Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide!

"Oh, Mari, before I forget to tell ya...a homeless lady and her little girl were sitting outside Safeway on Thanksgiving, and I gave them some extra pudding from what I bought in Safeway, along with getting spoons and napkins from Starbucks," Flaca reports while decorating her cheeks with blush and then coating her lips with magenta pink gloss in a makeup mirror. Her winged eyeliner is already perfect. "She was thankful and the tiny one seemed to be excited over the pudding. I love doing good deeds, especially on holidays!"

"Super nice of you! I'm sure they really appreciated that!" Maritza smiles at her girlfriend and takes her hand across the table.

"That's our Marisolita Fajita," Ceci murmurs with a grin.

"One of the kindest chicas ever," Elena puts in. "Then again, I ain't surprised."

"People would occasionally do sweet shit like that for us, too," Maritza informs them. "So, any advice from Flaca Say?"

Flaca twirls the blue stripe in her hair as she sits up perkily. "If someone tries to steal from your locker, get a better combo...and don't be a dumbass like Baxter, who once started a walkout to get more pizza days at school but got suspended for two days." They guffaw at this. "Yo, girls, I got another celebrity crush!"

Daya throws up her hands as she joins them. "What else is new?"

"Who is it this time?" Katie asks while standing behind Ceci and massaging her shoulders.

"Lauren German!"

"I don't blame you, girl! I saw her in Born Killers, and wow!" Maritza fans herself. "She's a hottie. Also, incredibly beautiful and a wonderful actress."

"Mm-hm! I can't wait to see her in the sequel to Hostel and Love and Mary!" Flaca squeals.

"Me neither!"

"I know you and your sister used to be homeless," some bitch says snootily in passing, poking Maritza, who whirls around, glaring at her. "Your spic mom's so poor that she had to work as a maid for my grandma Millie. Now she's getting sweets for free at Red's bake shop." She pulls down her noise canceling headphones.

"Shut the fuck up, Nazi Jennifer!" Flaca shouts, standing up and facing her. She balls her hands into fists. "Or I'll make you."

"Babe, it's okay, I got this." Maritza strides up to Jennifer, her eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. "You know I got a whole crew behind me, right? Literally and figuratively."

"Yeah? So do I, they're right over there!" Jennifer points to Badison and her posse.

Maritza scoffs and spreads her arms. "Then go back to them and quit bothering us. My life ain't your business, cracker. You're a pathetic loser who's got a gap in your mouth, can't read, don't know shit 'cause all you do is wear noise canceling headphones, and you're afraid of flying, how do ya like that?"

"Ohhh!" the girls holler. Others around them laugh hysterically.

"My cousin died in a subway crash!" Jennifer defends herself, glancing from side to side.

"Ain't got nothin' to do with a plane, moron! Pa fuera." Elena shoos her away and Maritza flips her the bird as she stomps off.

"Fucking tonta," Ceci grumbles as Maritza plops back down next to Flaca. Her girlfriend puts an arm around her and pulls her close. They share a short but sweet kiss on the lips.

"You okay?" Flaca asks.

Maritza nods. "Yeah, but see, this is why all lady teachers is a bad idea, querida. Girls and ladies are total bitches to each other."

Flaca shrugs disappointedly. "You got a point there."

"So, what do we think about Piper being the new ninth grade English teacher?" Taystee asks and they guffaw.

"Lame," Flaca responds.

"Right?!" Elena purses her lips. "Someone called her a dummy for going up the stairs, not down. She gets her astrological chart done once by Neri and says she's a Gemini and has the same birthday as Liam Neeson and the bitch thought that was a positive. She also brags about being fluent in Thai just after bringing her brother and his wife pak boong, which is apparently morning glory."

"I wanna beat her up," Pidge says in passing. "It's like, she doesn't understand our struggles. Janae's lucky she's got Miss Fowler. Her class is reading To Kill a Mockingbird! It's an interesting book."

