So, I've got a nice long one this time! Mostly because it's the way it needs to be to get the whole event across. Enjoy!
The next morning – well she thought it was morning anyway. She was starting to pick up on the subtle changes of the skyline that determined the passing of time. Héctor was still nowhere to be found. Becca decided it might not hurt anything if she took a look around.
Redressing herself in her now dry hoodie, she poked her head out of the bungalow and peered around. There didn't seem to be much activity taking place yet, so she carefully began moving down the walk way. There were a few people out, busying themselves getting ready for the day. They all gave her suspicious looks as she passed. Becca pulled her hood up in response.
It didn't take her long to reach the spot where that Chuy guy and the older lady had been the night before. In fact, she was able to see them up ahead once again, sitting at the table on their porch.
Did they sit out here all night? She wondered.
Not wanting an awkward confrontation, Becca turned on her heel to explore in a different direction. However, she almost ended up running straight into Héctor in the process. She immediately froze when she saw him, and got at deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
"Becca? Qué haces?" he asked with a confused look.
She hesitated for a second, before getting a weary expression. "What?" she asked. She was starting to get tired of all the Spanglish. Her vocabulary was extremely limited, after all.
"What are you doing?" he translated.
"Oh, um, just – looking around," she offered. It was the truth, but for some reason she still felt guilty.
"Bored?" he guessed.
Becca nodded. "What do you, ya know, do around here?"
He smiled and motioned for her to follow him. He walked past her and towards where the others were sitting. Becca really didn't want to, but she figured she'd have to deal with them again at some point. Might as well get it over with now.
"Buenos días Héctor!" Chuy called to him.
"Buenos días!" he returned the greeting.
For a second, Becca thought she might be able to sneak by without incident. No such luck.
"Escuincla!" the lady said suddenly. Becca flinched at the voice, but then turned to face her.
"I can only assume your speaking to me?" she stated more than asked.
"Feeling better?" she wondered.
Becca was, surprised, to say the least. She had been expecting a lecture, not an inquiry of her well-being.
"Uh – yes ma'am," Becca replied respectfully. The lady looked slightly impressed at her words.
"Thought you might, after your song last night," she gave her a wry smile.
"Oh gawd!" Becca whined quietly, pulling her hood down farther. "If I could just – vanish – right now. That would be great!" she muttered.
That caused them all to laugh.
"Don't worry about it. Been a long time since we've had a serenade. And you're not bad, guerra," Chuy told her.
Becca narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with me being white," she said.
"It just means 'white girl'," Héctor explained.
"You don't know? Don't you speak Spanish, chamaca?" Chuy asked in surprise.
"Your name calling hasn't already answered that question for you?" she replied smartly.
He shrugged in confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"What a great question! Heck if I know. Let me know if you come up with anything," she gave him a fake smile. Becca could really feel her sarcastic side coming out around this guy.
"She's only half American. Her mamá es Mexicana," Héctor explained.
"And she didn't teach you anything?" the lady asked Becca.
"Well – I can count to ten. I know a few words, but they're basically the ones every American knows." She hesitated for a second, wondering how much she should admit. "And. . . I know the swear words," she confessed sheepishly.
"You're mamá taught you curses?!" she exclaimed.
"No. . ." she trailed again. "But that's how it always is whenever you learn a new language. You learn the cuss words first. I learned them from George Lopez. I'd watch him on the comedy channel – when my parents weren't home," she quickly added, adverting her gaze.
"Ah! Jorge Lopez! He's a funny guy. Can't wait for him to die," Chuy said with a grin.
Becca gave him a concerned look. "That's – kinda dark," she decided. He shrugged again.
"So, you gonna be hanging out with Chorizo?" he asked.
"Okay, and we're leaving now. Hasta Luego!" Héctor said suddenly before quickly guiding Becca away from the others.
As they were headed down the alley out of the land of the 'nearly' forgotten, Becca lifted her head so she was staring directing up at Héctor.
"What's that mean, anyway," she asked.
"It's – a kind of sausage," he said.
"And – you're not gonna tell me why they call you that, are you?" she guessed.
"You'll find out sooner or later, and since it's up to me, I'd rather it be later," he told her, continuing to usher her along.
Once they were back out into the main bustle of things, Héctor took the lead with Becca trailing along uncertainly behind.
"Come on. Keep up, chiquita," he told her. So Becca hurried until she was walking next to him.
"Hey Héctor, where are we going, anyway?" she asked.
"Well, you said you wanted to look around," he told her. Becca grinned up at him. He was taking her exploring! She was okay with that. "We'll have to hitch a ride to get to some of the more exciting parts of this place," he explained.
