C10 Choreopsis
Amity sighed deeply and wearily.
She didn't know what was going on with her.
She was... Confused, upset, anxious...
Scared.
And, at the same time...
She felt happy.
Happier than she had felt in a long time.
More than when she managed to get her hands on a late release of Azura's saga.
More than when she beat her own personal record-breakers in athletics.
Even more than when Amelie invited her to hang out.
Everything was in place, her excellent grades, her relationship with her parents, her sister's return, harmony with her mental health class partner when she originally expected conflict.
And that only added to her unjustified anxiety.
She was happy.
So why was she afraid?
It was Friday in the third week of school.
And Amity had noticed herself becoming more and more comfortable being around Luz.
Luz...
It was her who made everything different.
Awkward, outbursting, giddy, problematic, spontaneous Luz.
Amazing, kind, cheerful, smiley, generous Luz.
Always Joyful Luz.
Adorable Luz.
The auburn covered her face with her hands in frustration.
The mental health class, which was delivered three times a week, almost always required them to work as a team, whether it was for hours or minutes, individual work was most unusual, and, more times than not, Amity and Luz ended up hanging out together after class.
The first time they went to the Blight mansion was... Complicated.
Her father was in his study, fortunately, but her mother and Miss Lilith were about to leave when she and Luz were walking in.
"Amity... "The blonde woman had said as a greeting, then looked at her watch. "You're a little late, why is that?"
"We had to stop by the library for some books, I gave notice to the driver."
"I see..." Piercing cobalt eyes scanned her daughter's companion, causing her to tense up. "Who is your friend?"
"M-my name is Luz Noceda Mrs. Blight!" the brunette nervously stepped forward before Amity could introduce her. "I'm Amity's partner in mental health class!"
"Noceda..." The woman repeated, stroking her chin, then turning to Lilith. "Isn't that the family that's living with your sister?"
"That's right." Lilith stated calmly. "She's Camilla's youngest daughter."
"The new administrator of the nursing department..." Amity's mother concluded.
Then she addressed the teenagers again.
"Nice to meet you Luz!" She pronounced with excessive sweetness. "My name is Odalia, Lily and I are going to the country club, behave yourselves and finish your homework early."
"Luz, does your mom know you're here? How will you get home?" Lilith interjected as the blonde woman began to walk to the door.
"My mom and Eda know I'm here, and Lola is going to pick me up when I call her."
"Alright, see you later then, have a nice afternoon girls." Lilith said saying goodbye with a smile.
Odalia stopped her walk next to the brunette.
" Cutie, you have such beautiful hair." The blonde mentioned taking one of Luz's locks between her fingers. "You should let it grow."
"Ah, thank you!" Luz replied nervously. "I'll keep that in mind."
The two women marched out the door and the young girls advanced towards Amity's room.
The auburn prayed that there would be no more surprises.
"Luuuuuuuuuz!" They heard in the distance.
Clearly God was not listening to her at that moment.
The twins approached them cheerfully at the foot of the stairs.
"Hi cutie!" they both said as they reached them.
"H-hello." She greeted nervously as her cheeks colored.
"We're busy." Amity interjected.
"Aw, Mittens." Emira began by wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.
"Just because you're a nerd who only knows how to do homework, doesn't mean Luz is too." Completed Edric imitating his twin, but with Luz, making the brunette blush even more.
Amity looked at the scene with annoyance.
" Shouldn't you be in piano lessons?" She spat at Edric.
"Unfortunately, my lesson for today was cancelled." Then she leaned into Luz's ear and whispered. "I canceled it."
The Dominican laughed softly.
Amity huffed in annoyance, while removing her sister's arm around her.
"And aren't you with your boyfriend at this hour?" she said dismissively.
"Ah, no." Emira replied waving her hand nonchalantly. "I'm done with him."
Amity and Edric reacted with surprise.
"You broke up with Gabe?" Her twin asked dumbfounded. "Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"I just did it today." Emira said with a shrug.
"Why?" Amity asked with genuine surprise.
"I didn't even like the guy." The older one said with a grimace of distaste. "I was just dating him so Mom would stop nagging me."
"You were with him for six months." Edric commented.
" He was buying me nice things." Emira replied with a sly smile and a wink.
Amity looked at her with disgust.
"And why did you break up with him just now?" Luz asked curiously, trying to get into the conversation.
