Day 15:
The auditorium was filled with the students who had been cast in the musical. It was their first rehearsal and Zoe made sure to get a front row seat. Grace stood on the stage confidently and the Latina couldn't help but smile. Her girlfriend had been in a good mood since their first time. 'Girlfriend,' Zoe thought. Grace was actually her girlfriend.
Zig slipped into the seat beside Zoe and she looked over at him with curiosity. He seemed to be on edge, especially the way his fingers were tapping against his knee as he sat there. Zoe sat up higher in her seat, clearing her throat in the process.
"So I guess you're my Tony," she said, searching for something interesting to say to him. He jumped a little in his seat. It was odd, but Zoe didn't think too much of it.
Zig sighed and nodded, his face relieved. "I guess I am," he agreed, though it sounded more like a sigh. Zoe was officially curious of what was bothering him but it really wasn't her place to ask.
Instead of mentioning it, she let out an awkward laugh. "You know what that means?"
He raised his eyebrow. He seemed to think she was being serious and she just laughed.
"I can help you learn to kiss Maya right," she said. He shook his head and chuckled a little. She hadn't paid much attention to Zig after their brief flirtation; however, she had noticed he hadn't been smiling much lately. Even when he sat at lunch with Maya or was talking to Grace. He always looked distant and worried. Like someone was going to pop up and get him.
They laughed together before falling into companionable silence. It was only a few minutes before Grace took a deep breath and started talking.
"Alright, assholes. This is West Side Story," she began and Zoe looked up at her with admiration. Grace looked down at her feet while she thought of something else to say. Zoe sent her good vibes with her mind, though the girl wasn't actually looking at her.
Grace continued. "So we're just gonna go through our first read-through, songs included. If you don't know, that means you need to look it up. You can all get out of here when it's over, alright?"
She passed out scripts and Zoe took one from her, their hands meeting. "You're doing well," she whispered, but Grace didn't really recognize it openly. She did smile softly and Zoe took that as acknowledgement.
Once everyone had received their scripts, she returned to the stage. Zoe opened hers up and leafed through until she found Maria's first lines. There was no singing but it was just she, Anita, Chino, and Bernardo. She looked around the auditorium to find Frankie first, then Winston. They were on separate sides, seeing that they hadn't completely gotten over their feud. She instantly knew they would be a bitch to work with for the weeks to come.
They progressed through the read-through at an even pace. Some parts dragged for Zoe and she flipped through the script to find her lines. She looked over at Zig during the scenes between them. She feared they would clash but they actually sounded pretty good together. It made her even more optimistic for how the musical was going to go.
When the rehearsal had ended, Grace told them they could all go home. Zoe shoved the script into her backpack. Her girlfriend told her that she would have to stay late to do some work on the stage. It would feel weird walking home alone but she figured it would just be like old times.
She was leaving the auditorium when she saw Zig again. A thought filled her head and she jogged over to him. "Hey, you wanna walk me home?" she asked.
Zig looked around, like he was searching for someone. It made Zoe question where Maya might be. She hadn't seen her all day and maybe that meant she hadn't come to school. So if Maya wasn't there, who was he looking for? She didn't peg Zig for a cheater so he must have been looking for someone important.
He sighed and returned his eyes to Zoe. "Huh?"
"Do you want to walk me home?" she repeated. Zig nodded with realization, as if remembering what she had said.
"Sure. Why not?" he said, casually. Zoe grinned and they left the building through the herd of other cast members. They passed by Miles' car where Frankie and Lola were talking. They paused their conversation to walk over to Zoe and Zig quickly.
"Zoe!" Frankie said, stopping her short sprint. Zoe turned to look at them while inquisitively.
"We're having a post rehearsal party at my parent's restaurant," Lola informed them, flashing Zig her sticky-sweet flirtatious smile. He didn't really seem to notice.
Zoe looked up at him and snapped to get his attention. "You wanna go?" she asked.
He nodded. "Sure. Let's do it."
The two girls smiled wide and Lola did a little clap. "Awesome!" she said, excited. "Miles is driving us but I don't think there's enough room in the car."
