Happy Halloween peeps! Have fun and be safe!
fête-party
Warning: verbal bullying and threats
After they've been searched, Blanca, Karla, Nicky, Shani, Taystee, Poussey, Allison, Flaca, and Maritza are all linking arms as they stroll into the courtyard. "The security at this school is insane," Karla comments. "You'd think it's where I used to go, El Aleph in El Salvador...there were a few shootings and thirty-six boys died, all because they didn't want to join gangs! To think I was gonna teach there..."
Blanca frowns. "Oh no, that's scary! Good thing you got out just in time."
"Mm-hm," the others agree.
"What I was getting at is that it seems so tame here...there isn't even graffiti completely covering the walls and lockers like there was at my old school. I swear, you wouldn't even know it was a place of learning. Everyone's pretty chill at Martin Van Buren High..."
"Yeah, except the new director and his vice principal," Allison mutters.
"Too bad Caputo was fired just for getting rid of Ratman," Taystee mumbles.
"Hellman really lives up to his last name," Shani points out.
"You tellin' me! I heard Fig's much nicer now, but they still decided to replace her with Lin-dumbass Fuckerson," Poussey grumbles.
"Yo, that's right, and it turns out the cunt's screwing one of the new fools hired to work here. He's starting today, along with another asshole," Taystee reports.
"They seriously don't trust the students? Did you have real live gangsters coming here before or something?" Karla wants to know.
"No, not really, it was more that I used to be addicted to heroin and this horrible former teacher, Piss-cuntella, he caught me with a stash and sent me to jail. He ordered the Breathlyzer tests and pat-downs, and even though he was fired and thrown behind bars, Hellman and Lin-dumbass still enforce the stupid rules," Nicky informs her.
"I never pegged you for a junkie," Karla tells the blonde.
"Welcome to Nicky two-point-oh. I'm new and improved!" Nicky gestures to herself. "Yeah, this high security is all my fault. Sorry, girls."
"Well, it's great you're sober now. I was hoping you'd eventually kick the habit because it wasn't good for you...I was always worried I'd lose you," Shani murmurs.
"Yeah, I'm relieved I'm on a better path now."
"Well, well, well...look who it is." The girls glance up to see Carol's crew strolling into the area, all dressed mostly in blue. Ouija and Pidge are with them, but Flaca assumes they're just hanging out with Zirconia. "Blanca the Beast has betrayed us," Badison continues. She sounds so much like Piper.
"What did you just say?" Blanca asks, narrowing her eyes at the nasty blonde.
"You heard me, cookie." Badison puts her arms around Ouija and Pidge. "You roll with Douche-Block now? Carol's gonna gut your insides like a fish! Where's your mega hairy boyfriend to protect you?" The group behind Badison snickers.
"Hey knock-off Piper, shut the fuck up!" Flaca yells. "Same goes for the rest of y'all!"
"Yeah, we went to Blanca's quinceañera and shit. We're her friends!" Maritza chimes in.
"Nobody is taking this tribe thing seriously except Carol, Barb, you idiots, Daddy, and the rest of her brainless crowd," Nicky states.
Charlene scoffs. "Oh, be quiet, Douche-Block garbage."
"Hell to the no! You did not just call her that!" Shani hollers.
"Just leave us alone," Allison snaps.
Shruti raises a small pocketknife in the air and shakes it, her eyes gleaming with hatred. "I can and will use this."
"Yeah, you tell those cunts!" Marie encourages her.
"Pound and stab 'em into dust!" Raquel adds.
Karla stands in between the two quarreling groups, her face stoic as she leans on her crutches. "Listen to me, you touch any of them-"
Nicole sniggers and saunters up to Karla. "That's a really cute threat, but considering how you're way shorter than anyone here and you're a cripple, your words mean nothing and you can't scare us. Don't make Badison kick those out of your hands. You'll go splat immediately." She and Karla stare each other down until Blanca pulls Karla back.
