I stared at the girl dumbfounded, searching for words to say. I started by taking my earphones out of my head and wrapping the cord around my phone. Leah still smiled at me. I swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Hi my name is Abril Martinez, thank you for welcoming me."
She chuckled. "No problem; you moved in right next door to me, so I'm just being a good neighbor. Since we are both out here walking, do you want to meet some of the other people that live in our neighborhood?"
I smiled. "Yeah, sure."
"I guess friends won't be a problem here." I thought looking at my feet as we walked in silence. I looked up as we passed a few houses.
"Hey," she said breaking the silence. "This is my friend Sam's house. Let's go inside." She smiled at me before jogging towards a small, modern, cabin-like home with a large front porch that held a porch swing and a patio table set. I stood in the driveway staring at the house, shuffling my feet when Leah poked her head out of the front door calling to me from behind the storm front-screen door. "Abril, they don't bite, I promise!" Her words were followed by booming laughter.
"They?" I whispered, biting my lip as I sauntered towards the house. Each step weighed about one hundred kilograms (hopping up the front steps was like jumping underwater). I opened the door, ran my fingers quickly through my hair and smiled at the people that were in a cute-woodland style kitchen. There were three men-young adult boys (two of them were somewhat older than the other, but still young) and a woman who was sitting on the lap of one of the older men. She was beautiful on one side of her face and body, but the other was mangled and scarred. I could tell she was a sweet woman by her soft smile.
Leah dragged me closer towards those people. "Everyone, this is the new girl, Abril Martinez. She's from-"
"L.A.?" One of the men interrupted her, smiling at me. "Yeah, Sam, Jacob, and I helped her brother unpack and furnish their house." Leah looked surprised.
"Oh, well, okay then." She smiled at me. "Abril this is Paul Lahote, he can be obnoxious sometimes." He glared at her, and I could have sworn a growl of some sort came out of his mouth. The man that had the woman on his lap smacked him on the shoulder.
"Shut up, Paul." He said firmly, rolling his eyes. "Hi, Abril, I'm Sam Uley. This is my wife, Emily." He looked at the woman sitting on his lap with so much love I was surprised hearts didn't float out of his eyes.
Finally, the man that didn't say anything spoke up. "Hey, I'm Jacob Black." He smiled a perfect, white smile at me.
I smiled and replied, "Hey, so, yeah I'm Abril…like Leah had said…" I laughed.
"Sit down, Abril." Emily smiled, gesturing towards an empty chair in between Paul and Jacob.
"Ok," I told her, sitting in the chair.
"So, Abril," Paul began.
"So, Paul," I mocked him giggling. He took his finger and poked my forehead mocking my giggle in a high-pitched voice.
"What was it like in L.A.? Hot girls? Fun on the beach? Daisy dukes? Bikinis?" He spoke in a dreamy tone of voice, looking off into the distance, smiling at his imagination. I thought for a moment.
"Well, in Malibu or parts of Venice beach are like that…" I thought. "How could I tell them where I used to live? It'll be embarrassing…" I bit my nails, and kept on thinking about my home in LA. Since I lived in, not only East Los Angeles, but in the projects, there was always something wrong; somebody getting killed on their way to work, crack in the recycling bins, homeless people begging for money or sleeping on my doorstep, street venders pestering people to buy their food that has been sitting in the hot sun all day…
I looked around at the eager faces that sat around me at the table. I cleared my throat. "Well," I began. "The media mostly shows Malibu and Hollywood in magazines and on TV, but I didn't live there. I used to live in East Los Angeles in the Maravilla Projects." I paused and looked around. Their faces were still filled with hunger.
"Go on!" Paul urged. I giggled. "Well, every day after school, we would walk to this mall and get Mexican food from my neighbor that worked in the restaurant, then we would go shopping. During summer, we would mostly go to Hollister, H&M, and Love Culture. In winter, we would go to Abercrombie, Forever21, and Kohl's. Then we would walk home.