Emira crossed her arms and turned her head towards the hallway leading to the entrance.
"I just... I got sick of him." She concluded with a blank stare, then smiled returning her attention to the minors. "But that doesn't matter. Dad's locked up in his study listening to AC DC."
"And that means he won't be out all afternoon." Edric continued.
"Your dad listens to AC DC?" Luz asked Amity incredulously.
Amity huffed in annoyance.
"Yeah, he doesn't let us listen to secular music, but he does, he thinks we don't notice."
Edric cleared his throat, drawing the younger girls' attention again.
"We were saying..." He continued.
"Edric and I are going to eat junk and watch a movie, do you guys want to join us?"
The twins were really trying to invite Luz, they knew Amity would never accept.
"What movie?" Luz asked excitedly.
"Mean Girls." The young man replied.
Luz gasped.
"I love mean girls!"
"No." Amity sentenced. "We have work to do."
Luz turned to face her.
"Come on Amity!" she said pleadingly. " The assignment isn't hard, and we just came from school, we could use a break."
"We can take a break when we finish the assignment." The auburn countered.
"It's important to take rest periods between the day's tasks, it improves efficiency and concentration." Amity looked at her questioningly. "My mami told me that."
The youngest Blight frowned.
"No Luz, we came here to do homework, we have to finish it first."
The Dominican girl approached her and grabbed her by the jacket, pulling her slightly.
"Come on! It's less than two hours, the task won't take us more than thirty minutes."
Amity moved to free her jacket.
"No Luz, just right you say it will take us less than thirty minutes, we can come down when we're done."
"But we're going to miss the beginning!" Luz grabbed Amity's hand this time with both of her hands, pulling her closer to herself. "Pleaaaaaaaaase?"
The twins laughed at Luz's attempts to get Amity to relax, and leaned down to be at the same level as her, facing Amity.
" Yeah Mittens." They said in unison. "Pleaaaaaaaaaaase?"
Amity was clearly annoyed, she had the refusal right on the tip of her tongue.
But Luz was making that face.
The one that made her feel like kicking a puppy if she turned her down.
The one that somehow made her forgive her.
Amity pressed her frown harder and harder.
No.
No.
No.
"Okay." She conceded at last with a sigh.
Luz jumped up and charged Amity with a hug and a squeal of glee, as the twins watched completely dumbfounded.
"Really?" Edric asked incredulously.
Amity pushed Luz away, putting her at arm's length.
"Yes, but as soon as the movie is over, we are going to my room to do our homework." Luz nodded vigorously, then, the auburn turned to her siblings. "And if you start saying the movie dialogues, I'm out of there. Got it?"
"Aw, you kill the fun." Emira said trying to recover from the surprise. "But okay, just for you Mittens."
"Let's leave our stuff in my room." Amity said directing Luz to go upstairs.
"We'll wait for you in the kitchen!" Edric replied walking away as well.
"Mary brought your favorite ice cream Mittens~!" Emira complemented cheerfully.
Luz just smiled as Amity hurried up the stairs in a less than discreet manner.
Visits to the Blight manor became frequent, all of them for schoolwork, all of them ending in recreations, whether it was reading or drawing with Luz, or watching movies and playing video games on Edric's secret console in the company of the twins.
Amity found herself getting closer and closer to her siblings.
And to Luz...
She could not forget the Friday when they stayed talking in her room until her mother arrived from the country club.
Talking with Luz about everything that made them alike and different was so easy and so fascinating at the same time, that Amity did not notice the time passing by.
And apparently neither did Luz.
Odalia had scolded Amity severely for not being ready for bed and because Luz had not gone home yet.
And the Dominican had taken the blame.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Blight!" She had said. "I forgot what no one would be home tonight! My sister is out of town and Eda and Mom went to the movies! But I already let them know I'm here, Mom's sending an Uber to pick me up."
"Uber!" Edric shouted crossing the hallway and barging into her room. "Mother, it would be so irresponsible to let Luz leave by herself at this hour!"
Odalia folded her arms and rolled her eyes.
"And what do you suggest?"
"I can gladly take her and leave her safely at the door of her house." The young man replied bowing with flourish and getting a chuckle from Luz and a huff from Amity.
Edric was taking any excuses to get to drive the car since he got his license.
