Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide!

película-film

After hours of searching for a place to work or eat, Blanca takes the bus to the girls' school at two-forty-two in the afternoon and makes it by two-fifty-four. She has a small lunch on the bus. It's a ninety-nine cent sloppy joe slider from White Castle. She wants a job at a fancy restaurant she sees on the way to their school, but she doesn't think they'll hire her. She's too new, and it's the end of the year.

"Miss, are you getting off?" the bus driver asks her. "No eating on the bus!" He honks his horn a few times to get her attention.

She wipes her greasy, sticky fingers on a napkin, and heads off. She throws her lunch away in the garbage and tries to look in the bus' side mirror, but it speeds off. She knows she has crumbs on her face, so she brushes them off.

She tries to stay out of everyone's way as she inches closer to the school. It isn't until a pixie bumps into her, that she's jolted out of her unhappy state. A grin breaks out across her face and she hugs Raiza close to her.

"I had fun at school," Raiza says excitedly.

"You did? That's wonderful!"

The little girl nods. "Yeah, Mrs. Córdova, she's our teacher, she read us an awesome story, and she taught us our ABC's...I can say them all!"

Blanca smiles. "Ready, set, go!"

Raiza recites the alphabet. "That was easy. I can even spell my own name. R-A-I-Z-A! And then, Maritza got me some lunch. It was super, super delicious. I got two new friends today. Can they sleep over at our apartment?"

"It's too shabby, I'm afraid," Blanca says guiltily.

"Aw..."

"You can go to their house anytime, though, if you want."

"Yay! Wait, Mama, I don't want to sleep without you or Maritza. I'm afraid of the dark." Raiza hugs Blanca around her waist and buries her face into her skirt. Blanca picks her up and they sit down far away from the school to wait for Maritza.

"Don't worry, sweetie." Blanca's about to start crying again. Because of her, her little girl can't have friends and be alone with other families overnight like normal kids. She can only hope Maritza isn't too lonely without her or Raiza. "Mama's always here."

"Can we go to the park, Mama? My friends said that Central Park is lots of fun! Maritza's class ends a long time from now!"

"Of course, bebé," Blanca says with a nod and takes Raiza to the nearby park. She pushes her on the swings and when Raiza's pumping her legs and swinging on her own, Blanca sits on the swing next to her daughter. Pretty soon, they're both laughing and swinging together.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, the bell rings to signal the end of Maritza's day. Blanca and Raiza practically run to the school to meet her out front. Maritza gives Blanca a quick hug, and the three of them hop onto the next bus that will get them home at twenty minutes after five, and they hide in the back.

"School is great, but you gotta pay one-hundred and seventy dollars for textbooks, Mami," Maritza says begrudgingly.

"That's such a rip-off," Blanca says grimly. "Luckily, I got everything but textbooks. ¿Cómo los conseguiríamos? I could barely afford to eat at White Castle, and I look too ugly to apply for a job."

How would we get them?

"They pass 'em out in class. I guess I could share with someone until you get enough money. For clothes to wear on your interview, you'd have to go back to that thrift shop where you got our stuff for the apartment. Maybe some rich or middle class woman would donate her clothes and that thrift shop would sell it for really cheap." Maritza responds. "Mami, you don't look ugly."

"Mami, you're pretty!" Raiza chirps.

"Yeah, like Salma Hayek, my new friend Flaca's fave actress," Maritza adds with a grin.

"Well, thank you. You girls are my world, you know that?" Blanca kisses them and they gather close together for the whole ride home.

That night, they watch two Spanish films that Dean had never allowed them to see before-Living it Up and Callejon de los Milagros.

"No me lo puedo creer, Maritza. You were trying to butter me up, weren't you?" Blanca huffs and shakes her head. She wraps a yellow scarf around her bruised neck and dots concealer on her scars that would show. "¡Diciéndome que me parezco a Salma Hayek!" She rolls her eyes.

I can't believe this. Tellin' me I look like Salma Hayek!

