- 4 years later -
"Usnavi!"
I sighed, watching the cars drive past the little bodega. Usually, I would be inside the shop by now, but this morning, the doors were still locked and the lights off. Which probably meant that Usnavi had lost power again, and his alarm didn't go off. I groaned, calling his name again, and getting the same response. Nothing. Glancing around, I tossed my jacket on the ground in front of the door and jogged to the back of the shop. I smirked as I saw a fresh tag on the wall. Pete must still be around, then, I thought to myself. That was a relief. It was different, being back after six months in California. It was easier to act as though no time had passed, and life was just as it used to be.
Shaking my head, I tore my eyes away from the graffiti and to what I was really back there for. The fire escape. I hadn't used Usnavi's fire escape since high school. Granted, that had only been a little over a year ago, but it still brought back memories.
When Usnavi had first moved to the barrio, in my sophomore year, we had bonded immediately. I don't know what it was, exactly, but Usnavi was my best friend. My parents loved him, and he became almost like an older brother to me. He was one of the people I was most excited to see, although I hadn't exactly planned on it going like this.
Carefully, I scrambled up the fire escape. It was rustier than I remembered, but it still held just fine. Maybe I could convince Usnavi to paint it while I was home... I shook my head as I pried Usnavi's window open and fell into his bedroom.
I coughed as I straightened up, then reached over and flipped the lightswitch. Nothing. I sighed, then walked over to the lump on the little twin bed, shaking Usnavi awake. He groaned and rubbed his face, and I laughed slightly as he opened his eyes. I had missed this.
Usnavi stared at me for a few seconds, then sat bolt upright. "Nina?"
"You should really oil your window. It took me a good three minutes to get it open."
Usnavi stared at me, eyes wide. "Nina?" he repeated. "What are you doing here?"
I let out a giggle as I sat on the corner of his bed. "Surprise!"
It took him a few more seconds to take it in, but then he tackled me in a hug. "Nina! You're home!"
I laughed as he wrapped me in a tight embrace. "And you're late," I giggled.
He jumped back, and I got my first decent look at him. He was... older. I felt a small pang in my chest. Despite how hard I tried to pretend that no time had passed, I'd been gone for months, and things had changed.
"I'm late?" Usnavi looked around frantically. "What time is it? Where's Sonny? Is he with Pete again?"
Apparently, they hadn't changed that much, though.
"Come on, hermano, let's get you ready. Your power went out... again."
[okay so I looked up ages and basically in this setting, Nina is 19, Benny is 20, Usnavi is 21, Vanessa is 20, and Sonny and Pete are 15. Oh, and if I do decide to include Daniela and Carla, they'll be 22 and 19, respectively. I know that's a bit different than their actual ages in the play, but I've got to modify for shipping purposes
also, Usnavi isn't even going to learn anything about him being different until at least chapter five because I'm attempting an actual plot development! So Jefferson won't show up for a while.]