Mr. Cuzzone said, and I quote 'This year will be the best party you two have ever had here!' So, tomorrow, Stefania Eliana Costello and Jenalise Sofia Ayala will be having French toast and waffle cakes for their birthday!" (A/N: In case you're wondering, almost everything these characters say or do are things me and mah friends say and do. My friend Stephanie has an obsession with narwhals, waffles and mashed potatoes. I obsess about French toast…and many other things you'll find out about later.)
"YES! MY DREAM HAS FINALLY BECOME A REALITY!" she exclaimed overdramatically with fake tears and sobs. I cracked up at my friend's complete idiocy…but soon joined her. We both stopped and laughed and got ready for bed.
"Happy birthday, Rican!" Stefania yelled in my ear the next morning.
I smacked her. "GAH! Lemme sleep, fool! I am dumb tired!" Normally I wake up really early around sunrise, but that day I was exhausted and wanted to sleep.
"Wake up you narwhal! I have to be at the Pillow Outlet in twenty minutes and you have to be at Cuzzone's Café in fifteen so let's go!"
I groaned and sat up. My eyes widened and I jumped up. I rushed around getting dressed, fixing my hair and brushing my teeth when I realized Stef was still in her pajamas. "Hey why aren't chu-Yooooo… Dat's not funny, man! Tahday is Saturday! NO WORK! AHHH LET ME GO BACK TAH SLEEP!" I pushed her into the small bathroom and laid back on the blankets. She rolled on the floor and laughed at me. Estúpido Italiano! I thought. (Translation: "Stupid Italian." Yes, Stefania is Italian. Hence the name "Costello." Tee hee hee…)
Anyway, maybe an hour or two passed when Stef finally woke me up again. She was wearing her favorite pair of sweatpants, a yellow tank top with a palm tree and an orange sun, and flip flops. (The palm tree was drawn so it seemed to be blowing in the breeze.) I woke up to find that she chose a pair of black skinny jeans for me, a green, blue and purple hoodie, a green and purple flat brim hat and some black, blue and purple Nike Air high tops. (Even though it may seem like it, we are not that poor! We can afford clothes when we get our paychecks. As a matter of fact, we probably spend more money on clothes than food sometimes, but that's only because my boss gives us meals as apart of my pay.) I picked up my clothes and went to change in the bathroom. Once I was finished cleaning up we headed to the Laundromat to wash our clothes and then to Cuzzone's.
"Hey, Mr. Cuzzone!" Stef yelled happily.
"Hello, Stefania. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Giuseppe?" he asked with a smile.
"Oh right. Sorry Mr.-uh. Sorry Giuseppe!" she laughed and went to get some chocolate milk from the kitchen. When she came back out, Giuseppe and I had already taken out the waffle and French toast cakes. Most of the café's regulars were friends of ours and were there to celebrate our birthday. I pulled Stefania next to me in front of the cakes. Then everyone proceeded to sing and take pictures.
"Happy Birthday to you! *click* Happy Birthday to you! *click* Happy Birthday dear Stef and Leesey! *click* Happy Birthday to you! *click*" We laughed and blew out our candles.
"¿Qué deseas?" Mrs. Gonzalez asked both of us. She's an old brown haired woman who just has something Earthy about her. She said she grew up on a small plantation in the Dominican Republic when she was a girl. I can understand that because Mrs. Gonzalez loves nature and isn't afraid to get herself dirty from mud. She's a very hard worker.
"No puedo decir o no se harán realidad!" I told her.
"Usted nos puede decir. Somos amigos. Tal vez podamos ayudar a cumplir su deseo!" she said excitedly. Everyone was looking at us confused. Even Stefania was just a little bit because she's not that great at speaking Spanish like me. Mrs. Gonzalez and I laughed.
"Mrs. Gonzalez said 'What did you wish for?' and I said 'I can't tell or it won't come true!' and then she just said 'You can tell us. We are friends. Maybe we can help fulfill your wish!'" I explained to them and a bunch of "Ohh's" went around.
"Well now that makes sense. Anyway…time for your presents!" Giuseppe exclaimed.
"What! Presents? No. We tell you every year that you guys don't have to do this!" Stef said seriously but I could tell she was touched.
"Nonsense! You two are sixteen now and this is your sweet sixteen party! I was told that every year they give you gifts and since you turned the special age, your presents will be better than ever. Here open my presents first." a senior named Marcy said to us. Marcy had actually just turned eighteen and was apparently going to attend Harvard in the fall. Right then it was April, (April 14th to be exact) and she was almost done with school. We have known her three months now, but she became best friends with Stefania and I. She showed up right after Mr. Stewart moved away. Actually, I am pretty sure Marcy is a relative of his because they look extremely similar. Both had tan skin, deep blue eyes and pure white hair. Although it was mad weird to see a young girl have pure white hair, it looked pretty on her.