"Hold up, we know most of these chicas," Ouija cuts in and sidesteps Badison and Nicole. "Nichols, you found someone new to crawl into your love cave, huh?"
"I would've actually gone with love hole-" Nicky begins, but Ouija ignores her and turns to Blanca.
"B, Pidge and I were gonna come to your party, but-"
"Save it. I don't wanna hear your excuses," Blanca interrupts Ouija. "You three didn't show, end of story. I thought we were tight because you ratted out Piper to Diane for me, but maybe you only did it to feel good about yourself. I don't think any of you ever gave a shit about me." Blanca gives out a weak, humorless chuckle.
"Por favor, tonta, you left us! You and Maria both did, for Chapstick's group she left behind!" Pidge insists, and Ouija nods vigorously in agreement. "Ain't that right, Z?"
"Yeah." Zirconia punches her right fist into her left palm and grins creepily, showing off her full set of grills. "You're pretty much dead to us."
"Joke's on you, though, because I don't think anyone actually came. It wasn't like, the talk of the morning or anything. You probably just had a lame-ass familia fiesta with a few friends." Badison cackles wickedly. "Not so popular now, eh, Proof of Evolution?"
Blanca steps up to Badison while glowering at her. "Gringita, you need to sit on the toilet? I'm only asking because you're full of shit!"
"Oooohhhh!" Karla calls out as Flaca and Maritza cheer and high-five Blanca. "Yeah, you really are, puta."
Badison's friends start giggling until she turns around and pushes Nicole into Raquel, who quickly catches the brunette.
"That was a sick burn!" Nicky exclaims and both she and Shani snicker together.
"Go, Blanca, it's your birthday," Taystee sings. "Literally!"
"Not anymore it ain't," Badison snottily counters Taystee. She gets in Blanca's face again and smirks. "No one came to your party because you're an ugly loser and you smell bad. At least that's what Piper told me. She and I were close back in the day, and we talked all about you."
"I care more about the quality of my friends than the quantity I have. My unibrow is gone. You have no right to make fun of me-"
"It'll come back, don't you worry." Badison pouts and pokes the area between Blanca's perfect eyebrows. "Boop! Untamed body hair grows out. You'll be lookin' like a chimpanzee soon enough." Badison mimes a dancing monkey. "Ooh, ooh, ah, ah!" She simpers, looking pleased with herself while Blanca just stands there this time, not saying anything. "Aww, are you gonna cry now, little baby?" The blonde bitch pouts and runs a finger down her own cheek as if it's a tear. "You have a large mole on the center of your chin, too, you disgusting freak."
"Can it, pendeja!" Flaca snaps. "Our girl just had the best, most amazing party of her life. Whoever wasn't there don't count."
"She and her boy got pre-engaged, pretty much. How many dudes you got, besides the cocks you put in your mouth just for a good time, huh?" Poussey asks rhetorically.
"Mm-hm, how's your face, Miss Catty?" Taystee wonders aloud.
"The hell-"
Taystee punches Badison to the ground before she can say another word. Blanca appears to be relieved, but still deflated. At the sight of Badison's bloody face as she writhes on the pavement in agony, Flaca and Maritza crack up and the others join in. Badison's friends kneel around her. Blanca continues to stay silent.
"Come on, chica, let's go," Karla murmurs. Maritza and Flaca take each of Blanca's arms and lead her away from the mean girls, and Shani, Nicky, Karla, Allison, Poussey, and Taystee follow.
Blanca sniffles and blinks rapidly as her eyes fill with tears. "Thanks for hitting her, Taystee."
"No prob."
"I would die if I ever let Diablo see me like that...what she was describing," Blanca mumbles.
"Honey, no...seriously, Diablo thinks you're a damn reina! He loves you no matter what. He doesn't give a fuck if you got a little Frida Kahlo goin' on up there," Maritza assures her.
"Don't forget the mole."
"Oh, I can barely see it," Karla assures Blanca. "Diablo won't even notice, but if he did, he'd still consider you the loveliest girl on the planet."
