Happy 2020! Cheers to a new decade!
callate la boca-shut your mouth
aquí-here
Maritza and Raiza walk into Parson's Preschool together, hand in hand. The little girl is wearing white tights under a pink cotton dress with a picture of the Powerpuff Girls on the front and black Mary Jane shoes while Maritza has on a jeans miniskirt, a fancy light blue top, short gold boots, and a gold leather jacket. She wears nude stockings since it's cold and she wants to show off her body in her outfit. For once, she wants to actually be liked in school and not known as the total stereotypical bitch cheerleader. She has no reason to act out now, really. Her mother finally had gotten the guts to ditch that monster once and for all.
It's not like Maritza never had friends for sixteen years, no, but she'd drifted apart from those she liked and some others weren't so nice to her. Most of the time, though, she acted like she was better than her classmates and spewed out catty insults, which made them stay far away from her. There's a few she's still close to, so she'll just reconnect with them later on Facebook and MySpace and be pen-pals or something like that. She knows that getting away from Dean is more important for them all. Even her kid sister understands this. Besides, Maritza hates her papi-if she could even call him that-just as much as her mami does. Ever since she first saw the domestic violence, he's been as good as dead to her. She'd wanted to tell so many times, but the cops in Arizona are terrible and Dean's an ICE agent.
"School's so big," Raiza comments in a little voice.
A bell rings and Maritza kneels down to Raiza's height. She combs through her sister's short curly black hair with her fingers. "I know, Rai-rai, but don't be scared. I'm just a minute walk away if you need anything. We're all right here. Mami will make sure of that. I'll take you to your class. Now, who's your teacher?"
Raiza hands Maritza a slip of paper. "I can't read, how would I know?"
"You're right. Okay, I will take you to Señora Córdova's room in…room seven. I am right across the street at Martin Van Buren High. There's a meeting spot with a few chairs if you need anything." She pauses in thought. "Hmm, that's strange, I have her too, for seventh period Spanish."
Raiza nods mutely and shyly hides behind Maritza's legs as her big sister leads her to her classroom.
Maritza timidly knocks on the closed door. It opens, and a petite Hispanic woman with long, wavy black hair and curled-under side bangs is standing before them. She's visibly pregnant and wearing a tan sweater over a light pink shirt. A black skirt decorated with pink and red flowers hangs around her waist and falls to her ankles. She pulls off her outfit quite well, so it doesn't swallow her small frame up or anything. She has minimal makeup on, too, and small gold hoops. Maritza feels tall standing next to her, even if only by a couple inches.
"Hello, my name is Maritza…and this is my sister, Raiza Flores. She's joining your class today. Bye, Raiza." Maritza kisses the top of Raiza's head lovingly.
"Love you, Maritza!"
"I love you too!"
Raiza's preschool teacher audibly gasps. She's staring at them with a stunned expression on her face and her hand pressed tightly to her heart. "What?" Maritza asks, her tone sharper than she means it to be. "You ain't never seen a teen girl drop off their baby sister before?"
"Yes she did, my big sissy Daya does all the time!" a small Latina cuts in. She has long black hair, huge brown doe eyes, and is grinning from ear to ear. She's wearing a dark blue dress.
Mrs. Córdova quickly composes herself. "Nothing, I'm sorry. Um…thank you, dear." She clears her throat after her soft voice cracks slightly. "Hi, Miss Raiza, how are you today?" The woman delicately takes Raiza's small hand and walks her to the circle of children. "We're just beginning to sing the good morning song. Boys and girls, say hello to Raiza."
Maritza leaves the room and smiles to herself, although the lady's reaction to her bringing in Raiza had made her feel awkward. She tries to brush it off and just go about her day. Hopefully, Mrs. Córdova won't look at her so weirdly in the afternoon.
When it's lunchtime, Maritza buys a meal for herself and Raiza and a middle-aged Caucasian woman silently serves it to her. "You'd better like my food!" another white lady-probably the cook-says in a heavy Russian accent. Her red hair peeks out from beneath a chef's hat and glasses hang from her neck on a purple string.
The woman's makeup-double winged eyeliner and bright red lipstick- is very pretty, but she gives off a scary vibe, so Maritza makes a mental note not to piss her off. "I'm sure I will."
The bell rings for her baby sister's lunch, and she meets up with Raiza at half past twelve. She walks carefully around the preschoolers, since she doesn't want to trip or hurt anyone. She beams and waves when she sees Raiza sitting with another girl and boy.