"You do, honest!" Maritza insists. "Lo siento, I tried to tell Señora Córdova that you wouldn't have time to meet, but-"

"She wouldn't need to speak to me if you hadn't rummaged around in her things and let curiosity kill the cat!" Blanca hisses. She carefully spreads lipstick around her mouth and winces when she goes over the cut on her bottom lip. "It's only our fourth day here, and you're already making stupid decisions!" She slides her sunglasses on, brushes out her hair, and marches out the door, with Maritza and Raiza in tow. Blanca scoops up her youngest and then the three of them take the earlier buses to Martin Van Buren High. Late last night after their movie marathon, Maritza had told her about the incident with her Spanish teacher and needless to say, Blanca's pissed. "Whatever Flaca and Maria told you, that isn't your business."

"¡Te lo dije, ella también me miró a mí y a Raiza! ¡Como si hubiera visto un fantasma! Esa mujer tiene problemas. Excuse me for being curiosa!"

I told you, she looked at me and Raiza weird, too! Like she saw a ghost! That woman's got issues.

Blanca's not sure what to say to this. "I'll ask her about that."

"Go right ahead!"

Once they arrive, Maritza leads them to Señora Córdova's classroom. She and Blanca are walking so fast that Raiza has to run to keep up with them. Finally, Blanca just picks her up again. "Sissy in trouble!" she shouts while pointing at Maritza.

"Shh!" Maritza whispers. "Okay...here it is." She knocks on her teacher's door. "The lair of mi malvada maestra."

my evil teacher

As soon as the woman opens the door, Blanca's frustration quickly turns to extreme happiness. Karla's standing right there before her and Blanca gasps while clapping her hand over her mouth. This is highly unexpected, but a very pleasant surprise. It's just too bad she has to be the one to punish Maritza. Why can't it be some other teacher who Blanca doesn't care about?

"¡Ay dios mío, Karla!" A lump forms in her throat as she wraps her arms around her best friend and squeaks out a sob. Karla squints, as Blanca may be unrecognizable in her sunglasses, but in a split second, the smaller woman hugs her so tight she feels like the life is being squeezed out of her. "Oh, you're so beautiful!" Her usual big hoops have been replaced with smaller ones and her skirts have grown longer. She no longer shows any midriff, nor wears heavy makeup. Even her bangs look different, more to the side and bunched up instead of straight across and spread out. She has a bump under her shirt, obviously showing. She's no longer the teen girl Blanca remembers her as, but somehow, she still looks the same. Blanca would easily be able to spot her anywhere.

"So are you, mi mejor amiga..." Karla reaches up to hold Blanca's face in her hands and her eyes well up with tears. "¡Tan hermosa!" she chokes out.

So beautiful!

Blanca sniffles and puts her sunglasses on top of her head to show Karla her black eye. She pulls the scarf down slightly and points to the handprint marks Dean had left around her neck while strangling her constantly. Karla appears to be horrified at the sight of her. "No, no, I look like Salma Hayek en la película Ask the Dust! Or better yet, Callejon de los Milagros. Lo siento mucho, Karla, siempre tenías razón sobre ese monstruo, ¡debería haberte escuchado! Eres mi mejor amiga, debería haber confiado en ti, ¡maldita sea! Sin embargo, era tan estúpida e ingenua..." Blanca combs her fingers through Karla's curls. "Y look at you, all grown up, married with a baby on the way...you haven't aged one bit, I swear!"

I'm so sorry, Karla, you were right about that monster all along, I should've listened to you! You're my best friend, I should've trusted you, goddamn it! I was so stupid and naive, though...

"Tampoco tú...y está bien, bebé, está bien, eras un niña, joven y enamorada, los niños no siempre saben lo correcto, pero estoy muy contenta de que lo hayas dejado y took your babies with you." Karla glances from Blanca to her confused-looking daughters and gives them trembling smiles. She pats Raiza's cheek and the little girl gazes up at her, beaming now. "I'm so happy to see you...all of you...alive and well!" Karla releases Blanca and guides them to her whiteboard. She hands Raiza markers and Blanca's youngest takes the message to draw with them. Maritza and the women watch Raiza carefully, but still talk together.