"At home, in the projects, our apartment was pretty small; I had to share a room with my sister Angelic. Our neighbors upstairs and across the hall smoked crack all day, and our neighbors downstairs were really sketchy and never came out of their house. And in the parking lot, people would sell drugs and a lot of times, there would be shootings there.
"At school, my friends and I skipped class to go to this senior party," I began. At the thought I started to laugh. Paul lightly tapped my shoulder.
"Tell us what's so funny!"
I stopped my fit and composed myself. "Okay, okay. So, we were walking to the house where it was at, and this fat police officer stops us asking why we weren't in school. So, we pretended like we couldn't speak English. He tries to put handcuffs on us, so we ran as fast as we could. He was running so much that his…chest…was bouncing and basically hitting him in the face. So, my friend Nallely video taped him running." I finished the story laughing really hard, along with Jacob, Paul, Leah, and Sam. When we regained our composure, I saw Emily's face painted with concern.
"You didn't get caught, did you?" She asked apprehensively.
"Oh God, no. He eventually got out of breath and let us go."
She relaxed. "Okay, good." I smiled and nodded.
"Wow," Paul said, staring at me. "And here I am thinking you were going to be shy and awkward!" Leah laughed. "She's not Bella." This time, everyone howled with laughter. "Bella?" I thought, looking around curiously. Before I could ask whom she was, my phone started to ring.
"OH MY GOSH, it's your mom!" My phone yelled.
"Hola?" I answered.
"¿Dónde estás?" She asked.
"Estoy en una casa de nuestros vecinos." I answered, biting my nails as the others looked at me in awe.
"Invítalos a nuestra casa. Estoy cocinando." She said, I could hear her smile.
"Ok, mami. Chao-chao." I hung up. I swallowed hard and nervously looked at them. "So, my mom wants to know if you guys can come over to our house? She's cooking." Their faces brightened up.
"Free Food? Why not?" Sam said cooly. Emily shook her head. "He always has to seem cold, don't worry about him." I smiled.
"I'll come. I like Hispanic food." Paul winked at me flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes as Leah and Jacob both agreed to come.
"Cool, well I better go help my mom. You all should come by 6:30." I told them. They nodded. As I turned to leave, Leah grabbed my wrist. She looked at the floor and it seemed like she would be blushing if her skin weren't so dark.
"Can I help, too?" She asked. I smiled. "Yeah, of course." She smiled back and we both headed out the door to my house. As we walked on Sam's lawn, the Earth made squishing noises and water seeped out of the grass.
When we reached my house, my socks were soaked and felt like sand that was just washed over by waves. Leah and I decided to take our shoes off outside. When I opened the door, dulce de leche and asado seduced my nose.
"Abril?" My mom called from the kitchen over the noises of sizzling
"Yeah it's me! My friend is here, too!" I replied, as I turned right into the doorway beside the front door that led to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, my mom was holding a bowl down on the counter and stirring the contents with a wooden spoon. My mom looked up at Leah and I and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Sofia Martinez. You can call me Miss Sofia." My mom set the bowl and spoon down and held out her hand for Leah to shake. Leah shook it. "Hi, Miss Sofia, I'm Leah Clearwater. …You can call me Leah…"
"Clearwater? Don't you live next door?" My mom asked.
"Yes I do." Leah smiled.
"I guess I will see you a lot then, I guess."
"Yup." Leah said awkwardly. She looked around my kitchen. A fluorescent light above us brightly lighted it, and to the left of the doorway was a double oven. Beside the oven were a gas burner and a window above that. There was a counter top with the sink, a dishwasher, and a big refrigerator. There was at the end of the kitchen beside the refrigerator that was the pantry/laundry room.
"So, what can we help you with?" I asked my mom, as I walked to the sink to wash my hands, being followed closely by Leah.