"We'll just walk there," Zoe informed them. Zig nodded in agreement. The group parted with quick goodbyes. Zoe and Zig continued down the sidewalk towards Lola's Cantina.
"Are you okay?" Zoe asked as they ventured further. He looked down at her with fearful eyes. She had never seen him look scared and it created unrest within her. Seeing someone like Zig upset was something she didn't know how to deal with.
"I lost some product I was moving," he admitted. It took Zoe a second to figure out what he was saying. When she understood, she looked at him with disgust.
"You're doing that shit again?" she asked with more exasperation than anger.
"I don't want to!" he retorted, looking around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. There was no one around them, but his shoulders remained tense.
"Then why are you selling again?"
He heaved another deep sigh that took over his whole body. "I got Vince locked up and they're looking for payment. They'll hurt Maya if I don't do this. But I lost it and I have two days or I'm fucked."
Zoe didn't want to get back into this. With Zig, nothing was easy. That was why she was too hesitant to be in a real relationship with him. Right when this shit was over, it came back with a vengeance. She just hoped Maya didn't get caught in the crossfire this time.
"How much do you need?" she asked with a sigh of her own.
"Ten grand?" he said in almost a whisper. Zoe's eyes widened.
"How did they expect you to move that much in a week?" she asked, skeptically.
Zig shook his head. "They gave me half a kilo. They want me dead and this gave them a reason."
There was a silence between them as they continued to walk. Zoe didn't have anything else to say. She was scared for him and scared for Maya. There was no way Zig could possibly make that much money in two days. She felt like she had to do something but remained stuck. Zig and Maya were in trouble and she was completely powerless to help them.
They reached Lola's Cantina and it was full with the cast members. Zoe looked up at Zig, who still looked stressed. "Let's just go in and act normal. I'll try to think of something, okay?"
Zig nodded and they walked into the building. Everyone was enjoying themselves but Zoe still felt scared for Zig and now herself. When she felt someone tap her shoulder she jumped. She turned and saw Tatiana smiling at her with a wide grin.
"Hey there princess."
Maya starting feelng ill the night before. Her stomach was churning and all she wanted was to crawl under her blanket. Her mom brought her some peppermint tea before she went to bed but it was no help. She fell asleep eventually and woke up feeling even sicker. After complaining to her mom, she called her in at school and told her to stay in bed. She did just that, falling asleep the second her head hit the pillow.
It was noon by the time she woke. She had texts from Zig saying he missed her and one from Grace saying it was cool that she missed rehearsal. Maya didn't know why she had to get the flu right before rehearsals started. This was her musical and she was already missing it. Hopefully this was just a twenty-four hour thing and would blow over by the next morning.
She laid back on her bed and looked at the ceiling. She didn't have a fever like she thought she might. When she closed her eyes again, she fell into something that wasn't exactly sleep. She didn't snap out until she had rolled off her bed and hit the floor with a hard thud.
"Oof!" Maya yelled, rubbing her head. She moved her blanket, which was still wrapped around her. As she moved it, she saw something underneath her bed. It was plastic and had two rubber bands tied around it. She extended her arm forward and grabbed it. It was a bit heavier than she thought it would be and figured there was something inside it.
She started to remove the rubber bands and the plastic rolled open. Baggies filled with pills fell out. Maya's eyes widened and she sifted through the bags. There were thousands of dollars worth of drugs just lying on her floor. She took a deep breath and knelt with shock.
She wanted to text Zig but she was scared. What if these were his drugs? What if he was back into the gang scene? He had been doing so good recently it seemed almost impossible. It must've been a mistake. Maybe someone had slipped them into her backpack. They could have slid out and under her bed on accident. That had to be it. There was no way Zig was back into dealing again.
Maya looked around as if someone was spying on her. She pushed all of the drugs back into the package and rolled it up like she found it. She was about to roll it under her bed when she hesitated. She couldn't just have drugs stashed under her bed. If she knew one thing, it was that if this went missing someone was going to pay. And if these were Zig's, that meant he would get hurt.
She was in a blind panic as she held the plastic in her hand. This was an actual life or death situation. She had to accept the idea that she needed to help someone out. If they were slipped into her bag, they wanted her to get hit because of it. What would happen if someone tried to find her and saw all their money just lying there? She needed to do something. But what could she do?