"Mari, Mari!" Raiza yells and makes a beeline for her big sister. Maritza puts the tray down on a table and catches Raiza. She spins her around.
"Are you okay? I brought lunch for you."
"Yay!"
Maritza guides Raiza back to the little children. "Hey, I'm Raiza's big sister, Maritza."
"Hi, I'm Eva!"
"I'm Benji!"
"We're all gonna be best friends!" Raiza exclaims and puts her arms around their shoulders.
"That's cool for you guys. I'll see you later, Tiny Raiza!" Maritza grins and goes back to her own school to find herself a table with her tray.
She's determined to make a friend today since she really doesn't want to eat alone like a loser. She walks along the rows of tables filled with students laughing and talking together and tries to search for kids who she could maybe get along with. Some boys look like they're overgrown and in college rather than high school. Several black girls, two with big curly hair whom she may have seen working at Storky's, and one with a mohawk, give her friendly smiles as she passes them. They all have huge earrings and dress nice, too, in loud, vibrant colors. Another African-American girl with straight black dreadlocks joins them. She's wearing a track uniform. They're all wearing sneakers, probably Jordans. At another area, there are two brunette light-skinned girls eating together and they look kind, too. One of them appears to be Hawaiian and has darker hair. It's just that neither group really ask her to sit with them. She wants to wait for an invitation so she doesn't appear desperate for companionship. She thinks one of the Storky waitresses are in her Algebra class and she's really good at the subject. Tasha...something. Maritza has to stay back two years in math since she's awful. Failing Geometry last year prevented her from taking Calculus, but she doesn't care. She prefers to stay where she feels the most comfortable.
"Hey, babycakes, you want some sugar from Papi?" A Latina dressed in all leather with short dyed blonde hair cropped to her ears pats the seat next to her and then flicks her tongue in and out between her fingers shaped like a V. Maritza is aware that's the sign for oral sex, and 'Papi' has all her friends around her laughing by now.
Maritza scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Ew, ¡no gracias, tonta!"
"Yo, Barbie!" Maritza turns around to find the Spanish-accented voice. "Yeah, over here, chiquita." A dark-skinned Goth girl with bangs straight across her forehead waves at Maritza, flashing black painted fingernails and red bangles around her wrists. She's wearing a cute plaid black and red dress paired with black flatforms and a pair of lacy black tights cover her legs. Her dark blue lipstick matches perfectly with the stripe in her hair and she also has on yellow eyeshadow and thick, black eyeliner. "Sit with us. We're saving you from the class puta!"
"Callate la boca, Flacaca, you just mad that I wanted Daya and not you!" Papi yells as Maritza walks over to the Hispanic girl group which consists of Flacaca-if that's really her name-and seven others. The one with puffy lips and long brown hair in a ponytail, flips Papi off. She must be Daya and the rest of them giggle.
"Yeah, not really feelin' the lezzie thing," Maritza says and sets her food down in front of her. "Also, she was gross in her flirting. Like, everyone thinks I'm sexy, I get it, but you don't gotta be disgusting, ya know?"
Goth Queen nods. "Mm-hm, for real, girl." She unwraps part of her burrito and slathers some hot sauce on the top. "I'm Marisol, by the way, but mi gente call me Flaca. So does like, a lot of the student population, pero maestros y mi familia y staff in general refer to me as Marisol."
but teachers and my family
Maritza plops down in the spot that Flaca and another girl make for her. "It's cool meeting you. I'm Maritza." They shake hands and exchange a grin. "Holy shit, our first names both start with Mari!"
The two of them chuckle together. "Whoa, that's super fuckin' dope," Flaca murmurs after swallowing her bite.
"I know!" Maritza picks up her piece of cheese, pepperoni, and sausage pizza and starts eating it. "Mmm! This is good."
"Your name rhymes with your food," the girl on the other side of Maritza comments, and Maritza nods with a smile. "Mine isn't as interesting...Daisy, like the flower."
"Still pretty, though," Maritza assures her.
"Thanks." A look of recognition crosses Daisy's face. "I think you were in my English class this morning, right? With Mrs. Ford?"
Maritza nods. "Yeah, I remember you now. A few rows up towards the front?"
"Mm-hm."