"Yeah!" Taystee gives her a thumbs-up. "Alana likes Piper, but she's always been kind of a teacher's pet, and that rich whitey isn't the nicest to Stephanie. Cat wants to play pranks on Ms. Chapman."

"Cheese in her nose and ears or heroin in her shoe?" Badison asks as she walks by. "Either way, she'll go to prison because God really loves me!"

"No he doesn't, you idiot. I wouldn't go that far, she's just prissy and annoying," Flaca mutters, glaring at the bitch.

"Gotta run, there's a hot dog eating contest in Coney Island and Kyle and Shawnie are competing." Badison mimes shooting them, and they roll their eyes as she finally leaves them be.

"I dunno what Piper's problem is with Steph, though...she's super bossy to all of us, especially to Stephanie," Flaca murmurs.

"That's weird," Maritza says and the others verbally agree. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but Karla's the best Spanish maestra I ever had! Just today, she did a pop quiz, like asking us who's the king of pop or facts about soda pop." Her friends and Flaca grin.

"Yeah!" Elena's eyes gleam excitedly. "It's also hella cool when she puts parts of her personal life into her tests, like asks us to translate mi hijo nacerà en mars, which is my son will be born in March!"

"I remember she does stuff like that for us, too. Last year, she actually typed me encanta ver las películas de Salma Hayek into an exam, and I just smiled at Karla while writing I love watching Salma Hayek movies!" Flaca joins in.

Maritza beams. "Fun!"

"You goin' to the game Friday night?" Sergio asks as he strides up to them, his eyes fixed on a now blushing Elena.

"Sí. I love football," she murmurs. "Ain't you afraid your friends are gonna judge you being with me, the lowly freshman?"

"As Bonnie Raitt said, let's give 'em something to talk about!" He leans close to her, his lips at her ear. "Y no eres humilde."

and you're not lowly.

Elena giggles softly and the girls snicker under her breath at their interaction, so cute that it's borderline cheesy. "Gracias."

"De nada." He kisses her cheek and then their mouths meet. Ceci moves over to make room for him and he takes a seat next to Elena.

Cat and Daisy join them. "Hey, I'm Daisy Venezia!"

"Oh yeah, is your mom Beka?"

Daisy nods at Sergio's question with a frown. "She's an ex-con, so what?"

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it." He puts his hands up in defense. "I just think it's cool that she battled with the system and won."

"So did mine," Cat says proudly. "Her name's Valerie, like in Josie and the Pussycats...she named me after La Catrina."

"Mami was never there in the first place," Elena cuts in, and Sergio turns his attention back to her. "She had a close call, but luckily, she had a guardian angel watchin' over her."

"Nice!" He gets a burrito out of his brown paper sack. "Mind if I eat here?"

"You don't mind being the only boy?" Elena asks. "Rumors won't start that you're a player?"

"Nah." He shrugs.

So Elena's friends and her new boyfriend spend the rest of the lunch period getting to know each other.

"I'd rather just ignore her than pick up and argue why I'm right and she's wrong. Every time Gloria tries to call, she gets the voicemail...hello, you've reached Aleida's phone, bitches. Leave a message." Aleida looks smug as she walks into the kitchen backroom, wearing a new multicolored beanie, a purple sweater, jeans, and boots. Gloria rolls her eyes without turning to face Aleida and continues stirring bubbling marinara sauce, hamburger meat, and bell peppers in a pot while Claudette works on her famous coconut cake. Norma and Gina start on the noodles.

Blanca looks over at Red. "Qué mierda, poor Glo, how long do you think Lei's gonna keep this up? My guess is una semana."

"Possibly. I'll give it a few more days." The head chef shrugs and gives her a strawberry yogurt. Blanca takes it with a smile. "As long as they're not bickering in my kitchen."

"Gracias."

"Pozhaluysta."

You're welcome.

Aleida brushes past Gloria on purpose and smirks. "I had oysters at Cosenza's with Leon on our first date. I bet you never been there with nobody!"