He lead them to a station that looked to be for some kind of cable cars. They were stopping at the little station for people to file out, and then took off once they had filled up again. It seemed to all be automated. People would scan what looked like little cards across the surface of a turnstile, and then it would unlock for them to pass. Reminded Becca of the trams back home, except these cable cars ran on thick wires that carried them through the air like a ski lift.
However, instead of heading to the line to get on, Héctor lead her over to the edge of the walk way they would run along before talking off.
"Think you can make it?" he asked, motioning to the little platform that was on the back of one of the cable cars as it passed by.
"What?!" Becca squeaked in surprise. "You want me to jump on the back of one of the cars while it's moving?" she asked skeptically.
"Takes money to ride inside, chiquita," he said with a shrug.
Becca watched as another car passed by. "I don't know. This sounds kind of illegal to me," she pointed out.
"Eh, lots of people do it, and nobody really cares," he told her. "Oh, here comes the next one, get ready," Héctor warned, crouching down in preparation to jump.
Not wanting to get left behind, Becca followed suit. As the cable car passed by, she made a mad dash for it, leaping with all her might. She hit the edge of the platform with a thud that left an ache in her chest. She probably didn't need to jump quite that hard, she realized, scrambling up over the bars that surrounded it to get inside. Oh well, at least she made it. Héctor followed quickly after. It was obvious he'd had a lot of practice at this.
"Hey, not bad, kid. You sure you've never done this before?" he questioned with mock suspicion.
"Well, used to jump onto a tire swing after it was already spinning, but jumping onto a moving cable car? No. My parents would have killed me if I'd ever pulled a stunt like that," she told him. The lack of a potentially, horribly painful death helped take some of the edge off, however.
"So, instead you'd just watch naughty TV behind their backs?" Héctor reminded her slyly.
"Hey, it wasn't that naughty!" she tried to argue.
He gave her a skeptical look.
"Okay, maybe it was, but I don't think I really got most of it," she added. "You know, while I was sitting under the stairs, part of me kept expecting somebody to come up to me and be like: 'Hey! Why you crying?'," she said with a grin, mimicking his stand up.
"Uh huh, who is this Jorge Lopez guy anyway?" he wondered.
"Oh come on! You can't tell me you don't know George Lopez. He's a super famous Mexican comedian!" she protested.
"Just because he's Mexicano doesn't mean I'm going to know who he is. Do you know every famous American person?" he reasoned.
"I guess that's a fair point," Becca admitted.
She spent the rest of the ride looking out over the incredible expanse that was the Land of the Dead. It was like they would build up, and not out, leading to towering structures that seemed to exist on individual islands. Hence the need for the cable cars, and of course, everything was brightly colored. It was really a sight to behold.
A few minutes later, the car began to slow as it began to pull into another station.
"This is our stop," Héctor said, hopping out as the trolley pulled up along side another ledge. Becca following quickly after.
"Welcome to the shopping and entertainment district!" he announced before heading off into the fray.
Becca did her best to stay close, but was happily mesmerized by everything she was seeing. It was like a giant, outdoor mall. There were clothing stores, equipment emporiums, tasty foods of all kinds, and little odds and ends shops. Becca liked those last ones the best, making part of her wish she had money to spend.
A large, flashy building suddenly grabbed Becca's attention. It had a neon sign perched at the top that brightly shown the words 'Sala de Juegos Recreativos'. Of course, she had no idea what it meant, but she didn't need to. The sounds coming out from the wide open doors was all the indication she needed.
Pew, pew, pew!
Clack! Clack, clack!
Thrrrrrrrrr, crash!
"Breaker, breaker - try again!"
All this and more was accompanied by the delighted squeals and laughter of kids, and it was as if Becca lost control of her own feet. She veered off, away from Héctor and towards the promise of fun!
"Hey! Where are you going, chiquita?" he called after her.
"It's an Arcade!" she announced excitedly.
"But, those machines take money," he warned, hurrying after her.
"I know. I just wanna take a look around," she assured him, waving him off.
Becca entered the building in a trance. She glanced around with glee at all of the familiar titles, weaving around machines and other kids so she could get the full effect. Héctor was following her, albeit slowly and hesitantly, feeling very out of place with all the flashing lights and loud, unfamiliar noises. He finally caught up with her when she abruptly halted in front of a particular machine.
"Really? They have 'House of the Dead'?," she asked skeptically pointing at the game.
Héctor glanced at the console to see what she was referring to. Decaying corpses and other horrific monsters were lunging at the screen, before being blasted down by an invisible gunman. He quickly realized that the user was supposed to be the gunman, as there were two brightly colored, plastic guns resting in holsters attached to the front of the machine. He grimaced at the idea of the game.
"Seems just a little insensitive, don't cha think?" she agreed, before continuing on.
