Maria

She actually did make me look good when I was in the battlefield. That point when my Papi, Macho Arturo, gave her to me just before he went up the river, will remain with me always, as my 2nd most important memory, next to joining the gang. Especially what he said:

"Take good care of her, Arturo," he had said. "This was given to me by my dad; it's a tradition with us Guerra's. Treasure her close to you, because I'll remain with you through her. Use her frequently, but keep her clean. And whatever you do, don't break her. Maria Conchita Teresa Rosalita is special."

I could only nod, and agree to this promise.

So I did keep her close. I did use her regularly to comb my hair. While at first I questioned why she was designed like a switchblade, I dropped it after a while. It kinda added to her charm, that you did not think a comb would pop out of the pocket.

When I first met the gang, and then became a member, I did my best to keep Maria a secret. I did not know what they would think of her – to most, she was just a switchblade-styled comb.

They did find out, of course. And thankfully, they didn't think any the worse of me. Well, Ace, Snake and Grubber anyway. Big Billy always acted odd whenever I had her out, be it in our shack's corner, in an alley, or elsewhere. He would avert his eyes from me, or stand on the other side of the group. On most occasions I took little notice, as he often did odd things like this. But after a while, I did start to notice it.

And finally, one evening, I found out why.

One evening, after a successful robbery before those accursed Powerpuff Girls showed up, we were back at our shack by nightfall. I was sitting in a corner, reading a book I'd spotted in a rubbish pile. Ace, Snake and Billy were munching their way through piles of ham, while Grubber was messing on his violin. Not thinking about Billy, I whipped out Maria, and swept my greasy black hair back out of my eyes. I kept doing it...

"Daa," droned out a voice suddenly, making me knock my book over in surprise, "can I use your comb, Arturo?" Billy towered beside me, smiling innocently.

"No!" I responded protectively, clutching Maria close to my chest. "She's a family heirloom. You're not using her!"

"But Big Billy's hair need combing!" whined Billy, gesturing to the red mop that rested atop his forehead. By now, Ace, Snake and Grubber were watching, although I barely registered this.

"I said no and I mean no!" I stated in a finishing tone, turning away from him. Reaching down for my book, I made to re-pocket Maria –

But she never reached my pocket, as she was suddenly swiped from my hand. Whipping around, I saw Billy holding her near his head.

"Give her back!" I yelled, jumping for Billy's arm. However, due to his height and my lack of height, I couldn't reach his arm. He leant his arm back and began to brush Maria through his hair.

Panicking, I ran back a bit, and then took a great running leap. Grabbing onto the bottom of his arm, I hoisted myself up onto his shoulder. He only noticed me when I grabbed Maria and pulled. He pulled back. He was tugging hard at the holder, while I was yanking on the comb –

SNAP!

With an almighty wrench, we both fell backwards, Billy still with the holder. But the comb was no longer attached to it. My eyes slowly lowered themselves to the frontal part of the comb, lying on the ground between us. It was broken.

Maria was broken.

Without waiting for anything, not even Billy to say sorry, I started to sob. Just as Ace made to speak, I ran out of the shack, away from them. The cold night air whipped my hair and cheeks as I ran, but I barely noticed. All that mattered was that the last remaining link to my family was gone.

All because of that stupid hulking colossus.

I eventually found myself hiding at the back of the dump's tire pile, having sobbed myself hoarse. But that didn't matter. I had broken my promise to papi. Maria was no more. The Guerra family heirloom was no more...

"Arturo?" Sniffling a bit, I turned around. There stood Big Billy, looking a bit befuddled, with his hands behind his back.

"What do you want, Billy?" I mumbled, shielding myself with my hands.

"Look, Arturo," he said slowly, trying to speak properly, Billy's really sorry Billy broke Maria."

"Well, sorry ain't gonna fix her," I snapped back, making Billy start. I turned back away again, staring at the interior of a tyre, whilst sitting on another one. His words couldn't fix that fact that he'd snapped her in half...

When something was dropped into my lap suddenly. Startled, I picked it up. It was a switchblade case. Turning around, I saw Billy staring at me.

Looking back down at the object, I pressed the button on the side. Out popped the comb that was Maria, fully attached again. She had been rewound back into her tiny hold at the top, with some glue to help. Smiling, I turned back to Billy.

"Thanks Billy," I said, standing back up and putting Maria back in my pocket. I held out my hand for him to shake. "Friends?"

Big Billy smiled, and grasped my hand shaking it roughly. "Friends!" He yelled happily before he scooped me up, placing me on his shoulder. He ran us back to the shack, both of us laughing our characteristic laughs.

And my thoughts didn't remain on Maria for that evening. They centred on my friendship with the gang. Because that was all I really had.

But it was all I needed, really.

Theme was ''Something Uplifting.'

This was my bigger focus this month, compared to Joe. Arturo is one of my favorite characters, and I thought writing some backstory for him would be nice (as his little speech in Schoolhouse Rocked is the most we ever see about him). But what really pushed it for me was the Billy/Arturo bond. I've seen those two together frequently, particularly in the anime version (which I consider mediocre compared to this), and they seem to have a friendship beyond what you normally see in the gang, even possibly beyond their loyalty to Ace.
Also, of the three drabbles I've written thus far, it was the only one to have events happening in a physical place, rather then just character thoughts.
The only thing I think that notably hurt it was the length - I had to cut it down noticeably because of the word limit, and I think it felt a bit rushed as a result, particularly between Maria getting broken and fixed.
I purposefully chose a simple title so the reader would have an idea about it before even reading it, and yet also be partially surprised. But this has enough heart and character for me to rate it higher then Relations. I give it a B in overall performance.