AN: Since this takes place in high school for Flaca, I really wanted to put Cat and Ian in the story as well 😊 The chapters are short but I hope you still enjoy them.

Chapter One – The Money

Cat hadn't been prepared for a trip to Ohio but when her best friend said that she needed her, Cat wanted to be with her. Marisol was the best and closest ally that she had ever had and Cat didn't need much of a reason to skip school if Marisol said she needed her. After all, knowing how they lived at home, it was a relief that she had someone who understood the trouble. They were only known as two goth girls at school but Flaca was her bestie.

"So, you really think your great auntie or whatever wants you to collect a hundred dollars in Ohio?" Cat asked as she sat with Flaca on the train. She stared out of the window and Flaca let her head push back into the seat.

"She's not my aunt or anything, she's just some lady that me and my mom knew when I was a kid. She said her life savings but man, she must have had most of it taken to pay off her store, like it was really like kind of little so she must have only like coins to give me or something," Flaca sighed as she closed her eyes but Cat shook her head.

"I doubt it's just coins. I mean, it's not like she hated you or anything, right?" she asked and Flaca sighed.

"No but these old ladies sometimes when they like get off their meds they become hella crazy," Flaca commented as the train started moving again. She sighed before turning to her best friend and squeezed her hand. "I'm real glad that you came with me, Cat. I'd be scared to do it alone."

"You don't need to thank me," Cat said as she gave Marisol a quick side hug. "That's what best friends do. We need to do these things together."

"Well, I'll tell you what, if it isn't just coins I'll take us to dinner, your choice," Flaca suggested and Cat laughed before adjusting her beanie.

"I'll get on board with that," she said before looking to her best friend once again. "Have you been able to tell Ian yet?"

"He doesn't wanna hear about some bunch of coins when he's got his own game. I mean, what is it supposed to be, some kind of a joke. I don't want to hear him say that I'm not smart by going to see what this old woman left me. He says he wants to take care of me but that doesn't mean that sometimes I don't want to get him a gift, right?"

"Yeah," Cat nodded before the train started again and Flaca let her head rest on Cat's supportive shoulder.

…

Flaca took a step back as she looked at the executor of the will. No way. She blinked in surprise, "No, no, there has to be some kind of mistake because that is just way too much…" she said and the man watched her.

"We checked with all of the wills and her estate even with some of her friends. Everything checks out. It seems that you left a lasting impression on her Miss Gonzales," the man said and Cat smiled to Flaca. Flaca took a step backwards, still in shock to be presented with the money. Was the world crazy? She had just been given thirty-two million dollars.

"That's a hell of a lot of money," Cat grinned, "You best be taking me somewhere real nice."

"Uh, yeah," Flaca nodded as she stared at the man. She had no idea that that little old lady was sitting on such a gold mine. Why didn't she franchise or use the money on herself? She could have caught a real good husband and had some kids of her own. Well, she wondered how much she would get after the government took half of it away as taxes.

"That's after the appropriate taxes and fees have been deducted as well," the man said and Flaca looked to Cat. This must be some kind of a scam. This kind of fortune didn't fall into anyone's lap like this, especially into the lap of some poor Latina high schooler.

"You'll have to have a guardian sign for this as well, your mother I'm assuming," the man said and Flaca nodded. She'd probably give her mother half of it and keep half for herself. It would be able to provide for both her mom and her brother in ways that she hadn't before thought were possible. She could even have a happy future with Ian which would be hella dope.

Cat squeezed Flaca's shoulder in excitement and they both squealed. Nobody would have seen this happening and now they could both enjoy some time together. Flaca would definitely take care of Cat.

…..

…

A week later, the money had cleared and Flaca was treating Cat to some shopping and some drinking at a local bar. Cat had been nervous about them getting in but Flaca had insisted that because they were hot and because she could bribe them, they wouldn't deny her entry. They had given her a table and Marisol was dancing to the music that was playing.

"You know," Cat laughed, "You don't stop. You never stop."

"I mean, how can I?" Flacca asked, "We have these killer clothes and we just had a great day and we're here and everything is just moving," she said before her eyes focused in on one of the girls in the bar. She had no idea who she was but something really interested Flaca about her. She saw the woman coming over to the table and stared at Cat.

"You two, uh…you know you're not allowed to be here, right? I mean, what are you guys, thirteen? Fifteen?" she asked and Cat nervously drew back but Flaca continued to gaze into the other woman's eyes.

"We got in the door, I mean, do you really need to be like that? Kicking us out? We just want to experience a good time," Flaca argued and the waitress sighed.

"Oh no, honey, I'm not going to kick you out. My main interest is keeping you in here but I don't know, some of these bartenders they can be a bit more nervous when it comes to keeping their jobs. I mean, most of them have like that fatherly protective instinct about them, real men tend to have that. They might think their lives would be easier if you left," the woman said and Flaca pulled out her wallet, drawing a hundred dollar bill from it.

"How about I give you this and me and my friend stay?" she asked and the waitress took the money. She pouted her lips.

"Thank you, sweetie," she said and Flaca looked at her closely. Who had taught her how to do makeup like that? She stood as Cat seemed to get more nervous and insecure with Flaca leaving her side. Flaca walked over to the woman who had just left their table and smiled.

"You have great makeup skills," she said and the woman turned to her. "You give classes? I mean, I look fly, but I've wondered if I could actually look prettier and you are way prettier than me."

"Classes?" the woman asked blinking, "Yeah. I'll give you a class. Uh, how about we meet for thir—forty-five minutes somewhere and it'll be about two hundred dollars for a lesson and all of the supplies. How about that?"

"Definitely good with that one, can my friend come too?" Flaca asked gesturing to Cat.

"Uh yeah, yeah, how about four hundred for both of you," she said, "Cash up front because of the supplies that are needed." She said quickly and Flaca pulled out four crisp bills. The woman looked at her before taking the money, "This isn't stolen or anything like that?" she asked and Flaca shook her head. "Great, here's my phone number and can I get yours?" she asked. Flaca wrote it down for her before taking the card.

"Your name's Maritza?" she asked before grinning, "I like it."