Becca made her way towards the back, wanting to make sure she didn't miss anything. Music was emanating from one of the corners, and she noticed that it was real music, not just video game music. Her eyes went wide with awe and delight when she saw where it was coming from.
It appeared to be a massive karaoke machine, lit up like the 4th of July! The edges were glowing bright blue and green, with alternating neon pink and yellow surrounding the screen. It had a platform where you were supposed to stand surrounded by speakers that opened up to the room.
Currently, there was a kid who didn't seem to be too much older than Becca enjoying the music, the lights pulsing along with the beat. He was singing his own rendition of 'Paranoid' with a few others looking on eagerly. They seemed to get excited and holler praises to him every time he hit several notes in row with perfect timing.
Becca looked to the screen to see that it wasn't just a karaoke machine, but it was a game too. The screen was keeping score of how well he was hitting the notes on time and in what key. For the most part, he was doing a good job of being on time and in tune. The other kids around him would get excited when he'd hit a long streak, and have it seriously boost his score. However, he'd inevitably make a mistake and then the streak would reset. He didn't seem shy about performing though, showing off to his friends while he sang.
Once he was finished, the machine gave him his final score. "Rock Star!" It announced enthusiastically. The kid then stepped off the platform to the excited cheers of his friends.
"That was sweet Toni!" One boy said.
"No one can sing like you!" Another girl cooed enthusiastically.
"What is that?" Becca suddenly heard from above her.
Héctor was standing over her, his eyes shifting between her and the machine.
"Looks like some kind of karaoke game," she told him.
"He sounded pretty good, eh?" he commented.
"Meh, he's no Ozzy Osbourne, but it wasn't bad," she admitted.
The kid suddenly whipped around to look at her with a glare. Apparently he had heard her.
"Hey! You think you could do better?" he snapped.
"As a matter of fact – I know I can," Becca informed him with confidence.
"Oooooooooo," the others behind him said ominously.
She'd always been pretty good at music rhythm games. Not to mention, her singing voice was nothing to shake a stick at.
"Oh yeah? Well, why don't you prove it!" he challenged, getting all up in her face.
Becca glanced up at Héctor. He subtly shook his head, but Becca wasn't one to back down from a challenge, especially if it involved video games!
"Alright I will," she told the Toni kid.
Héctor quickly took hold of her arm and pulled her away from the others. He leaned down so that he could whisper to her.
"But you can't, chiquita. You don't–" But Becca pulled away from him before he could finish.
She began rifling around in her pockets, before pulling out the coin she'd acquired from before. She brandished it for him to see with a grin.
"Where. . .?" he asked, but Becca just winked at him.
"One side, Jethro," she told the Toni kid, pushing past him towards the karaoke machine. She really hoped that this coin would be enough, or else she was going to feel really stupid!
Once on the platform, she saw that underneath the screen were some buttons and a coin slot. Perfect! She slipped the coin into the slot, relishing in the clink it made, and the guitar riff sound effect from the game once it registered.
"Welcome to Karaoke Revolution! Please select your song!" the game announced in a loud, over enthusiastic tone.
Becca picked up the microphone and used the buttons to begin shifting through the available options. A lot of the music was American rock. She was a little surprised to find that was the case, but then realized that this game had probably originated from American, like most of the games in the room.
She finally decided on a song that she knew really well, and hit the center button to select it. She then turned around to face her audience. She didn't really the lyrics, after all.
"Get Ready!" the game announced. Music began playing out of the speakers, and she put the microphone up to her lips right before she dove into the first verse.
Well you're the real tough cookie
With the long history
Of breaking little hearts
Like the one in me
That's OK,
Lets see how you do it
Put up your dukes,
Lets get down to it!
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me
With your best shot
Hit me with your best shot – Fire Away!
You come on with a "come on"
You don't fight fair
But that's OK
See if I care!
Knock me down, it's all in vain
I'll get right back on my feet again!
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me
With your best shot
Hit me with your best shot – Fire Away!
Becca was smirking as she sang, and punched at the air with her free hand while she moved back and forth on the platform. She couldn't see what was happening on the screen behind her, but the other kids were looking impressed. Toni was looking worried.
Well, you're the real tough cookie
With the long history
Of breaking little hearts
Like the one in me
Before I put another notch
In my lipstick case
You better make sure
You put me in my place
At this point, she noticed that the lights behind her seemed to be flashing brighter, but she didn't dare turn around to check, because it might mess up her mojo.
Hit me with your best shot
Come On, hit me with your best shot
Hit me with your best shot
Fire Away!
Hit me with your best shot
Why don't you hit me with your best shot
Hit me with your best shot
Fire Away!
