I swear some Hispanic parents want to take out their anger on their children then tell them it's their fault forfamily problems.

"Antonia we're going to leave you if you don't hurry up!" The goth was currently applying mascara as she was finishing getting ready. She and her friends were headed to the band concert to support Mal and Joseph. Nicole, Jiya, and Wally were all waiting for her to finish to make their way to high school. "I'm almost done! Let me put on perfume then I'll be ready!" She gave herself one more look in the mirror before walking out the restroom. She had on a dark blue velvet maxi skirt that had a slit on the right side. A black chunky crochet sweater loosely fit her body. She now had dyed it fully black and curled it to perfection. "Let's go babe!" She grabbed her purse running out of her room and the two girls walked out to their friend's car. Just as Nicole opened the back door, Jiya pushed off Wally off of her. She had her arms wrapped around his torso, passionately kissing him. Wally had his hand cupping her face and playing with the strands of hair on her face. His face matched his bright hair trying to sit correctly. Jiya wiped the side of her lip fixing her top. Antonia burst into laughter and Nicole stood there with her mouth wide open.

Wally opened the door for the girls as they approached the school. There were parents scattered in the hallway in front of the auditorium, excited to see their children perform. Antonia immediately noticed Baran and Mikron were talking to each other at the end of the hallway. Mikron noticed Jiya and Wally holding hands and made a sour entered inside being greeted with chatter from the audience. The band kids were moving fast to transition from setting up, middle school students were shouting, and teens sitting in the audience ready to support their friends. Wally waved over to see that Karen, Donna, Roy, and Garth were sitting together. They took turns greeting each other and caught up on what happened in the few hours they had last seen each other. "So how long is this going to take?" Roy looked at the stage that was only filled with music stands and chairs. "Well, there's going to be two main bands then a few groups so maybe an hour to an hour and a half." He nodded, leaning forward toward his friends. "Toni, I haven't seen you in a really long time. How are you liking public school?" Garth looked at Antonia and she instantly melted. She found him to be extremely attractive. Tall, dark hair, fair skin, very lean, and a total gentleman. That's what all girls wanted in a dream guy. But even then, he was simple for Antonia's taste. She got her head out of the clouds and finally answered the boy. "I like it pretty much so far. There are some things I'm getting used to but I'm sure it will be second nature by the end of the year." He smiled while nodding at her, and she was mesmerized by the little dimples that went deep into his cheeks. Jiya looked at her with sass, "That basically stands for this school sucks and I want to be put back into catholic school." They all laughed at her comment and the goth rolled her eyes. She then recognized some other classmates and thought it would be a good idea to say a quick hello.

"Did you really need to get all of this?" Jiya looked at her boyfriend that had just eaten at Sonic earlier. He bought a water bottle, some gummy candy, nachos, and a pickle. "I know you're going to ask me for a bite of at least one thing." He put the nachos in her lap sitting down, put his arm around her pulling closer, and kissed her on the cheek. She grabbed a gummy worm and looked over to Karen. She was texting on her phone and noticed there were lots of heart emojis on the screen. "Karen, can I ask you something?" Karen slowly took her eyes off her phone to see Jiya staring her down. "What's up?" "Do you think Toni and Isaiah will ever be a thing?" Roy turned around in his chair to listen in on the gossip. "Let me just say I'm not the typeto participate in gossip. However, I honestly don't think its going to happen because he's too scared to make a move. Us guys have tried to talk to him about it but he's too stubborn." Donna shot him a nasty look as he was stating something she thought was hypocritical. "I've tried to get him to ask her out or just for them to hangout alone after school but there's always an excuse with him. And I'm worried she'll end up liking someone who's not worth her time. It's like the time he asked her out to Chili's then the whole squad when." Garth eyes went large and his jaw hung open. Karen shifted in her chair, "See, that was so stupid of him to do. Why did he let that happen? Toni was really mad wh-" "Sorry to cut you off, but that was supposed to be a date?" Garth was shocked that a guy who was really interested in a girl would let people come. He thought for a moment, "Who the hell does that?" Roy let out a low chuckle, "Yeah Toni was super pissed and got all cute to go out with him. He was also dressed nice, but he wanted people to spy on them. Garfield and Victor didn't get the memo and joined them at the table." Jiya face palmed at the conversation and Nicole shook her head. The boys were laughing at the idea and Nicole interrupted their amusement. "Hey, you might think its funny, but Toni was really hoping he'd make the first move. But since he screwed it up, he might have ruined his chance to get with her." Wally cocked his head to the side, taking a big bite of his juicy pickle, "What do you mean ruin his chance?" She shrugged her shoulders and Jiya answered, "I mean Toni does go on different dates with other guys, so he probably has a smaller chance of having a relationship," she popped a gummy worm into her mouth. Karen sat back in her seat and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I think Toni's been interested in some pretty stupid guys recently so I'm not sure about anything." Both Roy and Garth looked confused, but the students began to flood the stage. The auditorium began to get quieter and the lights dimmed. Antonia ran back to her friends and sat down trying to be as quiet as possible. Antonia ran back to the sections where her friends were and looked for her friends. Nicole leaned close to her, "Right now, this is just the intermediate band so Mal and Joey won't be here."