"Woah…" I said as Stef and I opened up the neatly wrapped box. "It's an iDock run on a cord and batteries! And two extra twenty four packs of batteries! Wait, but we don't have iPods…" I finished sadly.
Our friend Randy, maybe about three years older than Marcy, stood up and handed us two small boxes. "Well yes. You see that was the problem. Remember when I asked you two to tell me 300 songs you liked? And then you handed me this huge list and told me you were up all night writing it? Well, I went and bought these for you." Stef and I tore open our boxes to each find a second generation iPod touch. "No way…no freakin way…" Stef said with shock clearly written on her face.
Randy gave us a warm smile. "Yes way. I went and bought these the next day, downloaded every song you each wrote down and few more I thought you would like. I also downloaded a several apps for you." I ran up and tackled him and Marcy in a hug. Stef soon followed suit.
"THANK YOU!" we both yelled.
"Haha! Alright, alright you two! Calma te¢! Calm down! It's time for my presents." Mrs. Gonzalez said.
We opened the boxes. "Mrs. Gonzalez. These are dumb hot! Oops. Sorry I mean these are really nice!" Everyone laughed. The converse I was given were all black with red and gold flames. (Everyone knew I liked flames. I don't know why, but I seem to have an obsession with fire…) The sweatshirt she gave me was a cropped hoodie. It was black and had my name done in huge colorful graffiti lettering on the back and gold around the cuffs and collar. There was also a blood red tank top, blood red skinny jeans and a gold studded belt. This was the perfect outfit, it was actually pretty close to what I wear; a lot of Hispanics I know from the streets wear outfits like these, including me. I laughed because Mrs. Gonzalez knew this, too. She smiled and I hugged her as a thank you.
Stef opened her package to find a yellow, orange and gray hoodie with her name done in graffiti lettering and a band t-shirt for Cobra Starship. There were gray jeans, not exactly "skinny jeans," but they were tight, and flip flops. (Stef doesn't really like wearing actual shoes. My nickname for her is "Hippie" cause she reminds me of one. She just calls me "Rican.") She got all excited and almost suffocated Mrs. Gonzalez in an embrace.
Finally it was Giuseppe's turn to give us our birthday gifts. I opened up the intricately carved wooden ebony box he handed to me. The picture on the top was a gold sun carved into the wood with two dragons intertwining each other all around the box. The clasp was a gold insignia that looked like flames; the box alone was a beautiful present. I opened up the small chest to find twin knives, maybe about a foot long each, with red marble handles and golden flames twisting up the handles. "The Strong and Brave" was written on one side of the blades and "Never Give Up." was on the other. I gasped. "Der beautiful, Mr. Cuzzone. Thank you!" I ran my fore-finger over the flat part of the silver blades. He smiled warmly and it seemed like the temperature of the room raised a couple degrees. Or it could have been just me.
"These knives once belonged to a great and highly skilled warrior from ancient times. I've had them for quite sometime and now they are rightfully yours, Leesey." I was about to ask what he meant by "rightfully" mine, when he cut me off. "Now open yours, Stefania." He handed Stef a marble box that was longer than the one I was given, but not as wide. It had a carving of what looked like a temple on it and a giant animal that had arrows starting from its head all the way to its tail. The clasp was a golden emblem with three swirls in the center. She opened it to find…a stick? Well not really a stick. Maybe an-intricately-designed-wooden-rod-with-orange-jewels-in-a-swirling-design-at-the-top-about-a-foot-long describes it better? Yeah that works.
"A stick… What is it? A magic wand?" she said jokingly. Each of the four adults frowned a bit. Randy explained what it was.
"No, Stef. It's not a wand. It's a staff. Take it out and press the small gray button on the left side." Stef did as she was told and the wand…er…I mean staff turned into a pole a bit taller than her. "Woah…" she said in amazement.
Randy continued. "Flick the staff and watch what happens." Again she complied and the thing grew wings. (Okay so maybe not literally, but the top and bottom opened up to two huge…well…yeah wings! They were yellow cloth attached to wooden beams that were attached the wooden staff. It sorta looked like an old-fashioned glider or something.) "Chill! I have bat wings!" Stef yelled and ran around the room with the thing behind her, pretending she could fly. "Dunna nunna dunna nunna…BATMAN! I really don't know what this is for…but it's friggen awesome! Like…like mashed potatoes awesome!" she exclaimed and everyone cracked up.