Maya paced her room, all of her stomach pain completely forgotten. She debated what she should do. She thought and thought for hours, too scared to text Zig and ask if they were his. She finally realized she didn't want to hear him say they were his. She didn't want to know that he was back into this life when they had all worked so hard to get him out. It would feel like everything was for nothing and that he was keeping secrets all over again.
If it was Zig's, she especially had to help him. She didn't want someone looking for him. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if they got a hold of him. It was up to her. She had to be the hero and fix this for him. He had saved her more than once. Now she had to save him.
A voice in the back of her head was telling her to sell them. She could figure out who Zig would have sold them to. It wasn't impossible. After all, she was an unassuming blonde girl. No one would expect that she was a drug dealer. It looked easy enough. She would do it until she got all the money. When that happened, she would give it to Zig and they could leave all of this behind them.
Zig feared for Zoe as Tatiana drug her away. He knew Tatiana had a history with the gang and was overall bad news. But Zoe gave him a look that said they would talk later and that she trusted the other girl. He watched as they disappeared into the crowd. When he couldn't see them anymore, his sense of panic returned. He needed to find a way to come up with ten grand in two days. It was absolutely impossible and soon Rodney would come after him.
The music in the cantina was blaring and people's voices were echoing in his head. The room was spinning and he needed to get out as soon as possible. He left the room and pulled a cigarette out in the process. He took a long drag and looked up to see Lola, Frankie, and Miles getting out of Miles' car. Rodney was by the car and Lola greeted him with a kiss. Zig barely knew Lola but he was already worried for her. He knew what Rodney was capable of and what came of all his past girlfriends.
Lola, Frankie, and Rodney retreated into the building and Miles stayed outside. Zig didn't know how else he could get to Lola so he decided to swallow his pride and talk to Miles. He walked over and Miles looked him over inquisitively.
"What do you want?" Miles asked, his voice already irritated. Zig offered him a cigarette as a peace offering. The rich boy looked at it for a skeptical moment and grabbed it once he deemed it safe. Zig lit it and waited for Miles to take a drag before speaking.
"I need to tell you something about Lola," he said. He was about to continue but Miles waved his hand to cut him off.
"I'm not her keeper," he said, smoking leaving his nose as he exhaled.
"But she's friends with Frankie," Zig pressed. Miles looked up at him with an exhausted expression. It reminded Zig why he didn't talk to Miles ever. He was an asshole despite when Zig was trying to be nice and help someone out.
Miles took another quick puff of his cigarette. "I'm not her keeper either," he flicked the ash and looked away as if searching for another conversation that was better than this. Zig groaned, exasperated.
"Just listen to me?" he said like it was a suggestion.
"Fine," Miles said, gesturing a little and insinuating that he had until he finished his smoke.
"That guy Lola is dating is a bad guy. You should tell Frankie to tell her."
Miles laughed out loud and dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out. "You are an idiot. I am not talking to my sister about her friend's relationship."
"This is important!" Zig insisted.
"Fuck. Off," Miles told him and walked away from him, disappearing into the cantina. Zig groaned when he was inside and kicked the wall. It seemed that whenever he tried to do something good recently it got fucked up. Now he was still down ten grand and knew that another girl was going to be a victim of Rodney's wrath. He didn't want to see what would happen to Lola, since he knew she wouldn't trust him if he went straight to her.
He took some deep breaths, trying to calm his anger in the way Jose had taught him too. It didn't seem to be working even though he continued to take extreme deep breaths. While he was doing so, he turned and saw Miles car sitting there. It was just out in the open and he hadn't seen him lock it. It was new and it must have been expensive. He could easily sell it for ten thousand dollars.
He flicked his cigarette away and with a quick look, walked to Miles' car.
Miles entered Lola's Cantina after the strange exchange with Zig. He didn't know what was going on with him recently but he honestly didn't care enough to ask. Now he had to deal with being at a party he didn't really want to go to. He had asked his sister and Lola to walk to the cantina but Frankie gave him that whiny-pouty face that made him finally give in. All the musical kids were flocked around and he felt completely out of place.