The music was absolutely beautiful and made it feel like there was magic in the room. The songs echoed and vibrated in the chairs. At some point, Antonia felt her eyes water up from the emotions she felt. It was a very nice performance so far and the band was ready to play their last song. They watched the percussion students set up quickly for the last song, then Antonia noticed something interesting. A creme colored guitar was picked up by a boy with shaggy white hair. He smirked as he moved the strap on his shoulder and took out a guitar goth finally realized who it was. "Oh my god I forgot he was in band." Her face suddenly felt warm and she sank down a bit in her seat. Samuel currently led the band as their last song was a rock rendition of Carol of the Bells. Needless to say, their performance was amazing. Some students stood up merging to the front of the stage as the rest of the band returned to the back. They played a cute winter song and kids in the crowd sang along. Antonia decided to get some candy from the concessions and got up from her seat. "Oi, I'm going to get a snack. Do you want anything?" Nicole looked at the stage watching the students perform their next song and thought for a moment. "No, I think I'll pass. I don't want to miss Joey if they come in the next minute." The goth whispered to her friends if they wanted anything and they also passed on the offer. She made her way near the doors when she noticed Baran again. He was sitting with his usual group and he pretended not to notice her. Angelita saw her and tapped Seymour's shoulder, they waved at the goth, and she waved back smiling. She got in line quickly hoping they wouldn't take long. Walking back into the auditorium she saw Samuel talking to Angelita and Johnathan. She didn't know whether to say hi to the boy or to pretend not to notice him. William stood next to Angelita and nodded at the girl, making the group face her. A wave of anxiety hit her and she slowly came to a stop. "Hey love," the punk went up to the girl giving her a quick hug which she returned. "You here with your friends?" William leaned against Angelita who pushed his elbow off her shoulder, he giggled but she looked annoyed. "Ye, I'm here with Nicole and the others," she fiddled with her candy and opened the wrapper, "That last song the band played was really cool!" He smiled and began bragging about how easy it was for him to shred on his guitar. The two were in their own world talking which made Johnathan feel proud that his friend was conversating with the girl. Seymour looked at his friends trying not to laugh, yet Dominic on the other hand was very intrigued to see how this would end.

Roy finished washing his hands in the restroom and dried them on his jeans. He pushed the restroom door open with his arm and saw Jade standing outside in the hallway. "Hi there," she softly greeted him looking at him up and down. A simple blue plaid shirt, ripped jeans, and black sneakers. He really never paid attention to how he dressed, but he did everything to make sure his facial appearance was its best. "Uhhh… What are you doing here standing in the hallway?" He looked around to see if anyone else was around. "I just wanted to talk to you and see how you've been doing. Am I not allowed to care?" He began to walk back to the auditorium and she followed. "No, it's not that. Were you waiting for me to come out? Like do you have something to say?" "What the hell do you mean?" Her sharp attitude nudged him to say what he needed to get off his chest. "Well... My friends told me that you're telling them our business and trying to start drama with other people. I don't need you to be in other people's business." She raised an eyebrow then began laughing hysterically, "Is this about Donna? You said she's not your girlfriend. You've been talking to other girls so why does it matter?" "Yeah, but Donna is my friend. One of my best friends. I've known her since I was ten!" She laid her hand on her hip, "So just because she's your friend, that's an excuse to treat her the way you do? You treat her like all the other girls you talk to so what's the difference? You barely even hang out with her but you hold her on this pedestal. Oh, but I'm sorry. We've been talking since last year and I probably know you better than her. You know I'd be better a better girlfriend than her." A mischievous grin set on her face. She then started laughing again at the thought of Donna being sad that she and Roy would be together. Jade looked into Roy's eyes, thinking of what to come up with as a response for what he could possibly say next. He looked very upset with her and crossed his arms, "You seriously think this is funny? Jade, why are you so rude to my friends?" She turned to go back to the auditorium and reached for his hand. He whipped his arm back, looking at her disgusted. At this moment Jade looked hurt a bit. This whole time she thought he would fall into her jokes and thought she was simply toying with his emotions. Roy was done with her and didn't want to think of how she had been treating her friends. "I think we should stop seeing each other." He looked away knowing she wasn't going to react well. "What? Stop playing around." He continued walking away hoping she wouldn't make a big scene in front of the crowd headed back to the auditorium. "Roy, come back. I want to talk about this… Roy."