"Neither of you can read minds. I'm not gonna risk it. I wax and pluck until my skin is smooth. I'll cover the mole with makeup. True, he doesn't care about the stubble, ain't nothin' I can do about it anyway since the hairs are too short...but in order not to lose him, I have to be pretty."
"You are beautiful, you always have been." Nicky insists.
"Mm-hm, don't be so down on yourself just because one girl with a brain the size of a pea-"
"It wasn't just her...I was the school pariah before you, Nicky, and Karla knew me, Shani," Blanca informs her. "Most of the students treated me like I was something to laugh at."
"Girl, you gotta look in a mirror every day and tell your reflection, 'I'm a damn queen!' Okay? Say that over and over again," Allison advises Blanca.
"You girls do...Diablo does it even more, and he treats me like royalty, too. I suppose I'll do some self-talk as well...so I can believe it."
"Alright," the girls murmur in unison.
The wind blows through Alex's hair as she and Michelle get out of Diane's car. Her mother is parked right next to the van that Gloria and Aleida share, and the women exit their vehicles at the same time. They exchange a group hug and then Daya leaves the van. The girls and ladies say goodbye to each other and then separate. Alex, Michelle, and Daya then walk to their high school and meet up with Lorna in front of the building, like she'd asked everyone to do.
"Where's the rest of the group?" the short brunette asks dully as Alex and Daya pull her along with them. "Nobody answered my text except you three, and y'all had boring, one-word responses."
"The truth? You pissed a lot of us off," Michelle informs her.
"I know, okay? It was a mistake...and I'm sorry."
"Nicky told me that she and the others are in the library, enjoying some peace and quiet before homeroom," Alex states.
"So, let's go there, then!"
"Okay," Daya mutters, and Lorna skips ahead of them into the school. Daya seems to freeze up when Principal Hellman passes them while shouting orders at students who are running in the halls.
Alex tosses Daya a quizzical look. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, his face is just kinda scary."
"Yeah, you're right," Alex mutters. "Some of these kids also look...old."
"Mm-hm," Michelle agrees with Alex. "Like they're starting college."
"Oh, those are just Barb's crew members!" Lorna chirps. "They're eighteen, so they can look after us."
"Yeah, they're totally harmless!" Daya exclaims brightly.
They run up to two of the girls that Alex and Michelle are referring to. One of them is dark-skinned and the other has curly blonde hair, and sunken eyes, like she's stoned. "Adeola, Tina, hi! How are you?" Lorna greets them.
They each embrace her, and then Daya. Alex is shocked. She hasn't warmed up to Carol's girls that quickly, and neither have Blanca, Michelle, or Alana.
"I'm good," the black girl responds to Lorna's question. "Just kinda bummed to be back in school. Just when we thought it was over...it's a thing we gotta go to, apparently. You?"
"Great, Adeola, thanks for asking! Just gotta say hey to my other pals."
Adeola beams at her. "Okay, lookin' forward to being your lab partner in science class."
Lorna squeals. "Can't wait!"
Tina groans while trembling and sweating. "I'm just high. This day needs to be over soon."
"You shouldn't have sucked Hellman's dick this early," Adeola scolds her. "Come on, let's stick you into a cold shower in the locker room."
"I wanted drugs!" Tina protests as Adeola drags her away. "Where the fuck is Annalisa?!"
Daya cracks up loudly as they continue to head to the library. "Adeola's hilarious, but Tina is a junkie mess, same with Annalisa. I can't really find a connection with those two. How'd you get Adeola for a lab partner, Lorna? You sure are lucky."
"I know, right?" Lorna giggles. "Barb set it up! She saw how well Adi and I hit it off at the start, and then my original lab partner disappeared somehow. So Adeola had to fill her place. I can't believe Ms. Bell agreed to let us work together! I guess because Barb explained that Adeola needed someone she knew well in her class because she has those accommodations in her IEP. They're mainstreamed, but also take a special class where they get help with homework."