One by one, the remainder of the girls they're sitting with introduce themselves. Cat, who wears jeans and a white shirt and a red beanie and black glasses is Flaca's best friend and they're both in freshman year and fourteen years old, apparently. Daya is indeed the girl with the puffy lips and brown ponytail with bangs straight across like Flaca's and she's a junior, like Maritza. Then, there are sisters, Elena and Cecilia, and then seniors Maria, Sirena, Carmen, and Ramona, except for that the last two are usually called Ouija and Pidge by everyone except their family members and staff at the school.
"So, how do you like it here so far, new chick?" Cecilia asks while pursing her lips. She's a junior like Maritza, but she can already drive, lucky girl.
"It's fine, actually...better than I expected. The teachers are nice, especially Mrs. Ford!"
"I know, right?" Daisy asks rhetorically. "Cool that we have her first period."
Maritza nods eagerly. "Totes."
"Who else you got?" Elena wonders aloud. "Maybe we'll be in the same class after lunch. They mix up high school grades for foreign language classes, gym, art, anything that ain't a core subject."
"Mr. Young for Algebra, second period-"
Flaca groans. "Really? You're stuck with Tasha Jefferson, the show-off?"
"Yeah, but I don't see the problem with her..."
"Oh, trust, you will. Bitch fought me for a King Cone-"
Maria rolls her eyes while resting her chin on her fist. "Flaca, get real, you got all up in her bizz-nazz and told her not to leave it on some random table near the vending machine. Grow up."
"Word," Sirena concurs.
"It was hella sticky and I was about to put my purse down there!" Flaca defends herself. She turns to Maritza. "Then, she beat me for some mock job fair we were doin' last year."
"Fair and square, Franken-cha-cha!" Tasha yells in passing and does a spin. Maritza can't help but chuckle at the drama. It seems so silly compared to the actual fighting that went on in her home before.
"Ay, vete a la mierda y deja de presumir," Flaca mutters, but Tasha has already gone back to hanging out with her own friends.
fuck off and quit bragging
"Ohhh, burn, bitch," Cat murmurs and they all crack up hysterically.
"Get this, though. Her nickname is Taystee and her best friend is Poussey. It's supposedly French," Ouija reports and Maritza stifles a giggle beneath her palm. Flaca tosses her head back and cackles again like she's drunk or something. "Though...they're actually really nice, once you get to know 'em!"
"Speak for yourself, O," Flaca grumbles. "Nah, like Poussey ain't so bad, but Taystee is super braggioso."
"I heard she's also a lesbian...Poussey," Pidge whispers. "Rumor is she's dating that foreign exchange student, Franziska Mertensacker."
"Oh, well, I'm glad she's happy," Flaca says, and the others murmur in agreement.
"Alright, let's stop this childish gossip," Daya tells them, and Maria and Sirena point at her with vigorous nods. "Honestly, your life is like a telenovela, Flaca."
"True," Flaca admits. "You know what else is a telenovela?" She glances at Maritza and jerks her thumb toward Daya. "This one and her mami."
"Oh, Lord, yes," Maria chimes in, and Daya just glares at them.
"Would you honestly shut the fuck up?" Daya growls under her breath. She suddenly stands up and gives a head nod to a white girl and Hispanic boy. "Gotta roll, gang, I'm gonna meet up with Claire and Paolo!"
"I...don't even know what that is," Maritza confesses after everyone waves goodbye to Daya. "Should I? My mom used to enjoy those...she still does, I guess...but life gets in the way. She don't got time for that." The truth is Dean would never let them watch her favorite shows, and Maritza really has no idea exactly what a telenovela is.
"That's a social crime, honestly," Flaca tells her.
"No it's not, don't listen to her." Sirena waves her off.
"Yo, I was kidding!" Flaca says. "Just wanna make sure...you tellin' me you ain't never seen a telenovela?"
"Nope." Maritza shakes her head.
Flaca raises a thin eyebrow. "Seriously?"
Maritza is getting a little annoyed now. "Yes...why is this so hard for you to believe?"
"It's basically a television drama or soap opera produced in Latin America. I dunno, I guess I'm just shocked. You can come to my house and watch some with me," Flaca offers.
"Sure!"
"Anyway...who are your other teachers?" Daisy wants to know.
"Ms. Bell for Science, Mr. Fantauzzo for History...kinda hot, by the way, Ms. Fischer for Art, Mr. Donaldson for Gym, aaaand...Mrs., or should I say, Señora Córdova, for Spanish," Maritza answers her.
"Yessss!" Elena cries while pumping her fist in the air. "We're takin' Spanish together!"
"Yay!" Maritza says brightly.
"Anything to get closer to Mommy Dearest," Cecilia tells her younger sister condescendingly.