He walked to the back of the room and leaned against the wall. He hoped that he could just sit back there until Frankie was ready to go home. Everyone else seemed to be so invested in their conversations that they wouldn't even notice him. He was already wishing he would have grabbed another cigarette from Zig.
Miles stood there until his knees were starting to ache. Right when he was going to go find Frankie and tell her to wrap it up, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Tristan looking at him with the incredibly goofy smile that secretly made Miles love him.
"Hey there," Tristan said, his voice different than usual. It was more slurred and didn't have its usual diction. Maybe it was the roar of people that skewed his sense of hearing.
"Hi," Miles returned. He still didn't know where he and Tristan stood. They were talking and that talking always seemed to morph into flirting. Did that mean he still had feelings for Tristan? Or maybe it meant that he and Tristan were meant to be friends.
"Why are you here?" Tristan continued, sounding a little more confused than he should be. Miles was starting to get concerned about him, though he decided to remain unaffected. Saying something would sound like he cared too much. Like he wanted to be there for him officially.
"Franks made me drive her here," he answered. Tristan leaned against the wall and started laughing. It was a disturbing kind of laugh that officially freaked Miles out. Something was definitely wrong with him.
Miles grabbed his shoulder. "Tris, are you feeling okay? You look a little…out of it."
Tristan turned to him and this time he looked heavily offended. Where that face came from Miles had no clue. He was only looking out for his ex's well-being and now he looked like he was pissed off. It begged the question of what could Miles do that wouldn't piss someone off. Even when he was trying to be helpful people still remained angry with him.
"I'm fine," Tristan said in the voice that clearly meant he wasn't fine. Miles looked at him closer.
"Are you…high?" he asked, shocked by this discovery. He obviously wasn't smoking weed since he couldn't smell it and this seemed like a different kind of high. He wasn't just relaxed. He was relaxed and looked like he might actually pass out sometime soon.
Tristan's eyes widened in forced disgust. He was trying to look like he was offended, but Miles could see the lie inside them. He was going to allow the lie. He didn't want to but he knew that if he tried to fight Tristan even more, it would push him away. For some reason, that was the opposite of what he wanted.
"You're judging me for being high?" Tristan asked with disbelief. "I knew you were high the entire time we were together and you think you have the right to judge me? I did everything to help you and you wouldn't let me. I don't need your help, Miles. And don't you dare judge me for doing the same thing you did for our entire relationship."
Miles didn't get a chance to rebut because Tristan turned on his heel and walked away from him as fast as he could. The rich boy groaned, officially deciding they were leaving. He pushed through the crowd until he found Frankie and Lola talking.
"C'mon Frankie. We're leaving," he demanded while grabbing her arm. She was irritated but said a quick goodbye to Lola.
"Hey!" Frankie exclaimed when they were outside. She rubbed her arm where he had been holding her. "I was-"
Miles cut her off. "Where's my car?"
They both looked around for his car but it was nowhere to be found. Miles remained calm for a brief minute before punching the outside wall so hard he broke the skin on his knuckles.
Grace had to finish cleaning up the auditorium before she could go to the party at Lola's Cantina. By the time she walked in the place was crowded and people were talking loudly over each other. She looked around for Zoe, the only person she really got along with at the musical. She would hang out with Maya but she texted her that she was sick so it was up to her to find her girlfriend. With so many people in one place, it was hard to pick out that head of beautiful brown hair.
She was finally able to pick out Zoe from the bright pink shirt she was wearing. Grace approached her but slowed when she saw Zoe talking to another girl. She recognized her almost instantly. She was one of the girls that Zig and Tiny would 'hang out' with. She immediately feared for Zoe and walked over there as quickly as she could.
She wrapped her arms around Zoe's waist, making the brunette jump. Tatiana looked up at Grace and gave her an expression that said she knew who Grace was. "Hey babe," Grace said, kissing Zoe's temple.
Zoe looked up at Grace with a look of something that appeared to be guilt. "Hey," she said in a voice that matched the expression. She grabbed Grace's hands and looked back down to Tatiana.
"Grace, right?" Tatiana asked, deciding she had to hold her dominance in the conversation. Grace and Tatiana eyed each other careful as if seeing if they could stack up against one another.