"How did Polly vanish?" Alex wants to know. She's a little worried about what Barb may have done and horrified at the aspect of her fellow female students blowing the principal for drugs. "Wait, why do I care? It's Holly Hobbie." She laughs uneasily.
"Oh, Barb didn't murder her, if that's what you're thinking," Lorna says. "Probably just scared the cooze off. I wouldn't ever wish death on anybody, even an annoying bitch like her. My religion forbids it. Wrath is one of the seven deadly sins, after all. She looks like she's about to burst any moment now, so it's best that she ain't in school for a while."
"You hated Shani so much that-" Michelle begins, but Lorna waves her off.
"I'm not proud of myself. I thought on it, and yeah...I wasn't being nice." They enter the library and find Nicky sitting at a circle table with Shani, Karla, Blanca, Flaca, and Maritza. Taystee and Allison are nearby, flipping through books. Of course, Poussey is reading her favorite, Alice in Wonderland. Lorna clears her throat and they glance up. Shani appears to be nervous as she grips Nicky's hand. Karla wears a peeved facial expression, gritting her teeth. Nicky and Blanca stare at Lorna, their faces blank. Flaca and Maritza stand up and set their fists to their hips.
"I'm at a good part, so hurry the fuck up and say what you gotta say," Poussey tells Lorna roughly.
"Yeah," Taystee agrees. "Ain't nobody interrupts our book time unless they got a good reason. You damn lucky I wasn't reading Harry Potter."
"You got a sexy romance novel, can I borrow it after you're done?" Lorna asks, probably trying to lighten the mood. Taystee nods shortly.
Allison walks up to Lorna and purses her lips. "So what do you need to tell us?"
"I'm honestly so sorry for what I did to Shani." Her eyes travel to the Egyptian girl. "I really am, Shani, so please find it in your heart to forgive me. I'm workin' real hard to improve."
Shani nods. "Okay. I will forgive you, but I won't forget. We aren't friends, but I'm glad we're not enemies either. I can get along with you, though."
"Yeah, civil is good," Lorna agrees.
"Thanks for your apology," Nicky tells her, and the others nod. "I just hope you're being sincere."
"I am." Lorna turns to Blanca. "I also feel bad I caused drama at your quinces. You didn't deserve that."
"No, I didn't, and yes, you should feel guilty," Blanca agrees. "I'm happy you realize that. Thankfully, I didn't let you completely ruin my party. It was probably...no, definitely, my best one. Daya's family's stalker was horrible, but at least he got arrested almost right away. At least you didn't cause a scene in front of everyone like he did. Just don't do that to any of my friends ever again, you got it?"
Lorna stands up straighter. "I won't. I promise."
"Thanks," Blanca mutters.
"So...friends?" Lorna asks hopefully.
"Okay, truce," Nicky mumbles and then shakes Lorna's hand. Everyone else does the same.
"Hey, good news! I overheard my mom and Kubra talking and they might go to Spain together real soon, at least until a couple days before Thanksgiving!" Flaca squeals. "I'd be home alone and could throw a house party! She might even forget about my punishment if she has a good enough time! He asked her, and she practically swooned at his feet at first."
"Whoo-hoo!" Maritza cheers while clapping her hands.
"Yay, that would be great!" Lorna agrees.
"You know me, I'm always up for one of those!" Taystee pipes up.
"Yeah!" the others chime in.
"Cool! Since my place is small, it's just gonna be like...us," Flaca informs them.
"Awesome!" Nicky grins.
"So, who's gonna bring the booze and cigarettes?" Blanca wants to know. "No heroin, though, por favor. Diablo and I wanna wait 'til we're eighty for that."
"Hope you're still alive by then," Karla murmurs with a smile. She points to her pregnant belly. "None for me, though..."
A smirk crosses Shani's face. "Would your mom notice some wine or beer missing from her liquor cabinet?"
