Note: Miguel and Ali Castillo, Roni Tubbs, and Jake and Alicia Ballard belong to xXBalorBabeXx who writes some great Miami Vice stories!
"C'mon, Miguel, won't you help us turn the jump rope?" five year old Alison Castillo begged. "We need a third person!"
Her brother didn't lift his eyes from his Hardy Boys Mystery book. "Nah, I wanna finish my book."
"Please?"
He looked up for a moment, squinting in the hot Miami sun. "Well I wanted to play tag with you guys earlier and you said no, Ali!" He turned his eyes back to his book and absentmindedly wiggled his front tooth.
"You have a loose tooth, Miguel?" their friend Veronica "Roni" Tubbs observed with curiosity. Setting the jump rope down, she peered closer to Miguel to get a better look.
"Yep! Second one this month! Last time, the tooth fairy brought me a dollar!" he told her with pride.
Veronica was impressed. "Wow!" She crossed her arms. "I haven't lost any teeth yet," she added regretfully.
Miguel was happy to be the voice of wisdom and experience. Even though he was two years older, being the quieter of the two siblings, it didn't often happen. "Well, you guys are only in kindergarten. When you're in second grade like me, you'll be losing teeth all the time!"
"You think its going to come out today?" Ali asked, squinting and craning her neck to get a good look. "Last time Dad pulled out your tooth you screamed like a girl!"
"Shut up Ali, I did not! This morning Dad said this one's just barely loose and that I need to keep wiggling it for a few more days."
Ali was thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, you know what Jake said? He said you can tie a string to a tooth and tie the other end to a door. Then you slam the door and it comes right out!"
Miguel and Roni's eyes widened and they exchanged a surprised glance. "No way!" Miguel shook his head. "Jake doesn't know what he's talking about."
Jake Ballard and his twin sister, Alicia, were a year ahead of Miguel in school. They were also the children of Caroline Ballard, their godfather Sonny Crockett's ex-wife. The kids had known each other from birth and Alicia was friends with Ali, but Jake tended to be a bit of a troublemaker. He and Miguel did not get along.
"C'mon! Let's give it a try!" Ali took his hand and pulled her brother into the house and up to his room with Roni following close behind. "Stay here," she ordered him and he obediently took a seat on his bed.
Running to her mother's closet, she retrieved a ball of string and ran back to the other two kids.
"I don't know about this, Ali…" Miguel said nervously.
"Yeah, Ali. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Roni added.
"Aw, Miguel, it'll only hurt for a second! Don't be such a wuss!"
Miguel took a deep breath and looked over to Roni, who stared at him expectantly. He certainly didn't want to chicken out in front of her. "Alright," he grumbled.
"Cool!" Ali exclaimed and carefully tied one end of the thread into a loop and wrapped it around Miguel's front tooth, then tied the other end to the door knob. She stood poised with her hand on the door. "Okay big brother, get ready!"
Gina stood in front of the refrigerator, wishing somehow the contents would effortlessly materialize into dinner for that night. She had finally decided to call Martin and tell him to stop and get Thai take-out on his way home when she heard a door slam upstairs followed by a scream and the sound of sobbing. Immediately her adrenaline kicked in and she flew up the stairs and opened the door to Miguel's room.
There, a tearful Miguel sat on the floor whimpering with his hand over his mouth while Roni stood over him, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Wow, it worked!" Ali exclaimed over his sobs, triumphantly holding up his small tooth with a strand of thread still hanging from it.
"Miguelito! What in the world is going on in here?" Gina demanded, grabbing a tissue and kneeling down beside her son.
"Alison… pulled… my… tooth… out! And it hurt!" Miguel gasped between sobs, his voice muffled by the hand he kept over his mouth. He pulled his hand away, and upon seeing blood, cried even harder. Gina gently held him.
"It wasn't that bad Miguel." Ali said, crossing her arms in front of herself.
Gina looked to her daughter while rubbing Miguel's back. "Alison Elena Castillo! What in the world possessed you to do such a thing?"
"I just wanted to see if it would work! He said it was okay!" she defended.
Gina sighed. "Go to the bathroom and wash your face and rinse your mouth, Miguel. You'll be fine. And Alison? Leave the dental work to the professionals from now on, okay?"
"Yes Mama," Ali grumbled, crossing her arms in front of herself, she turned to her brother. "And sorry, Miguel," she added sheepishly."
After a moment, Miguel gave her a gap-toothed smile. "It's okay, Ali. At least now I get another dollar from the tooth fairy!"
Ali brightened. "Do I get a cut since I pulled it out?"
"No!" Miguel insisted.
"But Izzy said…."
"Alison Elena!" Gina warned.
"Oh fine. But before you know it, the tooth fairy will be bring me my own dollar! And no way will I share!"