"I don't even like fish," Gloria says exasperatedly. She shakes her head. "So, uh...what happened to that other hat you usually wear?"

"I gave it away...it got itchy and a bird shit on my head the other day. I washed it, but it's too gross to even touch again."

"I getcha." Gloria purses her lips and appears to be thoughtful. "Maybe that was a sign from Dios..."

"Speakin' of signs, I passed one on the subway trying to get to the six train. See Something, Say Something. Since it never fuckin' came, I was forced to trudge up one hundred sixty-third street and saw tres penes. First dude was pissing, second jackin' off, and the third...camped out on the sidewalk with all his shit with him. It's like, nobody needs to see some motherfucker showin' off his goods to the public! It's like live unwanted dick pics!"

three penises

"I wish men would be more considerate like our novios," Blanca murmurs.

Red scoffs and shares a repulsed look with Claudette, Norma, and Gina. "Yes, that's disgusting," the Russian chimes in.

Diane, Susan Fischer, Artesian McCullough, and Berdie Rogers join them all of a sudden. "Hey, we're planning a female teachers outing tonight...drinks and discussing the students and what changes we'd like to make to the school, such as bringing back Take Your Kid to Work Day. Y'all wanna come with?" Diane asks. "Karla would be there too, obviously."

"Sure, I'd have a beer!" Blanca responds.

"So would I," Red puts in.

"Piña colada for me, gracias for inviting us!" Gloria adds.

"Yes, that's kind of you," Claudette agrees.

"Vodka orange soda on a girls' night out sounds great," Aleida murmurs.

"We'd love to," Gina says as Norma beams and gives the other ladies two thumbs up.

"Fantastic!" Susan says happily.

Berdie grins. "We'll have fun!"

Artesian nods in concurrence. "Of course!"

"Boo!" Joel Luschek shouts, making them all jump. He laughs and Aleida throws a balled-up towel at him while scowling. "Hey, it's funny!" he protests.

"Nah, it ain't! You're so god damn immature," Gloria snaps. Blanca stifles laughter.

"You enjoy it," he insists. "My sister got hitched to this biker named Mark from Coxsackie. She thinks I'm unreliable, but if I introduce you to her as my girlfriend and we go on a double date with them-she doesn't need to know we're not actually a thing-maybe she'll have a different opinion of me."

"Not a fuckin' chance in the world! I got a man already and I'd feel weird being alone with any other dude."

He puts his hands up in surrender and backs away. "Fine. Drama queen."

"Wow, does he do this all the time?" Diane wants to know.

"Enough to make me wanna kick his ass to kingdom come!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but it's a good thing you keep dodging those bullets...he'd make a terrible boyfriend. Trust me, I got experience," Susan mutters.

Artesian narrows her eyes. "I can't believe you actually tried him!"

"Me neither," Berdie tells her.

After the teachers depart with friendly waves, Gloria talks about how she's gotten closer to her daughters and made her children and Fahri pesto with cilantro and pedrón peppers for dinner last night and they loved it. Everyone seems to be happy for her. Aleida even has a slight smile on her face and Blanca hopes it means the feud between her two friends is almost over.

"Glo...how'd you get your girls to actually come and see you again?" Blanca wonders aloud. "I'm trying to find a way to reunite with the rest of mi familia en persona."

my family in person

"They grew close to me when I visited once for like, two to three weeks and told 'em I was their mom. Then, I realized I needed to find a better place to live in New York. When they were thirteen and fifteen, I friended Mami on Myspace and we got to talkin' on there and via the phone," Gloria responds, and the rest of the women listen with interest. "I asked to speak to Elena since she'd be more receptive to me. I told Ellie that she could have her own mind and didn't need to copy her sister. She took my calls in the first place, so it was easy to reach out to her. She said it'd be hard to leave Ceci without feeling like she was abandoning her, too, and I understood that. I suppose Elena probably convinced Ceci it'd be okay to move here from Puerto Rico, and I proved to my daughters that I never forgot them...it just took way too long for me to return to them and sent the wrong message." Gloria's voice is filled with guilt. "I guess I was lucky that my mother landed a job around this exact area. It gave me a chance to make things right with 'em."