"Yeah, it's too bad we don't know anyone who's twenty-one or over," Flaca says glumly. She brightens up a few seconds later. "What about the ultra cool makeup and hair stylist who's in med school?"
"Sophia? As in the lady who's friends with Gloria and a hella responsible mom to Michael?" Daya gives Flaca a doubtful look.
Flaca sighs and rolls her eyes. "Oh yeah, forgot about that. She might tattletale..."
"Maybe your mom, Daya?" Alex wonders aloud.
Daya shakes her head and waves off the suggestion. "No fuckin' way, Aleida saw the mistakes she made with me and my siblings, she's learned from it. She's a model human being now. However...Gloria once let me have a cigarette, just to show me how bad it was. I coughed like a little bitch!"
The girls cackle loudly, despite being told to quiet down by the librarian and various students around them. "When was this?" Michelle wants to know.
"While I was grounded the first time for getting high."
"Hmm...Boo, Pennsatucky's foster mom?" Nicky suggests. "She's pretty hip, and even if she's a good mother to Pennsatucky, she understands we wanna have a good time. I'll try asking her."
"We're not all that close to either of them," Maritza points out.
Poussey beams and shrugs. "Who cares? Hooch and cigs are hooch and cigs!"
"Exactly! I hope she comes through, otherwise, I can ask Vee," Taystee offers. "Just can't do it in front of Suzanne."
"Yeah, that sounds good!" The girls all exchange ecstatic looks while bouncing in place. "I so cannot wait!" Flaca exclaims.
"Me neither, I need this!" Daya cries.
"Ain't you basically on house arrest?" Maritza asks her.
"Yeah, but that don't mean I'm not gonna sneak. I'll devise a plan with Adeola...she's got a few tricks up her sleeve and she ain't a pimp like Daddy," Daya tells them.
"I hope it goes well," Flaca says.
"Ditto. My mom tearfully begged me not to turn out like her, and I won't, since I can actually control myself."
"My mom and I had a weird talk about sex," Blanca murmurs. "It turned out okay, though, because I think she might let us fuck now. She just doesn't need to know about it."
The girls look pleased for both Daya and Blanca. "That's great!" Karla exclaims.
"Yep! Anyway, I'll ask for Adi's help, too, with the party," Lorna says, turning to Flaca. "Otherwise, make it for when Franny works. I got in trouble with her for bein' a cunt."
"You have to count on your mom actually saying yes to Kubra's offer," Shani reminds Flaca.
"Ugh, I know, dude," Flaca grumbles. She crosses her fingers behind her back and the others do, too. "I'm hoping and praying she will."
"Hey, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Brook asks as she goes up to Poussey while ignoring everyone else. Taystee gives the Asian girl a dirty look and shakes her head while Poussey hugs her girlfriend.
"Nah...where the fuck were you?" Poussey asks. "You was supposed to be my plus one at Blanca's fête!"
"Sorry, I was volunteering with Meadow...it was a last minute thing!" Brook protests, glancing between Poussey and Blanca. "She needed me, and Polly wanted to join us, and you know how much we clicked at Meadow's slumber party a while back!"
"It's alright..." Poussey grumbles.
"Is Polly really skipping school?" Alex can't resist asking.
"Yeah, it's hard for her to get around nowadays. So, I bring her all her schoolwork and homework and kinda tutor her," Brook answers and separates herself from Poussey. "I'm sweet like that."
"You are," Poussey agrees, but Alex can tell it's a halfhearted comment.
With a sigh of relief, Blanca gets off the cot in the gynecologist's office. She puts her clothes back on and shakes her head at Diablo, who looks ashamed of himself. "Realmente no es nada. El desgarro vaginal ocurrió porque de repente te sacudiste demasiado," she explains. "The bleeding should slow down in a few days..."
It's really nothing. The vaginal tearing happened because you jerked too hard all of a sudden.
"Sí...de nuevo, lo siento mucho por eso!" Diablo apologizes.
Yeah...again, I'm really sorry about that!
