Brenda, Jaime, and me have been through too much to let anything get between us. I'll always forgive them because they do the same for me. When someone's got your back no matter what, you gotta give yourself right back. And that's who we are. There for the good; holding on through the bad.

-Paco Testas

BEFORE …

The day arrived for Brenda's cumpleaños. Wind tore through El Paso from the south, hot and dry, like a blast from an oven. The cafeteria was crammed. Bookbags carpeted the floor between tables. Conversations garbled together, English and Spanish thick in the air.

Jaime, Brenda, and Paco packed themselves between the drama club and some goth punks. Jaime unpacked his bag lunch. His madre never let him eat at school. Whenever he asked for money she would go on a rampage about child obesity. He pried the lid off his low-cal, low-fat whole grain rice with chicken and black beans. Paco used fried chicken to spoon up his mashed potatoes. Brenda had skipped right to dessert with two giant chocolate chip cookies and an ice cream sandwich.

"Everything set for your cumpleaños?" Jaime asked her.

"My tía won't let me near her house until tonight."

Paco wiped his mouth. "Your dad still freaking out?" Jaime glared at him. "What?"

"It's fine," Brenda said. "He's not happy about it, but that's his problem."

Jaime jumped in to shift the topic. "Want us to bring anything?"

"Water guns," Paco said with a grin.

"Don't even think about it," she warned.

Paco wiped his mouth on his arm. "What sort of lame party is this?"

"The civilized kind," she shot back. "So dress nice."

"I get it. Whatever. You're gonna be too busy with your fancy fiesta to mess around with us pobres."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why couldn't we just hang out at El Diablos like we did last year-" Jaime kicked him under the table. "Ow!"

"Dude," Jaime sighed.

"What?"

"Ignore him," Jaime told her.

"Oh, was someone else talking?" Brenda looked around.

"Why'd you kick me?" Paco rubbed his shin.

"It was her quinceañera," he said.

"So?"

Jaime glared. Paco knew as well as him that a quinceañera was the most important birthday for girls. Even some of the anglo girls had them. There were ball gowns, tuxes, lavished decorations, high class reservations at hotels and restaurants. Brenda's party? A fast food place. "So let's sorta not talk about it."

Paco shrugged. "I had fun."

"You'd have fun with the contents of a toilet bowl," Brenda leered.

"Ouch. You know what, you can forget getting a present. It was gonna be really awesome too."

"Oh please," Brenda said, gearing up to burn Paco again.

Jaime tuned them out, thinking of the bug carving. For the past week he had spent every spare moment in the school's metal shop working on her present. The bracelets base was easy enough. One of girls in metal shop showed him how to bend it just the right amount so it could still be slipped on a wrist. It was the overlaying layer of the wings that was difficult. It took him three tries to get the cut down. Another two to complete the detail etching that made the shaped metal look like feathers. All he had to do was mount it. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face …

"Jaime!" Paco protested.

"Huh?"

"Will you please tell Miss spaz-attack that I'm fine?"

"Brenda," Jaime spoke, "as long as he takes his meds the therapists say -"

"This isn't a joke, Jaime!" Brenda cut in. "Why do you two keep acting like it is?" Jaime frowned. Guess he chose the wrong time to space out. "When are you going to call the police?"

Oh, so it was about that.

Paco rolled his eyes. "When they care. I'm just another chicano. Cops could give a flip."

"You need to tell someone. This thing with those cholos is getting serious, Paco."

"I'm dealing with it."

"How? How are you dealing with a gang alone?"

"I'm not alone," he shot back.

"Yeah, I heard about that. From Ariel of all people. You're running with some creeps called the Posse?"

Jaime made a face. What was she doing talking to AJ?

"Madre de Dios," Paco breathed. "Will you get off my back!"

"As soon as you stop lying to me. We're your friends, Paco. You can't hide things from us."

"Drop it."

"I'm worried about you. How can I drop that?" She spun to Jaime. "Will you say something!"

Jaime cringed.

"Yes. Por favor," Paco joined in. "Help me out, mano."

"Uh …" Jaime glanced at Paco and the paleing outline of the bruise from a few weeks ago. Then he turned to Brenda and the worry in her brown eyes. "Brenda, it's not as big of a deal as you think …"

"Ugh! I knew you'd take his side!"

"I'm not taking -"

"Yeah, the right side," Paco goaded her.

Jaime covered his face. "I'm not getting in the middle of this." He scooped up his trash and grabbed his bag.

"Ay! Don't leave me with her!" Paco leapt up to follow.

"This isn't over, Paco," Brenda hollered after them.

The two dumped their trash and headed outside the cafeteria. The halls were so much quieter that Jaime's ears rang.

"You see the way she's always up in my grill?" Paco mumbled. "Mujer aburrida."

"She'd just worried about you."

"Me? She's the one living with that loco father of hers."

Jaime huffed out a breath staring hard at his shoes. "You're okay … aren't you?"

Paco shrugged. "I'm laying low. Those guys are getting bored. It's gonna blow over. You'll see."

"Why does that cholo have it out for you anyways?"