Odalia was silent for a few seconds contemplating the situation.
Then she uttered a groan of annoyance.
"All right." She conceded at last. "There and back Edric, don't go anywhere else."
"Mother! I am offended that you would think of me like that!"
Odalia looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Edric stepped back with a grimace.
"Yes mother, I will return as soon as possible." He conceded with earnestness and a slightly trembling voice.
"Be careful."
"Thank you Mrs. Blight! Good night!" the brunette cheerfully waved goodbye, following Edric's footsteps.
Amity couldn't take a step forward.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere." Odalia warned. "It's bad enough I have one of my kids out at night, you're staying, and I want to see lights out in ten minutes."
Then she turned to Luz.
"I'm sorry you're seeing all this Luz." She said cordially. "But it's a school night, you must go to bed early."
"But tomorrow is sa-"
The woman's phone rang.
"Honey." She said as she answered, moving down the hallway in the direction of the dining room. "Yes, I'm home already, where are you? See you later Luz!"
Amity gave a resigned huff.
"Well, I'll see you Monday then." Luz said leaning over to kiss her cheek briefly. "See you Amity!"
Then she walked out the door.
"See you." The auburn replied in a soft voice.
Edric watched her walk by with a raised eyebrow, to follow her two seconds later.
"See you later Mittens." He said in a parting way.
AmiB:
Why did you lie to my mom?
LuzNoc:
I didn't want you to get in trouble
AmiB:
She's going to tell your mom
I'm sure she will.
You didn't have to lie for me
LuzNoc:
a
It's ok :D
I already told my mami
She has my back
Also
That's what friends are for, right?
Read at 9:19
Amity took a few seconds to respond.
AmiB:
(°°°)
'We're not friends,' she had written.
Just to delete it right away.
Were they not?
'It's a start...' She tried again.
It was?
Amity sighed, then smiled slightly.
There was no longer much point in denying their friendship being that Luz spent more time with her than any of her other friends.
Luz had listened to her more than anyone else inside her house.
And definitely more than any of her so-called friends.
She would say almost as much as the person she trusted the most.
AmiB:
I guess so
Thanks a lot
LuzNoc:
Edric just dropped me off at home!
See you on Monday!
Sleep tight uwu
AmiB:
See you Monday
Sleep tight too
:)
...
What does uwu mean?
Amity watched Luz's contact for a few seconds.
And typed a few times.
Luz took several minutes to respond.
Luz:
It's a little face!
(Luz sent an image)
On it were several keyboard codes, which underneath had the image of the faces they were supposed to mean.
Amity snorted with a smile.
She saw a figure pass in front of her room.
"Edric." She said softly.
"Yes Mittens?" he replied also in a whisper, standing in front of her door.
Amity got up from the bed and approached him.
"Thank you..." She said averting her gaze. "Uh... For taking Luz home."
Edric smiled hugely.
"You're welcome little sis." He replied rubbing her hair. "I really like her too."
Amity scoffed and pushed her brother's hand away.
"I have told you before that I don't like being touched."
Edric raised an eyebrow.
Then he grinned.
" Okay Mittens." Then he advanced down the hall. "See you tomorrow."
After that night they didn't spend much time with the twins, Odalia had received a notice that Edric hadn't made it to his last three piano lessons, and from then on he started being driven by the chauffeur, instead of going on his own.
And Emira had started taking singing lessons in the afternoons, an activity her mother had allowed her to give up, as Emira assured her that it was the only hours she could spend time with Gabriel.
Sooner rather than later, Odalia found out about their breakup, and after a brief scolding for how stupid it seemed to her that she would dump the Slim's eldest son, when he treated her like a queen, she forced Emira to return to her classes.
It was common to see Luz at the mansion.
Alador did not give more than a brief greeting when he came to see her around, and Odalia had come to question more than once why Luz came to their house so often.
Amity knew that Luz's presence did not delight them, but they seemed to be getting used to it.
Getting used to it...
Would this last the whole semester?
And yesterday.
Yesterday had been the weirdest part of all.
They had gone to a bookstore in one of the many shopping malls.
Lola had left them there promising to come back for ice cream in central park in an hour.
In the meantime, they would get the book they came for, this time, for the history subject, where the teacher preferred not to complicate his life and used the pairs already assigned by Miss Morningstar.
By now, Amity was no longer annoyed by that.