"I had an awkward conversation with my mom last night," Blanca tells him as they leave the room. "Ella nos preguntó si estábamos teniendo sexo. Just outta the blue!"
She asked us if we were having sex.
His eyes widen with panic and he puts his arm around her while they walk. "What did you say to her?"
"No, obviamente. Ella todavía me dio una charla sobre estar a salvo mientras lo hacía. Even if she suspects we...make love, she doesn't show it," Blanca whispers. "Maybe she knows, but doesn't care because she told me that it's what teens do and it would be normal if we did."
No, obviously. She still gave me a talk about being safe while doing it.
"Parece que le dio vuelta una nueva hoja. ¿Tal vez ella finalmente te deje dormir y yo pueda pasar la noche cuando no esté en casa?"
Sounds like she's turned over a new leaf. Maybe she'll finally let you sleep over, and I could come spend the night when she's not home?
"I hope so!" Blanca says eagerly.
As soon as they step out of the building, they make their way towards Diablo's new blue pickup truck and Blanca jumps nearly a foot in the air when she sees Carol leaning against another vehicle, her arms crossed over her chest and an angry scowl on her face. "Jesus, that lady is creepy," Diablo mutters. "¿Qué quiere ella?"
What does she want?
"I'm about to find out," Blanca hisses.
"Well, hello there, missy," Carol greets her coldly.
"You're fully aware that what you're doing is stalking me, correct? I got a right mind to tell-"
"Who, the police?" Carol glances around and scoffs. "I'm not even hurting you. I have no weapons on me whatsoever. I'm not leaving you weird gifts or even calling you incessantly. All I'm doing is running into you."
"How did you know where she was?" Diablo asks defensively. He holds Blanca and she feels secure in his protective embrace.
"I didn't," Carol insists. "I had a female problem and was just leaving, when I noticed the two of you." Her icy stare travels to Blanca. "You have been causing quite the ruckus in C Block lately...chilling with those D-bags, huh?"
"Why are you picking on only me for that? A lot of them are my friends...I knew them longer...and Alex and Alana hang out with some of your sister's group, too. Alex and Nicky are best friends, they talk every day, and newsflash, Barb works with Diane, and Diane is Alex's mother! I bet you don't give a fuck, though, because they're all white! I'm only in trouble because I'm Dominican, huh?"
"Of course not," Carol snaps. "You think you're so cute, calling me out for being a racist cunt, but I am not one at all. Alana and Alex show up to the meetings, but you don't. They're becoming friends with Badison, Zirconia, Charlene, Shruti, Marie, Raquel, and the rest, but you aren't. You ignore them-"
"Excuse me? Most of your little gang actually bullies me!" Blanca cuts in. "Especially your top minion. I don't take that shit."
"I couldn't care less. You better come to the Dairy Queen tomorrow at eight in the evening sharp, and bring Karla with you. We're playing chess."
"Or what?"
"You'll see, if you don't do as I say."
Blanca rolls her eyes, feeling courageous with her boyfriend at her side. "You're acting all threatening, but I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be," Carol snarls. She looks down at Diablo's crotch. "I'd watch his precious jewels if I were you. Badison and I eat cocks for breakfast, if you catch my drift."
Blanca gulps and attempts not to show any fear. Her heart is beating rapidly and she starts trembling, but she does her best to stay firmly on her feet without collapsing. Diablo appears to be disgusted as he, too, swallows hard. "You ain't gonna touch him!"
"Yeah, or I'll report you both for assault," Diablo states strongly.
Carol snickers to herself. "It was a joke, relax. Like I'd violate my parole, come on."
"I certainly hope you were kidding. Bye, see you tomorrow," Blanca mutters shakily and Carol waves goodbye to her. She faces Diablo and leads him to his pickup truck. "Let's go, baby."
"Yeah, we gotta leave now." Diablo assists Blanca into his truck and then gets in on the driver's side. He starts up the engine, steps on the gas pedal, and backs out of the parking lot. Blanca doesn't fully calm down until they're on the road. She's still scared of that woman, but she knows she'll be okay with at least Karla there.