"Yeah. Tatiana," Grace didn't say her name like a question. Zoe looked between the two girls and cleared her throat.
"You know each other?" she asked, attempting to change the conversation but actually fueling it.
"We've met a few times," Tatiana answered. There was a silence between them and Zoe continued to look between the two girls.
"Well, that's good. Tati and I were just talking about the musical," she told Grace. Hearing the nickname made Grace tense with jealousy and then anger. Tatiana was an expert manipulator. She didn't want to see Zoe fall prey to her.
"Yeah," Tatiana began. "I think it's cool that you cast her as the lead even though she's your girlfriend. Good choice."
The sarcasm in her voice made Grace clench her fists. She was about to give a scathing retort when Rodney approached her. She knew him very well. They had talked a few times and she thought he was a pretty good guy. That was until she figured out what he was doing to Zig and Tiny. She immediately blacklisted him and hadn't spoken to him since.
Rodney whispered something into Tatiana's ear and she straightened up. "I have to go," she said almost instantly. She didn't give as much as a goodbye before following him and a kid with glasses into the back room.
"You should stay away from her," Grace told Zoe as she spun her around in her arms. Zoe put her hands on her upper arms and furrowed her brow.
"What's your problem with her?" she asked.
Grace sighed a long sigh. "She's just a bad person. She seems all nice but she's not. Trust me on this."
"Well, she's nice to me. I think we're going to be friends," Zoe reasoned.
"But you don't want to hang out with her, okay?"
Zoe nodded, though she still looked angry. "Fine. I guess I only need pre-approved friends."
"Don't be like that, Rivas," Grace pushed some of the brunette's hair away from her face. She was so beautiful and all she wanted to do was kiss her then and there. She wanted to keep her safe from what was to come if she remained friends with Tatiana.
"I can handle myself. I promise," Zoe comforted, giving her the huge puppy eyes that made Grace melt. She took a deep breath, still upset about the whole ordeal. Zoe could handle herself though. She had proved that in the past. She was smart as well. She wouldn't let Tatiana manipulate her.
Right?
Tristan left the party the second he finished his fight with Miles. He was coming down from the high he had reached right before he went to rehearsal. He had been taking the pills Dougie gave him. They took his anxiety away and that seemed like a good thing. It also made him feel really good whenever he took them. Like he was completely stress free.
As his high waned, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the baggie. It was completely empty. He had not realized he had used all five pills. He didn't know how he had done it but he was craving more. He had to find Dougie and get some more. How much money could it be?
Just as he thought of it, he saw Dougie hanging outside Lola's Cantina. His friend Rodney had been working there since the end of the summer and he heard they liked to hang out there when he worked. Rodney was working that afternoon so there was Dougie. Tristan walked over to him shyly.
"Hey Dougie?" he said as he approached him. Dougie looked at him, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"You back?" he asked, kicking off the wall. "How'd those pills treat you?"
Tristan wasn't there for the small talk. He cleared his throat. "I want more. How much will it cost?"
Dougie sighed. "For five pills again? One-fifty."
"One-fifty?"
"One-hundred fifty dollars," Dougie clarified, his voice sounding mildly irritated. Tristan's eyes practically bugged out of his head. One-hundred fifty dollars could only afford pills that he had already finished in four days.
"I can't…I can't afford that," he said with distress. Dougie rolled his eyes.
"Well, one-fifty or fuck off," he looked away, disinterested. Tristan looked around frantically, trying to think of some way to make this up for him. He could get one-fifty by the next day. He would just have to do okay overnight. He didn't know if he could really handle it, but he had to.
"Fine. Tomorrow. I'll bring you your money tomorrow," he promised.
"Well, buy now and it'll be one-seventy-five," Dougie insisted. Tristan contemplated. Fifteen dollars. He could get an extra fifteen dollars before school the next day. He nodded and Dougie sighed again.
"We have some stuff in the back. Just wait here," he told him and Tristan nodded. Dougie walked away and Tristan leaned against the wall.
He didn't know what he was doing. How had he let this happen to him? He wasn't an addict; that was for sure. He just enjoyed something to take the edge off his anxiety. At least that's how he was able to make it sound okay in his head.