My mom thought for a moment. "You both can make the empanadas and the rice and beans." She pointed to the ingredients; Flour, lard, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, 3 packs of ground beef, paprika, chili powder, oregano, ground cumin, and white onions, bowl, and measuring items that sat on the counter. Flour, lard, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, 3 packs of ground beef, paprika, chili powder, oregano, ground cumin, and white onions.
"Alright." I replied. "Okay, Leah, you can mix the stuff in the bowl and measure it out, ok?" I told her with a smile. She smiled as a reply. "Alright, Abril."
Suddenly. My "drill-sergeant" self took over. "3 cups of flour, separate the whites from the yolk of one egg, pour the milk into the glass measuring pitcher until it reaches one cup and put it in the microwave for thirty-seconds." She hurriedly followed my instructions, throwing the ingredients in the bowl as if a bomb would go off if she didn't. In ten minutes flat, the dough was finished and all we had to do was make the filling and bake the whole thing.
As we mixed the assorted spices in with the ground beef, Leah, my mom, and I were talking a lot; having conversations ranging from Argentina, to sex, to La Push, to having babies. I found out that Leah has a younger brother around my age named Seth.
By the time the empanadas were in the oven, Leah was allowed to call my mom "Sofia." We sat at a little breakfast table my mom had put in the corner of the kitchen in front of the door way drinking coffee with milk, waiting for Leah's mom, Sam, Emily, Paul, some kid named Quil, some kid named Embry, and Jacob to arrive.
"Thank God there is so much food here," Leah exclaimed.
"Why?" I asked, sipping my still-hot coffee gingerly.
"Have you seen your brother eat, Abril?" My mom asked laughing, as she got up to stir some chimichurri sauce that rested in a pot on the stove.
"Oh, I get it, because boys are coming!" I responded, feeling a light bulb go off in my head.
"There you go, smarty." Leah said sarcastically. I mocked her in a baby voice. She smacked my arm playfully and I hit her back, followed by us sticking our tongues out at each other.
"Hey, is your brother coming?" I asked her.
"I don't think so. He is in Seattle at this mall buying new clothes." She drank her coffee.
"Cool." I replied, suddenly jealous of this boy. "I wish I was in Seattle buying new clothes." I thought, glaring at the floor when the doorbell rang.
"I get it!" Angelique (I changed the spelling of her name because it's the proper way to spell her name) yelled as we watched her run and scream to the door. She set her bear down on the floor in order to open the door (she had to use both hands.) I leaned forward to see who was there. It was Jacob and two boys I assumed to be Embry and Quil.
"Hi there, sweetie, is Abril home?" Jacob asked Angelique, smiling at her. Angelique stared at Jacob with her big, round, brown eyes. "Uh-huh." She said.
"ABI!" She yelled. "A handsome boy is here!" Leah laughed. "Handsome?" Angelique nodded vigorously.
"Come in, Jake, and…" I hesitated. "You other people…" I finished, smiling at the other boys who came in my house.
"Embry." One of the boys pointed at himself.
"Quil." The other copied him.
"Oh, well, hi there! I'm Abril!" I said cheerfully to Embry and Quil.
"Hey, 'sup, Jake." Thalis came into the house from the deck, putting out a cigarette. Him and Jacob shook hands. I scowled at Thalis.
"What did I do?" He asked, ruffling my hair.
"You told me you quit, you bum!" I smacked his chest.
"Ouch, damn, Abril." He said rubbing the spot that I hit. "That was my second cig I had today, so shut up with your health awareness bullshit."
"I will stop when I want to stop!" I told him. He mocked me in the baby voice that I mocked Leah in.
"Ooh! She told you, Thalis!" Jacob howled, laughing.
"Abril! Ven aquí!" My mother called from the kitchen.
"I'm coming!" I called back. I walked into the kitchen, followed by Leah.
"Girls, help set everything up in here. Put the empanadas on a platter and be sure to tell the boys which ones are hot." She ordered as she put the asado on fancy dinner platters.