"Entonces, decidí ir a España con Kubra, porque necesito un descanso de todo el drama," Theresa announces to her children as soon as they come home from school.
So, I've decided to go to Spain with Kubra, because I need a break from all the drama.
"Yes!" Flaca cheers while pumping her fist in the air. "So that means my grounding is probably rescheduled, but who cares?"
"Finally, we get to be home alone!" Marco exclaims.
"We've been waiting for this moment!" Pedro chimes in excitedly.
Theresa scoffs and shakes her head no. "Nuh-uh...I can't leave you three by yourselves for a couple of weeks! Te quedarás con tu Tía Mariana."
You're staying with your Aunt Mariana.
They groan. "Aw man, ¿por qué?" Marco whines.
"You know very well why. Ustedes son niños, menores de dieciocho años. None of you can even drive yet!"
You're kids, under eighteen.
"¡Puedo el año que viene!" Flaca contradicts her mother.
I can next year!
Theresa points at Flaca with a frown. "Tú, especialmente, necesitas que alguien te esté mirando. You're not gonna be let off that easily from your punishment. Tía Mariana will enforce it out of protection, too." She then glances at the twins. "Además, si dejara a dos niños de doce años solos en casa, ¡estaría demasiado preocupado por usted y luego recibiría Servicios de Protección Infantil en mi trasero!"
You, especially, need someone watching you. Plus, if I left two twelve-year-olds at home alone, I'd be too worried about you and then I'd get Child Protective Services on my ass!
Flaca rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest defiantly, ready to protest some more. Her brothers copy her actions. She then realizes she can't win in this situation. She doesn't want to rebel or argue and cause herself even more weeks of being grounded. "Fine," she grumbles. "We don't really have a choice anyway..."
"That's right!" Theresa says.
"Your Tía Mariana?" Maritza asks on Tuesday at lunch, and Flaca nods glumly. "The one who doesn't shave her pits?"
Flaca groans aloud. "Yes, the very same woman! Shit, I wanna give her a makeover sooooo bad, but I can't disrespect her like that. She'll tell my mom. In a way, I feel bad. She used to work for Polly's family and Polly would always complain that she was ugly and really bad at making word docs. I hate that bitch more than my tía. I don't even dislike Tía Mariana, but...it's just another person bossing me around. This is supposed to be the best time of my life, yo. Teens go against their parents, that's just what they do. They do stupid shit, too, and then learn from it. It's fuckin' normal!" She stabs her fork into a few noodles and shoves them into her mouth.
"Well, no offense Flaca, but none of us have ever gotten fucking scammed," Alex mutters. She takes a bite of her cheeseburger with a tomato inside. Some of the juice dribbles down her chin and she quickly wipes it away with a napkin.
"Nine hundred and thirty dollars, holy shit...that sure taught you never to send nudes again!" Michelle joins in.
"Yeah, didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers online, especially if they ask you for dinero?" Karla purses her lips and raises an eyebrow. "Giving out naked pictures to weirdos over the Internet is the easiest way to get blackmailed. Of course the wrong person would threaten to post your private photos everywhere!"
Flaca glares at them. "Y'all sayin' it's my fault?"
Shani dips a tater tot through ketchup and eats it. "No," she says after a quick swallow. "Just...I-I dunno. I haven't known you long enough to make judgments." She jabs Karla with her elbow and shakes her head no.
Karla puts her hands up in surrender. "Shani's right. I'm sorry, never mind what I said." She goes back to chowing down on her fish taco with coleslaw.
"Mm-hm," Flaca murmurs. "You just stay outta this. Thanks for apologizing, though, I'm glad Shani set you straight."
"You're welcome," Karla mutters awkwardly.
"Yeah...I think it would've happened to me, too," Blanca admits. "Back then, I would fall for any compliment a dude gave me. I was flattered when Joey first asked me out before knowing his true intentions."