As the final chords played out, Becca turned around to see that the machine was exploding with lights, like she'd just won the jackpot in Vegas! "Perfect! New High Score! Rock god!" The game was calling out. Looks like she hadn't missed a single note.
Becca then walked over until she was right in front of the Toni kid. She then held out the microphone at arms length and then dropped it in front of him.
"OH!" the guys in the group called out. Becca then began to saunter away towards Héctor with a big grin on her face, but Toni wasn't about to let this go.
"Oh yeah, well, that was one of the easiest songs in the game!" he yelled after her.
Becca turned with a doubting look. "Right, and 'Paranoid' is just super hard!" she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Toni then began frantically glancing between her and Héctor, trying to come up with something else to save face.
"No one wants your kind around here anyway! So why don't you just crawl back into the scum box you came out of!" he shouted angerly.
Becca didn't even hesitate. She whirled on her heel and came stomping back over to the smart-mouthed kid, getting right in his face like he'd done to her.
"Dude, maybe that was a bit far," one of the boys behind him suggested.
"Cállate!" Toni snapped at him. He wore a smug expression. He knew he'd gotten to her.
"Becca, no!" she heard Héctor protest from behind her. She backed off a bit, but still continued to stare him down. Otherwise, she didn't move.
"Heh, that's what I thought." He closed the distance between them even more. "Now why don't you get out of here, and take that mierda with you," he muttered, trying to sound bad.
Now that was the last straw for Becca. She didn't care what Héctor said, this kid was going down! She reared her arm back and socked the kid in the face as hard as she could. However, instead of him falling over backwards, like she'd expected. His entire head came flying off! It soared across the room until it hit a pinball machine, putting it into a tilt.
One of the girls screamed. And a second later they heard another shriek from where his head had landed. "Antonio!" it shouted.
Meanwhile, Becca looked both surprised and pleased at the turn of events.
"Whoa! Gross!" she exclaimed. Unfortunately, she didn't get to savor in her victory for long. She felt a sudden yank on her arm as Héctor began dragging her back towards the entrance of the arcade.
"We gotta go, now!" he ordered.
Becca didn't protest or try to fight him. She just let him pull her along, out of the arcade and around the corner. She was trying her best to keep up, but between the surprise and the fact that his legs were much longer than hers, she kept stumbling behind him. She never fell though, his strong grip keeping her constantly upright.
She glanced back to see two burly looking guys in black suits dash out of the arcade and hurriedly glace around, until they spotted her and Héctor.
"There they are!" One of the men shouted, before they began to give chase.
Héctor must have heard him, because Becca noticed his pace quicken even more. He was ducking and weaving in between other people, trying to lose the men. All the while keeping a vice grip on Becca's arm.
They rounded a corner, and Becca felt herself getting yanked to the side as he pulled her into a narrow alleyway. He held Becca against him away from the opening, while they both waited in silence to see if they'd lost them. Both of their chests heaving from exertion.
After it was clear that they were no longer being followed, Héctor then turned to Becca with an angry scowl. He hoisted her up by the arm so that she was eye level with him.
"What did I say!" he lectured. Becca gave him a sheepish grin and shrugged.
"You always this much molestia?" he snapped.
"Huh?" Becca asked, cocking her head.
"Trouble!" he translated irritability.
"Oh – much more sir!" she told him seriously, but then giggled.
"I don't get the joke," he told her before dropping her back to the ground. She stumbled a bit before righting herself.
"It's from 'The Sound of Music'," she explained, but then realized what she said. "Oh yeah, that's right. You don't like music," she said in a snarky tone. Then began to sing loudly again.
Climb every mountain! Forge every stream!
Follow every rainbow! There you'll find your –"
She didn't get a chance to finished the lyric before Héctor clamped a hand over her mouth.
"We're still trying to lay low!" he hissed at her.
"Sorry," she told him after removing his hand. "But I couldn't just let him talk about you like that, and not do anything about it," she argued.
"That's exactly what you have to do! There are some peligroso people out there, Becca! We can't afford to make the wrong person angry," he explained.
She looked at him like he was crazy. "Why not? What are they gonna do? Kill me again?" she reasoned.
"You ever hear the phrase: there are things worse than death?" he asked ominously.
"Fine," she consented. "From now on I'll be more careful before I go punching people's heads off." She then giggled again as she remembered how his head had looked sailing through the air. "You gotta admit, the look on his face was pretty funny though," she pointed out with a nudge.
"I've never seen anymore more surprised to get beat up," he agreed, and they both shared a laugh.
"I hope his friends give him a hard time about getting taken out by a girl," Becca said deviously.
"Well, let's just hope his padres aren't able to track you down," Héctor added.
Music References:
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
I hope this chapter was as fun as I promised!