Paco slowed and Jaime turned to face him. "This guy, Mikey, he's the one that started it all. Met him at a party one night. He was alright. We hung out at the same places sometimes, not really together. But one day he wanted me to hold on to something for him. Said he needed a favor. That I needed to take it to some cousin of his."

Jaime came to a dead stop. "You didn't take it!"

"Heck no, mano. Estás loco? I told Mikey no hard feelings, but find someone else."

The two walked on. "So I guess he didn't take it well."

"Whatever it was, he got busted by some cops. Thrown in jail a few nights. Got out on bail. He's been on my case ever since. He's like, the gang leader's girlfriend's brother or something. Important enough to have them cause trouble for me."

"You really think he's gonna lay off?"

"Yeah. No hay problema."

"You'd tell me if there were a problem, right? I mean, you know I got your back."

"I know, mano. Gotta bounce. See you at your place." Paco disappeared around the corner.

Jaime sighed and he headed off to his own class. He wondered if it had been a good idea to keep Brenda out of the loop. She'd only worry after all. But she had a point. How far was Paco going to let this grudge go before he did something? Jaime had grown up by the city, lived here his whole life. He knew kids in gangs. Saw what happened to them. Drugged up. Shot up. Locked up. It wasn't pretty. Paco kept telling him everything was fine. But he was hiding things. He was hanging with the Posse. Jaime didn't want to snitch on his best friend, but if he kept quiet and something happened …

His musings were interrupted when he recognized two loutish forms lounging outside a bathroom. He groaned. Javier and Leo. He almost turned right back around. The halls were deserted with everyone in class or still at lunch. He didn't like to think what could happen to him without witnesses nearby to intervene. But he stayed on course to his next period class. He kept his head down, walking fast and close to the wall as though he could blend into the scuffed cinderblocks.

No such luck. Javier shifted to bar the hall, a task he completed effectively considering his house-sized frame.

"Gotta pay the toll, troll."

Jaime was forced to stop. "Guys, I thought we were over this." True enough. AJ's punishments had evaporated this last week or so. Jaime assumed they got bored with him and moved on to a new victim.

Javier cracked his knuckles. "You refusing to pay your dues?"

Then again, maybe their attention span was longer that he'd hoped.

Jaime held up his hands and backed away. "Forget it." He could double back later when the lunch crowd came through. He turned. Leo had slipped behind him. Jaime's skin crawled. Not good. Where was Paco when you needed him!

"Back off," a voice said. Saved! He was -

Jaime did a double take. It was … AJ? The boy stumbled out of the bathroom engulfed by a bitter smelling smoke. Jaime blinked a few times. There was no one else in the hall. Had to be him who spoke. When his gorillas didn't obey, AJ tried again. "What are you, stupid? I told you we gotta lay off."

Jaime swore he saw Javier's veins twitch in his biceps. "Don't see why we can't have fun cuz you're trying to impress some chick."

Jaime stood very still; like one of those animals on a nature show. If he didn't move, they couldn't see him.

"Screw you," AJ said. "The party's tonight. Don't mess this up for me."

Before he realized what he was doing, Jaime heard himself speak. "You're going to Brenda's party?" Eyes turned to him but he was too much in shock to care.

Brenda invited AJ.

AJ.

The guy she dated once. The senior who thought bushing kids was the comedy highlight of the week. The bully who constantly humiliated and tormented him.

AJ!

"She practically begged me to come," AJ said. "Can't help it if the chicas can't keep their hands off me." The trio moved off. Jaime stared after them a moment before storming off to his class.

Sure, Brenda invited a lot of kids to her party. But most of them were friends. And then she goes and asks AJ? What did she see in him! Sure, he was all … mature and … muscles … and …

Jaime was good looking. He had dates. Nothing got serious but he wasn't a complete social outcast.

He reached his class and slammed himself down into his desk.

It's just … Why didn't Brenda notice him? They always hung out. They'd known each other for forever. Was he just not interesting? What wasn't there to like about him? Why were other guys — guys like AJ — the ones she gravitated to?

He thunked his head on the cool desktop.

Maybe she did notice. Maybe she didn't know how to let him down because he was a friend. She probably thought he was pathetic. He shouldn't even bother with the bracelet. It would be so awkward. He should get her a book. Something safe and totally in the friend zone.

He sat up and slicked his hair back.

Come on, Jaime. After all that work, you're gonna chicken out?

Whether Brenda liked him as more than a friend or not, he wanted to do this for her. And yeah, maybe it would be awkward, but at least he'd know. He took a deep breath. Tonight. This was it. He couldn't afford to wait with a vulture like AJ circling. If Brenda liked her present, Jaime was going to ask her out.

Loose Spanish translation as taken in context:

ay - hey
chicas - girls
chicano - Mexican
cholo(s) - gangster(s)
cumpleaños - birthday
estás loco? - you crazy?
fiesta - party
loco - crazy
madre - mother
Madre de Dios - Mother of God
mano - bro
mujer aburrida - annoying woman
no hay problema - no problem
pobres - poor people
por favor - please
quinceañera - 15th birthday
tía - aunt