"¡Eso es fantástico!" Blanca comments.

That's fantastic!

"Yeah!" the others agree in unison.

Without warning, Badison storms in, wearing a cast on her left arm. "This bitch attacked me," she whines in her annoying Boston accent.

"You mean in self defense," Red corrects her. "You're a childish bully, she probably had enough of your shit."

Badison pouts. "You got a heart colder than the frost on windows. Anyway, I wasn't talking to you, old lady." She turns to sneer at Gloria. "You're ancient compared to Mr. Luschek. I'd recommend you stop hittin' on him, or my gal Shruti's gonna cut out your thyroid. She's looking into medical school."

"Excuse you?" Gloria's tone is sharp, but it shakes slightly. Blanca steps closer to her, inhaling and exhaling slowly to calm her racing heart.

"Stupid little brat," Aleida grumbles.

"Rude doesn't even begin to cover it, that was extremely horrifying, disrespectful, appalling, and insulting what you just said," Blanca reprimands Badison.

"Back when I used to work at George's Deli near Astoria Park, I knew these two guys who became like my brothers. They're from Washington Heights. I'll tell 'em about you and your little friend Shruti, and they'll dump your asses over the bridge and make you piss yourselves!" Gloria threatens the evil student while raising her fists. "I should come at you like this and put your whole fucking body in a cast and not just your arm!" She mimes a powerful punch.

Suddenly, Badison whips out a shiv and Gloria jumps back as the bitch points it at her. "Watch your tone! I could do it myself if I wanted to." Blanca, Aleida, and Red stand in front of Gloria. It's only Norma and Gina cooking now.

They all stare at her evenly and no one moves, until Claudette grabs a knife. "Jesus Christ, girl, you're a headache and a half! Do you really want to play this game? My weapon..." She whacks Badison's shiv out of her hands and slams the knife down on the counter. For once, Badison is frozen in fear as Claudette approaches her slowly with a wicked smile. "It's stronger than yours. Did you know that I once killed a man for leaving bruises on my fourteen-year-old foster daughter's torso? Since then, the child, Odette, and myself, have become close. As for what happened to Mr. Jones? Frieda helped me hide the body, then burn the corpse and murder weapon. We never got caught for it," Claudette hisses.

"We can tell you about the abusive pimps we violently took down too, but that's a story for another day," Red growls.

"Norma pushed her domineering ex-husband off a cliff," Gina supplies. "Be aware of the silent ones!"

The blonde scoffs as she goes pale. "You may have won this round, Mendoza, but your days are numbered."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Gloria demands, but Badison walks away, flipping them off on both hands.

Aleida eyes the shiv that had clattered onto the linoleum floor. "We gotta hand this in to the cops...I'm notifying Diane to tell her husband right now! None of us can touch it." She starts texting on her cell. "This cunt's gonna get punished, either expelled or arrested."

"Yes, but what if she tells anyone about what you three did?" Blanca glances nervously between Red, Norma, and Claudette.

Red smirks. "There's no evidence. She'll just look deranged."

The lunch ladies then serve pasta with steamed vegetables and chicken on trays and they give strawberry yogurt and a piece of coconut cake to whoever wants it.

"Fartison threw a fit in chemistry class again and pulled a shiv on the cafeteria ladies, so she got expelled! One of the best moments of my life!" Flaca announces later that Friday. She cackles along with the other girls.

"Wow, I laughed at that story of Badison calling Piper Gapman and thought she was nice until she called my mami Proof of Evolution, threatened Gloria, and bullied you!" Maritza exclaims.

"Oh, you fucking dirty Mexicans…" Badison starts behind them, rudely interrupting Maritza's train of thought.

"Get in her stupid ass face, Flaca!" Elena shouts.