"She's making an effort," Elena snaps.
Cecilia puts her hand in Elena's face. "Whatever. I can't talk to you." She storms off.
"Bad blood?" Maritza guesses, and the girls nod in unison.
"The worst," Elena murmurs. "It's not exactly poor mamá, but she's not completely in the wrong. I can kind of understand why..." She trails off. "Sorry, this is too personal. Um, can we change the subject?"
Daisy nods. "Of course."
"Damn, you got Córdova?" Flaca wants to know.
"Is that good or bad?" Maritza asks nervously. "She's also my sister Raiza's preschool teacher."
"Oh, it's great. She's the best, if you're on her good side. I was like, the teacher's pet in her class last year at Marie Curie Middle." Flaca sighs and an upset expression crosses her face. "It's just...sometimes she gets this real sad look in her eyes and it's kinda depressing and makes Spanish boring. I don't know what her saga is, but one time, me and Maria came into her room after school to get some help and she was at her desk, hunched over and crying with some framed picture in her hands. She quickly put it away when we walked in, but it made us hella concerned."
"So, what's her story? Sounds like someone important in her life died or somethin', 'cause we all know she gettin' laid," Maritza says matter-of-factly while miming a pregnant stomach.
Ouija and Pidge snicker. Maria and Flaca shush them and the others just shake their heads.
"We never found out exactly," Maria responds.
"When I took Raiza to her class this morning, it was like she saw a ghost when we showed up. Or rather...when I introduced us."
"Huh, that's weird. Maybe you look like someone that she's missing, or she lost a child who was a spitting image of Raiza," Sirena guesses.
"Good theories!" Maritza says. The bell chimes and they all get to their feet. "Hey, it was a pleasure meeting you. Y'all made me feel so welcome! You can pass the message along to Daya and Cecilia, whoever's gonna see 'em next!"
"I will!" Flaca announces. "The three of us are in Yearbook class!"
Maritza beams up at her. "Awesome, that's super cool!"
"Ay dios mío, cute outfit!" Flaca compliments her.
"Thanks, and yours is pretty rad, too!"
"Muchas gracias, nueva amiga!" Flaca's beautiful smile is so contagious and Maritza can't help but grin even wider than she had been before.
"You seem hella sweet," Maritza tells her. She's so grateful to finally have found a group of possible stable friends in Flaca and her crew. It's only her first day and so much can go wrong, but she's been doing pretty well so far.
"Aw, thank you! You do, too, Bitsy Betsy." Flaca throws her a wink and nudges her. "Maybe your mami should've named you Elizabeth so that would make more sense!"
"Ha ha. Clever!" They're still sharing smiles as they leave the cafeteria together, following Flaca's other friends.
"So I know this is last minute, but tomorrow's Halloween and I'm throwing a fiesta! You wanna come?" Flaca asks.
Maritza will have to scramble to find a costume, which could prove to be stressful, but she's just so happy to have been invited to her first high school party. "Hell yeah! I'm so in!"
"Yay!"
"Bye! See ya later, we can exchange numbers!"
"Of course! Don't get lost in the crowds, Mari. You've gotta be one of the very few shortest high schoolers!" Flaca's gaze travels to Elena. "Watch out for her, yo. She's teeny-tiny. I didn't even think she was sixteen at first..."
"No worries, I will."
Maritza loves that they're protecting her already.
At the end of lunch, the girls go to an auditorium for gym class.
"Okay, guys, we will be starting tomorrow with dance lessons, so suit up!" The girls' attention is focused on the director of the physical education program. Her name is Milagros Mendoza, and Elena tells Maritza that Milagros is her abuela.
"Wow, you're like, related to everyone at this school," Maritza comments.
"You will all get your textbooks soon...only one hundred and seventy dollars each, so tell your parents or guardians," Ms. Mendoza announces.
"Why does everything have to cost fucking money?" Maritza mumbles to herself lowly. She can only think of one way for her mom to get the money, and she hates that she has to think that way. She never wants to see her mom have to pay anyone in sexual favors again.
"Class dismissed!"
The group of high schoolers leave the gym, and then it's time for Spanish class.
"Hey, la maestra ain't in yet," Maritza notices aloud. "You wanna snoop through her stuff? Flaca made me real curious."
Elena shakes her head. "Nah...we shouldn't."
"Okay, you stand guard, I don't wanna get busted."
"Maritza..." Elena glances out the door worriedly. "Class is gonna start any minute."