"That motherfucker was just looking for some naive, straight girl to lure into his trap. You don't deserve all the blame, Flaca," Nicky adds. "He was a complete asshole."
Flaca smiles at Blanca and Nicky. "Thanks, chicas."
"You're welcome," Nicky tells her.
"Yeah, what she said. I'm just sayin'. You're not the only one this shit has happened to," Blanca chimes in.
"It was preventable," Daya says. "Uh...we sold dirty lingerie. That was a risk that we all decided to take." She gestures to herself, Flaca, Alex, and Lorna. "There are going to be dirty pedos online and they'll try to talk to you and take your money by slathering you with romantic words that are nothing but a bunch of lies! I don't know why you believed him...I really can't understand that. Piper told me no guy would ever go for me. That sank deep into me, so I knew for a fact that these idiots were just lookin' to make a quick buck."
"Seriously? Bitch, you got high on Oxy, made out with a pimp, and sold yourself out to Cesar! So, you got no room to talk!" Maritza hisses.
Flaca squeezes her girlfriend's hand and grins at her gratefully. "Gracias," she whispers.
"De nada," Maritza responds just as quietly.
Daya scoffs. "Whatever."
"I lived in a fantasy world and I still didn't fall in love with those creeps," Lorna pipes up, breaking the moment between Flaca and Maritza.
"That's because you had a boyfriend, puta!" Flaca snaps."¡Cállate la boca! That means shut the fuck up in Spanish, in case you weren't aware."
"That's right, and he screwed me over, too. I never gave him my money, though."
"Yeah, like, I get dangerous situations like if he held a gun to your head and demanded you give him your whole wallet, but this creep was on the other side of a screen. That's it. All you needed to do was tell your mom or any of us-" Alex starts, but then Flaca bangs her hands on the table. Everyone jumps and looks right at her.
"I fucking did!" Flaca practically hollers. "Piper found what he was writing to me, so I kinda had to confess...I thought she'd help me out, but she just insulted me instead, calling me pathetic. She didn't press me anymore on the subject after teasing me, and I felt like I couldn't go to any others about this. It was embarrassing, I thought I could handle it...I thought he'd stop if I paid him like he asked...but he didn't! I refused to let it get any closer to a thousand...I had a nervous breakdown in gym class, girls. I was powerwalking around the track with tears in my eyes...trying not to cry...because I had given up so much of my time and money...yeah, I was angry at him, but also at myself." Flaca begins to choke up and Maritza rubs her back soothingly. "Y'all gotta comprehend this. I couldn't believe it'd gotten that far. I felt like I was spiraling into a deep pit of nothin' but a black hole. The hate was flooding my veins and my positive vibe was off for a while. I was on my own with this shit! I know I should've asked for help, I'm aware I was supposed to follow my gut in the beginning when he asked for more money the second time...hell, the first..." She feels Blanca's hand wrap around hers and the rest of her friends give her sympathetic glances. "I needed to follow Piper's advice on not even giving him ten cents more. Just don't make me feel worse than I already do! You gotta be there for me."
"Okay, we will, baby," Maritza assures her and kisses her cheek.
"Yeah," the others agree.
"Good," Flaca says. "That's better."
Thank you for reading and reviewing, A Star In My Universe, VeraRose19, and Juliette!
Additional author's note, I'm writing a new story as a little side project while everyone catches up on my current fics I have up right now. I'll post it in maybe a month, just need to get the details organized. It's been in the works for 6 years now...I come back to it every now and then, changing which fandom I want to write it for. It'll be an Orange is the New Black fic, and I'm not going to change my mind again. Maybe my excitement will make me post it earlier than that lol. It's called False Expectations and here is the summary (I'm not revealing who the "she" is):
She & her children need a better life away from the demon that caused them all their misery. They lay low in an alley, so that's scary enough as it is, but then everything takes a turn again. They know they can't be apart. Nothing goes their way! Once happiness comes around the corner, there's no turning back to the pain-filled lives they used to lead.