"You best get the fuck outta my face before me and my homies beat your ass up!" Flaca growls, balling her fists up. "You fuckin' Irish cunt…you wanna get cut, bitch?"

Badison scoffs. "Please, you're just some Latina cookie with bangs that cover your forehead and that's so ugly! You crumble easily…you all do!"

Nicole Ecklecamp comes up behind Badison with a smirk. "You should know that I threatened to kill Antoinetta Kerson because she didn't obey our leader right away."

"Akers?" Ceci asks. "The African American girl with dreadlocks pulled back?"

"Does it matter? Anyway, I shit naked, and I have no problem doing it on your girl's bedsheets after I climb through her window!" Nicole lets out a crazed laugh.

"You're terribly brainwashed by Badison…but you can recognize when others in your group are being bitches, like Charlene!" Taystee points out.

As if she's been summoned, Charlene appears on the other side of Badison. "You know why we hate Flaca?" She doesn't let anyone answer. "She loves Salma Hayek and countless other female actresses, which makes her a dyke! It's part of why we gave Annalisa and Tina Bloody Marys…wiped used tampons on their cheeks while they were sleeping!" She high-fives Badison. "Classic!"

"Annalisa couldn't wait for Daddy anymore, she needed her drugs and thought I was hogging 'em and that her arm wasn't broken, but I smacked my casted arm into her face! Her girlfriend Tina tried to hold her back from fighting me, but she strode over to me anyway and hit me back."

"Then, we popped 'em one, of course," Nicole puts in.

Flaca gets to her feet, glaring at the three bullies. "¡Cállate la boca, puta! Before I do it for ya!"

Shut your mouth, whore.

"Try me, spic!"

"You're not worth fighting!" Flaca takes off, but nearly falls over Gabby Camerena's stuck-out foot. The bitch laughs. Flaca stares at her incredulously as she regains her balance. Maritza, Elena, Ceci, Cat, Daisy, Katie, Taystee, Poussey, and Franziska rise from their seats, ready to defend their girl.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Gabby taunts Flaca. "Cut yourself again? I have no problem egging that on."

A flash of pain runs through Flaca's eyes, but she composes herself easily. Maritza's heart breaks for her. She pounces on Gabby while shrieking, surprising everyone in the cafeteria. "I could bang your head against the table and beat your ass up until you're black and blue, but I won't, only because I don't wanna go to jail. Next time, I'll pull your hair out of its scalp, cabróna." She shakes Gabby, who looks extremely nervous. "You got it?"

"Get the hell off me, loser."

Flaca does, but no one expects Gabby to knock her down to the ground with one punch. She's about to kick Flaca too, but Flaca apparently anticipates her next move and grabs her unmoving leg, sending her to the pavement, too. She tries to get up, but Flaca rolls her over, stands over her, and delivers punches to her face, wearing a stoic expression.

"Oh, shit!" Maritza shouts. She and the others run over to them. "Flaca, you gotta stop! I know that pendeja deserves it, but you don't want a record, like you said…"

"Everyone will totally get it!" Flaca screams.

"That's enough Ritz Crackers for you, Taystee girl," Badison says rudely.

Taystee storms back, sets her snack on the table, and grabs Badison. She throws her down and Badison slides across the floor.

"I was right," Badison coughs out, holding up a picture of Taystee. "You're not appealing…"

Taystee grabs it from her. "Why the fuck do you have that?" She slams Badison's head three times down against the plastic bench and easily overpowers her, kicking her in the side a few times. Poussey, Katie, and Franziska pull her off Badison, hushing her gently. Claudette quickly leads Taystee into the backroom with a stern, yet concerned expression on her face.

"You'll get yours!" Nicole yells after Taystee as she takes Badison out of the cafeteria.

"Break it up, ladies, break it up!" Gloria demands, and she and Blanca both yank Flaca away from Gabby. Charlene helps Gabby up and both of them glower at Flaca before leaving angrily.

"Flacquita, what's gotten into you?" Gloria looks disappointed but worried at the same time.