"I'll be fast!" Maritza hurries to the teacher's desk and pulls open a drawer, but doesn't see anything interesting. She doesn't even get to the next one before a stern voice calls out, "Jovencita, ¿qué haces en mi escritorio?"
Young lady, what are you doing in my desk?
Shit fuckin' holy...
Maritza freezes in her tracks and looks up to find Señora Córdova speeding towards her. She puts her hands up in surrender and moves away. "Um...lo siento...pero..."
Señora Córdova narrows her eyes at Maritza, her expression cold as ice. "Sientate."
Go sit down.
"Sí, maestra. Um...I didn't steal nothin', I promise!"
Everyone is staring in Maritza's direction and snickering as she slowly takes her seat next to Elena, who's shaking her head in disappointment. "Wow, shortie...I tried to warn you," she whispers. "Sorry, I made an attempt to stall her, but she was too fast!"
"Ay tonta, you too stupid," a short-haired girl on the other side chimes in. She has grills on her teeth that make her look frightening. "Somethin' wrong with your brain?"
"Shut up, Zirconia," Elena hisses. "Ella es mi amiga."
She's my friend.
Zirconia smirks. "Hazme, después de clase."
Make me, after class.
Elena scoffs and gives Zirconia the finger, but when their teacher isn't looking.
Maritza's face burns with humiliation as Señora Córdova stands at the front of the classroom and stares right at her. She keeps her eyes downcast. "Hola y bienvenido a español avanzado. Esfuércese por no hablar inglés en esta clase. El año que viene, no se permitirá el inglés. Yo soy Señora Córdova." Her tone is much more pleasant now and she's even grinning.
Welcome to Advanced Spanish. Try hard not to speak any English in this class. Next year, no English will be allowed. I am Mrs. Córdova.
"Hola, Señora Córdova," everyone greets her in unison.
She begins to take roll and then Maritza raises her hand when her name is called. "Aquí."
Señora Córdova then gives instructions for the students to pair up and work on their first assignment. After class, she asks Maritza to stay.
"¿Por qué estabas mirando en mi escritorio, si no estabas tratando de robar algo? Sé que eres nueva en esta escuela, pero sabes que es incorrecto e inapropiado espiar."
Why were you looking in my desk, if you weren't trying to steal something?I know you're new to this school, but you do know that it's wrong and inappropriate to snoop.
"Yo solo...quería saber tu gran secreto porque me estabas mirando a mí y a mi hermana de forma extraña. Perdón por ser entrometida."
I just...I wanted to know your big secret because you was lookin' at me and my sister weird. I'm sorry for being nosy.
"Tienes detención, y me gustaría hablar con tus padres."
You have detention, and I'd like to speak to your parents.
Maritza's eyes widen and she shakes her head rapidly as her heart hammers inside her chest. "No, no, no! ¡Por favor, no!" she begs. She doesn't want to put any more stress on her mother. "Simplemente no lo volveré a hacer, ¡lo prometo! Tomaré el castigo...pero por favor, no se lo digas a mi mamá. She's got a lot on her plate right now, she don't need this. Además, mi papá no está realmente cerca..."
I just won't do it again, I promise! I'll take the punishment...but please, don't tell my mom. Also, my dad's not really around...
Señora Córdova folds her arms over her chest and frowns. "Eso es muy malo. No deberías haber estado excavando en mis cosas personales. Esa es una gran violación de mi privacidad, y cualquier otro maestro diría lo mismo."
That's too bad. You shouldn't have been digging through my personal things. That's a huge violation of my privacy, and any other teacher would say the same thing.
Maritza sighs. "Lo sé...pero eres maestra! No debes dejar que tus emociones se interpongan en tu trabajo. Mira, no me importa si te recordamos a alguien que extrañas o lo que sea, pero..."
I know...but you're a teacher! You shouldn't let your emotions get in the way of your work. Look, I don't care if we remind you of someone you miss or whatever, but-
"Tengo que recoger a mi hijo del preescolar. Será mejor que se comporte por el resto del año, señorita Flores, o tendremos muchos problemas."
I've gotta pick up my son from preschool. You'd better behave yourself for the rest of the year, Miss Flores, or we're gonna have a lotta problems.
Maritza nods mutely and slings her bag over her shoulder. She leaves Señora Córdova's classroom so the woman can lock up. "Fuckin' life-ruining puta," she whispers lowly once she's outside.
Thank you for reading and reviewing, VeraRose19, MsSchneeheide, and Juliette45!