Randy looked at Stef and shook his head. "This staff can be used as a weapon too. It's a weapon very commonly used in the martial arts form called Ba Gua. I learned Ba Gua as a child and I'd be more than willing to train you if you're willing to learn." he said. Stefania's eyes grew wide and she nodded her head really fast, a goofy grin plastered on her face. He smiled and a small breeze seemed to flow through the small café. Dat was weird, I thought. Oh, it was probably from that open window over there.
"Jenalise, I must explain something about your knives." Giuseppe regarded me. I nodded for him to continue. "It is obvious that these two blades are twin knives, yes?" I nodded again. "Good. Glad to know you know what I am talking about. But here is the catch." My pale, black haired, topaz-eyed friend paused again and took the knives out of the box. (He actually looked like he could have been my grandpa had it not been that his skin is several shades lighter and he's Italian, not Hispanic.) Anyway, he then proceeded to swing the knives around and sliced the air in swift striking motions. I looked in awe. I really wanted to learn how to fight with twin knives. "These knives are one and the same. They are one blade. One knife. One sword. One weapon. These blades are nothing without each other, so if one's missing, the other will not be as good of a weapon." I gave him a look like "Umm…dey are knives. Not people…" He saw my confusion and explained further. "Think of pride and honor. They go together, yes? If you take one away what is the other worth? Almost nothing. You really can't have honor without some pride first. Also think of fire and air. Without air, what is fire? It's nothing. Air feeds the fire. Or perhaps the sun? Without the sun, the world would be unbelievably cold and dark. So without one, the other is useless. That's how you will think of them and that's how you will fight with them. Once you've mastered this mentality, the fighting part is easy. Treat them as one." He handed them back. He then stood in front and showed me some moves. I mimicked them with the knives and both made loud slashing sounds in the air. We did this several more times. Mr. Cuzzone jumped and clapped excitedly like a little kid. Everyone laughed. "That was fantastic! You are a born natural! Just in that quick five minute lesson, you've already mastered basic maneuvers. I can teach you more advanced attacks and defenses if you wish." Just like Stefania I nodded excitedly. "Okay. But some other day because this old man is getting tired and wants to eat cake." I smiled and Stefania and I cut our cakes and handed pieces around to our friends.
It was about 8:15pm when the party finally ended. We thanked and hugged everyone goodbye and took our leftover cake home. I had completely forgotten to ask Giuseppe what he meant by "rightfully" mine. I thought over it while Stef changed into pajamas behind the screen and I changed in the bathroom. When I was done I plopped down on a fuzzy purple pillow.
"That was the best party we've had." Stef started.
"For real yo! Can ju believe da presents we got?" I said taking out my new iPod. I put one earphone in and played Find Your Love by Drake.
She came out from behind the screen and put her clothes in the dirty pile. "No. I honestly can't. It seems like it's too good to be true." She paused and a slightly confused expression formed on her face. "I know they're our friends and we've known them for such a long time now, but for some odd, unexplainable reason, I have a feeling there's some sorta catch." She said trying on her new hoodie.
"Huh. I have da same feeling. I thought I was jus bein paranoid or somethin."
She laughed. "We are always paranoid, living in the slums of Miami and all."
I scowled. "Ju know dat's not what I meant. It's jus…I don't know…There was some weird things goin on in da café tahday. When I thanked Giuseppe for da new knives, the room seemed to raise a couple degrees when he smiled back. I mean, not dat I have a problem wit hot temperatures, but still."
"Yeah, now that ya mention it, I do recall it getting slightly warmer in the room! Or…or when Randy was talkin about Beg Ah, er, Bag Wa-"
"Ba Gua." (By the way, it's pronounced "Bah Gwah.")
"Yeah that. When he was talkin about Bag Wa-" I slapped my forehead while she was talkin. "-I felt a breeze flow through the room. At first I thought it was from the window, but then I remembered that there had been no breeze at all today cuz it is so humid." I nodded as I said I felt it too. She scratched her armpit and I laughed at her. "What?"
"Go…take a…shower if jur…so itchy." I said between snickers. She smiled, took our new iDock and her iPod and walked into the small bathroom. A couple minutes later I heard My Immortal by Evanescence play and the shower being turned on.
I looked back at my iPod and decided to look through the apps Randy had downloaded for us. The first two pages or so were of games and wallpaper/music apps and the last one was of "how to" apps. (At least that's what I call them.) By this, I mean apps that teach you stuff. For example, how to cook, how to write stories, how to play guitar, how to solve algebraic equations. Stuff like that. There were several "how to" apps except they weren't your normal "how to" apps like the ones I mentioned before. They were martial art forms, how to handle weapons, and survival apps. Wait…Survival apps? I thought. I can understand the weapons and Martial Arts apps but Survival apps? The martial arts apps were ones for Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, Northern Seven Star Praying Mantis, Southern Praying Mantis and Hung Gar Kung Fu. There were two weapons apps about swords, knives and sherikan-type (ninja star-type) weapons. There were three survival apps: one about camping and surviving in the woods, and two about living off the land. I clicked on the app called Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and looked over it. I saw the basic forms and stances and decided I would practice some. After all, why would Randy have downloaded these things if he didn't even have a reason? He wouldn't of, so I figured it must be important or something. I stood up and followed the maneuvers it showed.