As the second band performed, students put all their emotions into creating such passionate sounds that filled the room with warmth. Nicole was on the edge of her seat keeping her eye on Joesph the whole time. She picked out his curly locks apart from the other percussionist at the back of the stage. Antonia began to then wander the thoughts that filled her head. She wasn't able to really enjoy any extracurricular activities because she was always moving. Eventually by the end of middle school, she quit everything because she saw no point in trying to commit to something if it wouldn't last. There were a few times when she joined and orchestra and choir but it hardly lasted. However, it now seems like there is some hope to doing things in the moment. Everyone started shouting loudly and cheered at the end of the performance. Antonia saw her friends stand and shout loudly for their friends. She too did the same. The lights came back on and the audience began to exit the auditorium. The hallway soon became overwhelming once parents took pictures and cried over their children's performances. The group even got to say hello to the parents of many friends. Once Joseph and Mal were there, they discussed plans on what to do next. All they had to do now was decide on a restaurant to eat at.

"Toni!" The girl turned around to see Angelita approaching her. "Hey, we're going to go grab something to bite. Do you want to join us?" Antonia smiled excited to hear that she wanted to be included but then remembered she already agreed to eat with her friends. "I'd love to, but I'm already going with my friends," she pointed at Nicole who softly smiled at Dominic who was standing right behind the blonde. "Okay, that's totally fine! No worries," she smiled at the goth but then a light bulb went off, "Oh! I wanted to ask you but I keep forgetting. Ha! Can I have your number so we can invite you to come hang with us?" Her expression was filled with pure kindness. She wasn't messing with Antonia and genuinely hoped to spend more time with her. "Yeah, of course, mate," Antonia pulled out her phone and Angelita did the same to exchange numbers. "Ooohhh shiiiit! Is Toni joining us?" Seymour walked up to the two girls visually happy, clearly thinking that she was going to join their group for some fun. Peering over toward the auditorium, their friend group approached, including Samuel. "No, I'm hanging out with my own friends." "Party pooper," he crossed his arms frowning tilting his head to the side. She giggled and put the phone back in her bag. Jiya and Wally noticed Seymour talking to the girl and the boy with red hair became uncomfortable. He held Jiya by her waist and guided her to exit the school. Seymour gave Wally a rude expression, feeling jealous as he saw Jiya get closer to him."Hey, I think we're going," Nicole looked back at her friends, gesturing to Antonia to start moving. "I'll text you to see when we can hang out. I'll see you later." As Antonia tried to wave goodbye, Angelita gave her a hug. This caught the girl off guard, but she hugged her back, somehow feeling that she probably really needed an embrace. As she let go, Samuel got near the two also showing open body language. The girl blushed and quickly gave him a side hug, "Are you leaving?" She looked at him nodding and noticing that his friends were keeping a close eye on them. "Hmhmm, they just left." "Let me walk out with you," Seymour and William looked at each other with eyes the size of meteorites. Antonia's face began to grow red but their walk was soon interrupted. "Hey Sam! Marie wants to ride with you and William to the restaurant!" Jade stood their with a wide grin linking arms with the girl with blue hair who demonstrated a rather envious look. She had on a tight black long sleeve shirt and a dark blue mini skirt with fishnet stockings, a similar look to what Antonia was wearing. Samuel moved his lips to one side, opening the door for the girl, "I'll text you later," then walked back to the group. She felt like something was off but then ran to her friends to catch up to them in the parking lot. "There was something up with that girl Marie."