Neither have you...and it's okay, baby, it's okay, you were a child, young, and in love, children don't always know the right thing, but I'm so glad you left him

"Oh, wow, so that's why you totally freaked when I said mine and Raiza's last name was Flores!" Maritza realizes aloud. "You're our mom's old friend, now I get it!"

"Your mother is still a dear friend to me. She's been in my heart for many years." Tears glisten in Karla's eyes and she wipes them away, smearing some of her mascara. She turns back to Blanca. "¡Te tomó bastante tiempo para recuperar tu trasero aquí!"

Took ya long enough to get your ass back here!

Blanca sniffles. "So I must have been in that framed photograph...that my daughter was trying to find. Lo siento."

Karla nods. "Sí, sí...I couldn't stare at it longer than a second without wanting to burst into hysterical sobs of anguish. I probably shouldn't have been looking at it while I was in my classroom..."

"Look at me, though, Karla, I'm a mess! I'm sorry again for what I put you through...and also that we drifted apart."

"You've been through hell. It's understandable. Estarás bien, Blanca. I've got a spare bedroom available if you need help. It's always okay to ask for it. I tell my three-year-old son Benji that every day, and I'll repeat it to his baby brother Abel right here." Karla pats her large tummy.

You'll be okay, Blanca.

"Aww! Nice names for your babies!" Blanca grins, and Karla returns it. "Muchas gracias Karla, pero, we're good."

"Not really," Maritza pipes up. "I mean, we got an apartment and stuff, but we don't got dinero for textbooks...and do you know of any places that are hiring? Mamá's looking for a job. Lo siento that I made a lousy impression on you...won't happen again!"

Karla sighs and gives Maritza a tight-lipped smile. "Gracias por contarme todo eso. You're still not off the hook from your punishment, though. One week's worth of detention after school."

Thank you for telling me all of that.

"Lo sé, Señora Córdova."

I know.

It's so weird that Karla's actually walked down the aisle, wedded her high school sweetheart, has a tiny son, and is now with child for the second time. She's done it at an appropriate age, too. Blanca thinks if only she'd been more like Karla and not gone so fast with Dean, she'd have been a lot better off. Then again, she wouldn't have her girls. She can't be more thankful for them.

Karla appears to be happier with Maritza. She beams at her and then her eyes travel back to Blanca. "I'll talk to Diane, get you started on waitressing at Friendly's, okay? Also, Margaret's looking for a new caretaker for her mother Millie."

"¡Gracias! Um...Diane, you mean Alex Vause's mother? She was our English teacher back in the day, right? We called her Ms. Vause until she got married to Charles Ford, that cop?"

Karla nods. "You got it!"

"I have her for English, too! Small world, ain't it?" Maritza asks rhetorically.

"Yes, indeed! I thought she would've retired by now..." Blanca trails off and shrugs. "Guess not, what is she, fifty-somethin'?"

"We can't discuss teachers' ages in front of the students," Karla lets her know. "It's kinda personal..."

"Oh, right! ¡Lo siento!" Blanca apologizes and pretends to zip her lips shut. "Never mind, forget I said anything!"

"Fifty? I thought she was thirty-five, closer to forty!" Maritza exclaims. "Wow...I am amazed."

"Me too. I haven't seen the woman in so long, but I do remember she aged well."

"I suppose you'll meet her again at Back to School Night!" Karla says.

"Mm-hm!"

"Red still works here, too, and Norma," Karla informs her. "The kitchen, but what else is new? They're the best cafeteria ladies around. Also, uh, Norma's foster daughter, Gina, took the position, too, now."

"Oh, cool! I totally remember Red and Norma. Ummm...who's Margaret again?" Blanca wants to know.