Leah opened the oven and I grabbed the potholders, gingerly lifting the first two batches of empanadas out of the oven and placing them on the stove. We repeated the process with the next two batches. I grabbed a fork from the drawer that was beside the sink and was about to spear one of the empanadas and place it on the fancy blue and white platter when my mom snatched the fork from my hand.
"Are you retarded?" She yelled. "Use a tongs!"
"Thanks, mom." I groaned, taking the tongs from her hand. A booming laughter came from the living room. Thalis poked his head into the kitchen from the window.
"What did you do?" He laughed.
"She tried to put the empanadas on the platter-thing with a fork instead of tongs." Leah explained, smiling ear-to-ear.
"Are you kidding me?" He chortled.
I shamefully nodded as I placed the empanadas on the platter, the hot ones on one column and the mild ones on another column.
The doorbell rang again, and Sam, Paul, and Emily walked into the house. Emily was holding a bouquet of flowers and a small tin box. She walked in the kitchen.
"Hi, Ms. Martinez!" Emily handed her the flowers and tin box. "I'm Emily Uley, my husband Sam is in the living room. Welcome to La Push! That's tea that my grandmother made. Its really delicious." My mom looked happily overwhelmed.
"Hi, Emily, please call me Sofia." My mom placed the flowers on the breakfast table. "Thank you for these." She smiled.
"Oh, you're welcome! I hope you all love it here. I heard you came from Los Angeles!" She exclaimed.
"Oh yes, we did come from there." My mom laughed. "I hope you like South American food!" My mom gestured the food we made.
"I never tried it!" Emily replied, as the doorbell rang for the third time. This time it was Leah's mom, Sue Clearwater.
"Hello, boys!" She greeted Thalis and the rest of the boys in the house. "Oh, hello little one." She said to Angelique.
"Hey, Sue." My mom greeted her as she took down plates and forks and knives. "Ok, everyone, come eat." My mom called out the kitchen window. Everyone lined up to get some food.
"Hey, Leah, do you want to eat in my room?" I asked her after we filled our plates with asado (Argentine barbeque), rice, beans, empanadas, and some fried plantains.
"Yeah, sure. I don't think there is enough room at the table anyways." (Our dining room table was a fold out table with some folding chairs and Angelique's high chair). Before going to my room, I grabbed to cans of Coke for us.
We set ourselves up on my bed, leaning against my headboard.
"Are you ready to try it?" I asked Leah, as she stared at her food.
"Uh, yeah! I don't know which one to eat first!" She bit her lower lip.
"I'm gonna eat our empanadas first, I don't know about you, but… they look amazing." I picked up the empanada and bit into it with a crunch. The flavors exploded in my mouth. "Mmm!" I groaned.
"Okay, okay, I'll eat that first." Leah picked it up and bit into it with the same crunch. "Oh my God, that's delicious!" She took another bite.
"I told you!" I said to her, taking more bites of the meat filled pastry until it was finished. We resumed eating in silence, with an occasional, "Wow, this is really good" from Leah. When we were finished, I took our plates, forks, and knives to the kitchen. Then I went back to my room.
When I sat on the bed, I noticed Leah was frowning and she looked like she was about to cry.
"What's the matter?" I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Can I tell you something?" She asked.
"Yeah, anything."
"Well, Sam used to be my boyfriend, right?" She began. "I still love him, but he's married now, and I don't have a chance. Ever since he saw Emily, I pretty much had to give up, you know? Every time I get around them, I just get upset, it's like my heart breaks over again. Sam hates me, and I don't know why. I just… I give up." She flopped on my bed on her back.
"Why do you go there often then?" I asked her. "If he hurts you, then stop seeing him."
"I wish it was that simple. I have to go there every day because-" Suddenly there was a knock at my door.
"Come in!" I called. Jacob, Quil, and Embry stumbled in.
"Can we join you ladies?" Jacob's eyes flashed darkly to Leah's.