"I'm just super tired of her and other putas being so homophobic and racist! Plus, she started it…trippin' me and shit. She should get expelled, along with Badison! She's one of the gringas who made me self-harm."

"I've told Maritza before that if anyone insults her, she needs to just ignore it and find something to calm her down," Blanca murmurs. "Since Gabby physically hurt you, she'll be in big trouble. I get why you fought her back. Ven aquí." She leads Flaca into the girls' bathroom and Maritza follows. Gloria stays behind with the rest of their friends.

Come here.

"Sometimes, I'm so nauseous…tired of school, life," Flaca mumbles as she stares at her reflection in the mirror. "After a certain amount of bullying, I started slitting my wrists...one day, I just stayed in bed with Maritza."

Blanca rolls up her sleeves and shows Flaca several pink jagged scars marring her skin. It hurts Maritza to see them. "Ay, nena, I went through the same thing when I was your age…I once punched my reflection in the mirror when I was angry at myself…but there are better ways to cope."

"Lo siento…" Flaca mumbles. "For you, I mean. How else can I deal with bitches who get me down…without getting detention for self-defense or flippin' 'em off?"

"Just get right back up and call 'em out. Loudly. Make a huge scene, verbally drawing everyone's attention to their actions. Embarrass the shit out of them. Bullies enjoy feeling powerful over others. If you get everyone looking at these bitches in a bad way, then they're the center of negative, unwanted attention and have lost their power for the moment," Blanca answers.

"Oh, gracias, I'll do that next time!" Flaca manages a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I did the last time Badison knocked me over on purpose…before that, she did much worse," Alana says as she comes out of a stall. "As I was running, she punched me down, I fell flat on my back, she faked falling, she said I ran into her and pretended to be hurt. I got a bloody nose and was lying unconscious and she said maybe kickball killed me. That's the sport we were playing."

They just gaze at Alana, open-mouthed.

"Wow, what a cunt. I'm glad you're okay now!" Blanca tells her kindly.

"Yeah, me too!" Flaca chimes in.

"Five, and six, and seven, eight, one, two, three, four…five, six, seven, eight, step touch, spin, dip…eyes on your partner unless you turn! Do what I do, keep in rhythm with the music," Gloria instructs her dance students to the tune of the song that's playing. Wearing black pants and a white tank top, she swivels her hips and Fahri twirls her. There's a sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. Blanca and Diablo copy their movements. When the song ends, they sigh loudly from exhaustion and take a few breaths. The kids, along with Maritza, Flaca, Elena, Sergio, Cat, Daisy, Poussey, Franziska, Daya, Adarsh, Alana, and Richie cheer and clap. "All right, ¡muy bien! That's it for today, enjoy your weekend!" She and Fahri high-five Maritza and her friends as the teens start filing out of the room. "You oughta take my daughter out dancing, you're both so good!" she compliments Sergio.

Elena blushes. "¡Mami!" The other girls giggle amongst themselves.

"Gracias, Señorita Mendoza." Sergio and Gloria exchange a pleasant smile.

"De nada."

"They're like a younger version of us," Blanca tells Diablo. "How we should've been in high school."

Beaming, he nods, pulls her in close, and kisses her temple. "Sí, mi amor."

As Elena and Sergio walk away, holding hands, Fahri turns to Gloria. "They make a nice couple!"

"I know, I just hope it stays that way," Gloria states.

"I do, too! If he turns into Arturo, I'll kill him."

Gloria winks at Fahri. "I'll help you, then hide the body."

Blanca chuckles and links arms with Diablo. "Buena idea, pero con suerte, él la tratará bien y no llegará a eso."

Good idea, but hopefully, he'll treat her right and it won't come to that.

"No podría estar más de acuerdo," Diablo says.

I couldn't agree more.

As they begin to leave, Gloria quickly translates what they were saying to Fahri, and he grins.