It didn't take them long to reach the gigantic bookstore, filled with test audios, interactive art pieces, and of course, books.
They allowed themselves to marvel at the multiple murals and games before going to the clerk at the counter.
He was a tall, dark-haired young man with a slender build and a gentle smile.
"'Crusades and Geography of the Middle Ages'." He said as he searched through the catalog on his computer. "And... Yup, we got it! Follow me girls!"
The young man eagerly made his way through the shelves until he found the one he was looking for in the world history section.
He took out a small volume and handed it to Luz.
He looked at it for a few moments.
"Anything else you need from this section?"
"No, thank you." Amity replied.
"Well, then let's go to the register." The young man said starting to walk.
After reaching the checkout and being quickly charged, he hesitated for a few moments as he wrapped the book in brown paper.
He turned to Luz without handing her the book.
"Your face rings a bell, little girl." He said leaning slightly, studying her face.
"Really?" Luz replied quizzically. "I've been living here less than a month and I've never-"
CLAP!
The young man had clapped loudly.
"Ah, you look so much like Lola!" the young man said happily.
Seeing that he had surprised them, he clapped his hands together in anguish.
"I'm so sorry girls! I didn't mean to scare you!" he turned to Luz again. "It's just that you look so much like a friend of mine."
"Lola Noceda?" The brunette asked with a smile.
"That same one!" The young man answered bringing his palms to his cheeks with excitement. "You know her?"
"She's my sister." Luz replied without stopping smiling.
"Oh! Then you must be Luz! Lola told me about you! It's nice to finally meet-"
"Leo..." A serious male voice warned, and the three could appreciate how a middle-aged man, uniformed with the bookstore's logo, passed in front of them briefly.
The young man smiled nervously.
"Excuse me girls, I'm just a big chatterbox." He handed them the book and the ticket. "Have a nice day! It was nice to meet you Luz. Tell Lola that Leobo says hi!"
"Thank you." The young girls said almost in unison, to then turn and walk away.
They heard a loud gasp behind them, enough to get their attention and turn around a bit.
The young man was beckoning them to come closer.
" Luz..." Leo whispered once they were close. "Lola told me you liked 'the good witch Azura.' Right?"
Luz nodded.
"Wait right here." He said to quickly slip into the back store room.
After a couple of minutes he came out again, with a thick book in his hands.
"Look." He said handing it to Luz.
Both the auburn and the brunette gasped with excitement.
"NO WAY!" The Dominican exclaimed.
"Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't scream!" Leo told her alarmingly. "My dad mustn't know I took it out!"
"I'm sorry!" The brunette said covering her mouth with her free hand.
"How is that possible?" Amity asked, dumbfounded. "It doesn't come out for another three weeks."
"It's an ad campaign, darling." The young man replied, holding out his hand for Luz to return the book. "It was delivered to us just yesterday, we're setting up a hallway for the premiere."
Quickly, Leo wrapped the book in paper and handed it to Luz.
"What the-"
"A little gift from my part." The smiling young man told her. "Your sister got me out of a couple of huge problems."
"Can I really keep it?!" she whispered loudly with excitement.
"Yes darling!" Then he bent down slightly and whispered in a lower tone. "I can tell it didn't make it in inventory, nothing will happen, just promise me you won't do spoilers or leak anything on the internet, please."
Luz nodded vigorously clutching the package to her chest.
Then the young man turned to Amity.
"But I can only take one, if it's two my dad is going to report it to the suppliers, sorry cutie."
"It's okay." She said trying to hide the envy in her voice. "Anyway-"
The young man gasped.
"My dad's coming! Go away, go away! Say hi to Lola, Luz!"
The girls turned immediately, heading for the exit.
"Thank you!" The brunette shouted one last time as they made their way to the exit.
" How lucky you are."Amity said after a few steps. "It'll take months before I can get it, I have to save coins because my parents watch all my expenses."
Luz slowed her steps, looking at Amity.
Then, the chocolate eyes shone and her pupils dilated.
"You can keep it." She said extending the book to her.
"What?" Amity couldn't believe it."No, Luz, he gave it to you!"
"Take it!" she insisted taking her hand and placing the package on her palm. "You always have to wait a little longer after the books come out, it's only fair that this time you get to read it a little earlier than everyone else."