"What the heck are you doing?" Stef came out of the bathroom in pajamas and looked at me like I was crazy. Then she broke out laughing. "My friend has finally cracked. I told you that the heat would get to you one day."
I huffed and pierced her with my golden eyes. "No, ju idiot. Look through da apps on jur iPod and ju'll see what it is dat I'm doin." I then turned back and practiced some more.
"Woah…this is pretty chill! But survival apps?" she looked at me with confusion.
"See. Now ju know what I was doin. And I dunno why Randy downloaded all these apps. Ju got da same ones as me or no?"
"Ummm…let's see. I have the following apps: Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, Northern Seven Star Praying Mantis, Southern Praying Mantis, Hung Gar Kung Fu, swords and various old-style weapons apps, and some camping/living-off-the-land apps. You?"
"Same. Same." I said sitting back down. "Ya know what? I know I took a shower this morning but I wanna take another one."
"Ida, you know we don't pay for the water or electricity. Giuseppe does so don't go wasting and taking an hour long shower like always." Stef scolded me half-jokingly.
"Yes mother dearest." I stuck my tongue out at and took the iDock into the bathroom. I then proceeded to play Halo by Beyonce and sang along. I have always loved my voice, not to be conceited or anything. I never took any real vocal lessons but many of my friends say I have a beautiful voice for not having formal practice. Anyway, I was probably in the shower for about forty-five minutes. Better than my usual time though. I dried up, put on my pajamas, and grabbed the iDock. I walked out to find Marcy and Mrs. Gonzalez standing in our tiny one-room apartment and Stef standing wide-eyed, mouth agape and stuttering.
"You…they just…through wall…AHH! GHOSTS!" Stefania suddenly screamed and buried herself under the piles of cushions and blankets as some sort of protection from "the ghosts."
"Huh? Stef, ju idiot. Get out, fool!" I pulled her out from under her fort and pushed her so she stood in front of Marcy and Mrs. Gonzalez who were now laughing. I then spoke to her slowly like she was a three year old. "These are our frieeends, Stefania. They won't hurt us. And they are not ghosts, sweety-pie." She glared at me and I laughed along with Marcy and Mrs. Gonzalez.
"THEY WALKED THROUGH THE WALL, LEESEY! THROUGH THE WALL!" Stef exclaimed.
"Yeah OHkay, Stef. Dat's ridiculous." I rolled my eyes.
"Actually, chinita, she's not lying. Es la verdad." Mrs. Gonzalez said to me. I looked at her like she had gone insane. I then realized it's wrong to give elders and those of authority such rude looks so I quickly apologized. "Oh! Lo siento! Por favor, perdón!"
She laughed. "It's alright, dear. I didn't take it as offensive." She then gently shoved Marcy ahead of her. "Go ahead. Explain to them, Marcy. You have always been much better with words."
"Explain what…?" Stef had finally recovered from her state of fright/shock/paranoia.
"I…er. Um…you two…are special. No no no, that's not right. Ahem. Uh…you-babies-benders…Oh forget this! Just follow me!" She yanked Stefania and I and pushed us at the wall. We both cowered and just when I thought we were about to collide with wood we went through and all around us glowed.
"What the…." Stef didn't finish her sentence because she saw Giuseppe and Randy in the distance talking to some old dude with white hair and red robes. "Why are they here?…Where is here? Where are we? Where am I? Why am I glowing? AHH I'VE DIED HAVEN'T I? I CAN'T LIVE HERE! THERE'S NO MASHED POTATOES!" She started hyperventilating. I smacked her.
"Shut up, chick!" I really don't know how or why, but for some reason I felt comfortable in that odd place. Even despite that I had just walked through a wall, everything around me was glowing, including myself, and my best friend was having a crisis right next to me, I was perfectly calm. I walked over to Mr. Cuzzone, Randy and the other old man.
"Ah dear children. You have finally arrived. We have awaited your presence for the last 15 years." the white-bearded guy said.
"Do I know you?" I asked suspiciously.
"You have not explained to them yet, Agni?" The man looked at Mr. Cuzzone. Agni? I thought. Who the heck is that? That's Giuseppe…not Agni.
"We will right now." Giuseppe/Agni responded. By this time Mrs. Gonzalez, Marcy and Stef had walked over.
Randy then spoke to Stef and I. "Welcome back Air and Fire."