"Yeah, sure." I shut my door behind them.
"What were you girls talking about?" Quil asked, sitting on my beanbag. Leah looked at me pleadingly.
"Cramps and periods and pregnancy, okay?" I groaned, lying on my bed beside Jacob.
"Oh, delicious." Embry replied sarcastically.
"You know it!" I said back. They all laughed. "So, what do you people do for fun here?" I asked.
"We surf." Jacob said.
"We go to Seattle." Leah said.
"We go hiking." Embry said.
"We eat new comers!" Quil added, winking at me.
"Oh, that's cool." I said. "Wait, you all surf here?" I looked around astonished. "It's so cold…" I thought
"Yeah! It's fun. Oh! We also have bonfires a lot." Leah also added. There was a knock at my door.
"Come in!" I beckoned. It was Thalis. "Yes, manito?"
"Would you guys like dulce de leche?" He asked. Suddenly, a child took over my body.
"Oh my God, yes! I want dulce de leche! So do you, Leah, okay? It is heavenly, sticky, goodness inside cake!" I pulled her to the kitchen where Emily, Mrs. Clearwater, and my mom were at the breakfast table, drinking coffee and eating cake filled with dulce de leche. I cut Leah a slice of the cake, and I cut myself a slice.
"Abril, would you like to come stay the night at my house tonight?"Mrs. Clearwater asked me with a smile. I looked at my mom and smiled.
"Oh, okay." I responded, awkwardly taking a bite of cake.
"I'm going to go and fix up the house. Come home before eleven tonight, okay Leah?" Her mom said, finishing her coffee.
"Bye, Sue." My mom and Emily chorused. Leah and I exchanged glances, and my eyes flickered to Emily. We finished our cake and went back to my room.
For the rest of the time at my house, we listened to music, hung out with Jacob, Quil, and Embry, and watched "The Last Song." At 9:30, I packed my LOVE Pink duffel bag with my hair straightener, make up, deodorant, perfume, tooth brush, tooth paste, a pair of skinny jeans, a tube top, strapless bra, and a pair of panties.
We headed down the hallway, and I put on a pair of black flip-flops.
"K, I'm leaving." I called to my mom.
"Bye, mija!" My mom called out the door. Leah put on her shoes that were on my porch. We crossed my driveway and a big lawn that belonged to no one to reach Leah's house. In her driveway, there was a Lexus and a Hyundai Sonata.
"That's my brother's car." She pointed to the Lexus. "I guess you will get to meet him."
"Oh…" A volcano of butterflies erupted in my stomach. I followed Leah to her front door. She opened it.
"You can put your bag on the stairs for now." She took it from me and set it on the bottom step.
"Hello? Seth!" Leah called.
"Yeah, I'm in the kitchen!" He called back. More butterfly lava oozed in my stomach. I swallowed hard.
I followed her down a hallway that led to the kitchen. Seth had his back turned and was fixing a cupboard.
"Seth, this is the new girl, Abril Martinez." Leah introduced me. He laughed.
"Martinez?" He asked.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Where were you born?" He asked, screwing a screw into the hinges on the cupboard.
"Argentina…" I replied.
"You must be pretty." He said back. I blushed and took him in. He was wearing a black T-shirt and khaki shorts. He was tan and had dark brown hair that would probably be dirty blonde in the sunlight. He was muscular and tall. His voice was breathtaking as well. All I needed was to see his face.
"Thanks." I whispered. Leah sat down at a table that was next in front of a sliding glass door.
"All done!" He said, shutting the cupboard. He turned around and looked at me. His pupils dilated, his mouth opened slightly, and he dropped his screw diver. He grabbed the counter top with a pale face and a shaky hand.
"Are you okay? You look like you're gonna throw up…" I said, staring in his golden-green eyes. He laughed.
"You are just really pretty." He replied, smiling. I could have sworn he whispered, "Finally" under his breath.