"But-"
"I can buy it as soon as it comes out! You can keep it Amity." She gave her a brief hug. "You deserve it."
Those words made her lose her breath for a moment.
"If I keep it, I have to cover it." He warned trying to hand the book back again. "I'm going to ruin the book cover."
"Better that way, no one will notice you got it before everyone else!"
Amity pressed the package to her chest.
For some reason she felt like crying.
But, like a good Blight, she was able to control herself.
She sighed.
"Thank you." She conceded at last, then hesitated. "Uh... We can read it together, if you want, during recess or... After school, at my house."
Luz's eyes sparkled again, then she pounced on Amity, giving her a big hug.
"Oh yeah!" Then she sighed with relief. "I'm glad you offered it, I'm actually dying to read it too."
The auburn laughed lightly.
And she kept smiling as she noticed that she didn't stagger.
Luz's affections no longer took her by surprise.
That was good, wasn't it?
"Luz!" They heard a voice in the distance.
The brunette turned to notice that Gus and Willow were entering the bookstore.
"Guys!" she greeted cheerfully, then turned to Amity. "I'll be right back."
The dean's daughter nodded calmly, then watched as Luz walked away.
The smile stayed on her face until she saw Luz kiss Willow's cheek and she kissed her back.
She gasped almost without realizing it.
Then the same process was repeated with Augustus.
Her stomach knotted itself.
The interaction lasted less than five minutes, which Amity didn't even notice, as she was lost in thought.
Luz did the same again, kissing Gus and Wilow's cheeks, and receiving a kiss as well, said goodbye, and walked back to Amity.
"Are you okay?" she asked at last as she arrived.
"I am. Why?" she asked dryly as she continued walking to the exit.
Luz followed her.
"You seem upset... Did I say something wrong?" She asked with a tinge of sadness.
Amity relaxed her gesture.
" Yeah, yeah, I'm fine Luz." She said calming her pace and relaxing her tone of voice. "I just remembered that I have to start a project when I get home, it's for my French class."
"Is it very hard?" the brunette asked. "Maybe I could help you."
" You speak French too?" Amity asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No..." Luz replied elongating the word. "But both languages come from Latin, so maybe I can understand it."
"Oh, donc vous pouvez parler n'importe quelle langue alors, mademoiselle?" Amity asked.
Luz looked at her dumbfounded.
" No, pue´no te entendí mi reina." She replied.
"What?"
"What?"
Luz burst out laughing, with Amity following shortly after.
A few seconds later, Amity got up the courage to ask.
"Luz?"
"Yes?"
"Uh..." She hesitated. "Why did you kiss Gus and Willow?"
Luz turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I was just greeting them."
"With a kiss?"
"Yeah... I do it with you too, don't I? That's how we say hi in Dominicana."
Amity felt her cheeks color slightly.
" Yeah..." She turned her head. "But I didn't know you did it with everybody, I got surprised."
"Oh, it's not with everybody!" She clarified smiling. "It's very casual, when you meet strangers and then only with close friends and family. I thought I told you..."
Amity, fearing she'd look stupid for never having asked, opted to lie.
"Y-you did told me a little."
They continued until they reached the parking lot, where Lola was already waiting for them.
As soon as they got into the car, the sisters began to speak Spanish.
Amity didn't understand a thing, but from the tone of their conversation she could tell that Lola was teasing Luz, it seemed a vaguely similar atmosphere to when the twins pestered her.
"Conchale, que no e'mi novia!"
"Vive' ma' su casa en la nue'tra!"
Amity wasn't paying much attention.
Despite Luz's explanation, she still felt a knot in her stomach.
An unsettling feeling that bothered her more because of the unfamiliarity, rather than the simple fact of feeling it.
Her anxiety calmed down a little when Luz remembered to bring her chocomint when ordering at an ice cream shop in central park.
But since she returned home, and until now, the feeling of uneasiness remained.
Amity looked at her phone.
It was almost eleven o'clock and her next class was almost due.
She was probably busy...
But, she had told her that she could always count on her.
She didn't want to bother her...
She tightened her grip on the phone as she searched for the contact.
Finally, she sighed.
She did say I could reach out to her if I wasn't feeling well.
Mittens 3:
Hi Meli
Are you busy?
I'd like to talk to you
I've had some weird stuff going on since the semester started.
End of Chapter 10