"Diane's brother's wife, or Alex's aunt. We met her like, once or twice. She's been posting signs everywhere."

"Ah, okay. So, how far along are you?"

"Just four months. Of course I've already got the rounded belly, I've always been a tiny thing."

"Yeah!"

"Happy Halloween, by the way! I haven't gotten a chance to dress up yet...I got my gold princess gown, wand, and tiara hanging in the closet," Karla says.

"Oooh, pretty!" Raiza squeals.

"Which princesa?" Maritza asks in interest.

"Nobody in particular, like not from Disney. I made up my character. Tu mamá was Esmeralda when we were teens...so I didn't wanna copy her," Karla responds and Blanca chuckles to herself.

"That'll be pretty!" Blanca comments when Karla shows her the outfit.

"Gracias, mi amiga."

"I wanna be a princess, too!" Raiza exclaims. "Mami, can I, can I?"

"Sí, of course, baby one," Blanca tells her. "You can be anything you want."

"Yaaaaay!" Raiza cheers.

The women giggle together and continue talking and catching up.

Finally.

"Mi bebé, goin' to her first high school party," Blanca murmurs as Maritza walks downstairs slowly in her Elvira costume. She and Flaca had planned to be goth queens, and Flaca is going as Morticia Addams-or the Latina version of the character, at least. "Aww, you're beautiful, mija."

Maritza rubs her dark red lips together and adjusts the huge black wig on her head. "Gracias. I hope I look enchanting, too!"

"You do," Blanca assures her. "Ahora...before you leave with Flaca and I take Raiza trick-or-treating around the complex, I wanna tell you a few things."

Maritza rolls her eyes. "I know, get home before curfew, which is when the clock strikes ten. Midnight on All Hallows' Eve is when ghosts and goblins come out and people rise from the grave. That's Flaca's favorite part of this holiday. I didn't wanna miss it, but...alas, I will." She sighs dramatically, resting the back of her hand on her forehead, and sinks to the bottom of the stairs. "Woe is me."

Blanca joins her and beams. "You really believe that?"

"It's a very spiritual time of year," Maritza insists. "Anything can happen, Mami."

"Well, yo solo quiero you to be safe. You're lucky I'm even letting you go, as you're supposed to be grounded this week."

I just want

"Lo sé."

I know.

"Listen to me now, nena. Flaca's throwing this fiesta, pero, she'll be entertaining all of her guests, and sometimes, she won't be with you. I also know that like most high school parties, this won't be supervised, so I'm counting on you to make wise decisions and not put yourself at risk. Since you're new and people barely know you, they could take advantage of you. You need to watch your drink carefully and don't take your eyes or hands off it, ever. ¿Entiendes?"

Maritza nods in understanding. "Sí. I got a group of friends already, so it ain't like I'd go off alone anywhere...I don't wanna attract douchebags by looking all lost and lonely. My cleavage already looks large and in charge. I shouldn't tempt nobody."

"Y te aseguras de que esos nuevos amigos tuyos se queden contigo. Don't ever let them leave your side. Sígalos por la habitación si es necesario. Don't allow a dumb boy to distract you. If you feel the slightest bit sick, I want you to use Flaca's phone and call me, okay? Lock yourself in the bathroom if you need to. Your high heels can be weapons. You won't be in trouble, porque aunque sé que eres responsable, no confío en los demás...especialmente en los chicos de secundaria que quieren actuar como chicos de fraternidad cachondos. That's their problem if they can't handle themselves around a girl who's just trying to have fun." Blanca appears to be somewhat guilty and she sniffles, but Maritza has no idea why. She'll be lying if she tells herself that her mami hasn't done a good job of putting the fear of getting drugged and raped inside her head. Blanca sounds so confident that something awful will happen, but Maritza knows things are going to be okay. She has plenty of friends who will protect her.

And you make sure those new friends of yours stay with you. Follow them around the room if you have to. because although I know you're responsible, I don't trust others...especially high school boys who wanna act like horny frat boys.