"I gotta admit, you look bangin' doin' the salsa!" Aleida compliments Gloria as she strides in after exchanging waves with Blanca and Diablo. "I was watching through the window…I didn't really wanna interrupt."

"Thanks, girl, Fahri thinks so too…he especially likes when I have my hair up in a half pony as I swing my hips from side to side." She demonstrates the move. After a week of giving each other the cold shoulder and the occasional stony remark, the two friends have come to a reconciliation, finally. Gloria is majorly relieved and Aleida seems to be, too.

"It's so refreshing not to see Badison and her band of drama bitches in Gloria's class anymore," Daya murmurs.

"Yeah, I was getting sick of them!" Adarsh puts in as he casually puts his arm around Daya's shoulders while the group strolls out the door.

"We were, too." Alana gestures to herself and Richie. "Zirconia and Badison were especially awful."

"Thank god they left because Luschek isn't teaching anymore! He had us doing wrist rolls, step-touches, punches, reaches, gyrating hips, criss cross applesauce, and turns…dorky as hell!" Richie comments. "Plus, Gloria's a lot better looking." They all laugh together.

Elena makes a face. "Hey, that's my mami!"

"Really, man?" Sergio shakes his head, frowning.

"Don't let Fahri hear you say that," Alana teases Richie. "Honestly, though, I'm glad it's Gloria, Blanca, and their boyfriends instructing us, too, rather than Luschek. He was so irresponsible!"

"Idiot!" Daya agrees. "We're really takin' out losers today!"

"Yeah, the main thing is, dance lessons are more peaceful without C Block! That's what they call themselves, I guess," Poussey says.

"The C stands for cunt," Franziska decides aloud, and they cackle together.

"Stupid assholes!" Elena chimes in.

"You got that right," Sergio mutters.

"We can finally do it because they're gone!" Flaca says excitedly. She and Maritza both squeal and hug each other.

"Me ha encantado bailar contigo, querida," Maritza tells her.

I loved dancing with you, darling

"¡A mi también, baby, fue divertido!" Flaca agrees. Their faces are lit up with happiness.

Me too, it was fun!

"By the way, Maritza, you're hella lucky you and Raiza didn't get swallowed up by the foster system. My siblings and I almost were, but luckily, we were together, my social worker died, and the temp was an alcoholic, so we got sent back to Ma. She had to straighten herself out and my little brother and sisters came into my bed when they were scared at night. Our mom's better at comforting 'em now, though."

"Oh, that's good!" Maritza comments and the others voice their agreements.

As they venture further down the hall, Darius approaches. "Hey, y'all! Martiza, looks like your mom's found happiness with that guy she's dating!"

She beams. "Yeah! He's awesome!"

"I'm glad."

Maritza toys with her silver bracelet as she stares down at the table. "I hate how monsters are angels at first. If he's not an abuser, he's a cheating jerk. If he's not either one of those, he'll get bored of her...of us. Men don't like baggage, and we are definitely baggage."

"How do you know all this?" Darius asks her. "You're talking to me, I'm a man...well, almost a man."

"Dude, I don't even trust you! I hate that Mom likes Diablo so much...she'll let him in, and then he'll betray her somehow. If I'm wrong, then it's gonna be the first time I'm glad I was wrong."

"Me too. I've never been this happy to misjudge someone!"

Darius gives Maritza a thumbs up and then joins Daisy, putting his arms around her. Cat skips over to Willy, then the rest of the couples disperse.

That night, Diablo gazes downward at Blanca as she sleeps in his arms on the couch, a blanket over both their laps. He's stroking her hair with one hand and turning down the television's volume with the other. Two empty wine glasses sit on the coffee table and he only wishes he had a blazing fireplace in front of them to complete the romantic picture.

As Maritza comes further into the room, she winks at Diablo. "You have my approval to date my mother, you've had it since after Thanksgiving dinner," she whispers and leaves the room, smiling.

Diablo does a fist pump while grinning. "Yes!"

Thanks for reading and reviewing MsSchneeheide and Juliette45!