"Alright. I got it."

"Look at me, sissy!" Raiza rushes into the foyer and spins around in her glittery pink dress, ending their conversation. She taps her gold crown.

"Aw, Mini Glinda the Good Witch!" Maritza says and curtsies before her baby sister, trying to be silly. "What a cutie you are!"

"Oh no, are you the Wicked Witch of the West?" Raiza screams loudly and hides behind Blanca, whose face lights up more now. "Mommy, it's a trick! I have to make her go away!" The little girl points her wand at Maritza and scrunches up her tiny face in disgrace. "Bibbity-bobbity-boo. Grr...I can't make a house fall on her. Help me, Mami! It's 'apposed to be magic!"

"That's the Fairy Godmother's famous words to Cinderella before sending her off to the ball, so wrong movie, hermanita," Maritza corrects her. She and their mother chuckle in unison.

little sister

"Be quiet, you evil bruja!" Raiza blows Maritza a raspberry.

"No, sweetie, Mari's just Elvira, that's someone completely different." Blanca gestures to her eldest child. "Look, she's not even wearing green face paint or a witch's hat."

"Ohhh! Okay." Raiza begins to relax. She aims her wand at Blanca's sparkly red shoes. "Now click your heels and follow the Yellow Brick Road, Miss Dorothy!"

Blanca stays in character as she does what Raiza says and skips around the room with her as they both laugh in harmony. Maritza thinks her mom looks so young in her braids, her blue and white checkered dress, her white tights, and flats. She'd thought it'd be the other way around, with Raiza being Dorothy and Blanca going as Glinda, but Raiza had insisted on wearing a puffy pink dress and even if Glinda isn't technically a princess, Raiza thinks of her as one.

Maritza soon goes to the party via the bus, and of course, she's accompanied by her mother and Raiza. It's a good thing that the walk to Flaca's place from the bus stop isn't too far. Once Maritza goes up the stairs with Blanca and Raiza and rings the doorbell, her family members kiss her cheeks and hug her.

"¡Adios, que te diviertas!" Blanca calls out.

"Yeah, bye-bye, have fun!" Raiza echoes in English.

"¡Gracias, Mami y Raiza!"

As soon as Flaca opens the door to a beautifully decorated apartment with splashes of orange, black, purple, and green lights and wall hangings of fake witches, spiders, and cobwebs, Blanca and Raiza quickly retreat down the concrete steps, wave goodbye at her, and disappear into the moonlit night.

"Hola, you made it!" Flaca says happily and brings Maritza in for a hug. The other princess of darkness is so lovely. Maritza can't take her eyes off Flaca. Her makeup is done so well, as always.

"You look so spooky!" Maritza squeals and stays close by Flaca as they enter the party room.

"Gracias, ¡tú también!" The girls beam at each other and then Flaca introduces Maritza to other students from the school. Some of them have to take off their disguises so Maritza can see what they look like.

Thanks, you too!

Nobody seems too creepy yet, which is a good sign. She just takes her mother's words to heart and is very cautious of her surroundings. She drinks responsibly-both beer and soda from cans that haven't been tampered with, and the only mixed drink she has is a Long Island iced tea with Flaca, Elena, Ceci, and Daya. It's basically Coca Cola with a splash of rum. The bottle had never been opened.

Maritza doesn't participate in snorting coffee grounds with Pidge and Ouija, because it looks so stupid and painful, she doesn't get high from heroin-which there is a lot of, and she definitely stays far away from the rowdy people, only focused on her crew. She's a little drunk and enjoying it very much, it's making her more sociable and giggly than usual, but she isn't totally wasted and lying on the bathroom floor vomiting on her dress.

She's done an excellent job of taking care of herself, and she's filled with pride. She can't wait to report it to her mami when she gets home.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, MsSchneeheide, A Star in My Universe, Juliette45, and VeraRose19! Alright peeps, so I'll be updating every Friday from now on! In honor of Orange is the New Black always airing a new season on Fridays!