Malibu | j. parker

treinta y nueve

About two weeks later, everyone was preparing for the state championship game between Beverly and Crenshaw.  While the guys were putting their everything into practice and just focusing on winning, Mariposa and Olivia were really just minding their business and trying to do schoolwork. The two were in Mariposa's room, hanging upside down on her bed and staring out of her balcony. "I should get a hammock to put out there."

"I thought you were getting a bean bag?"  Mariposa just shrugged from her place beside Olivia, humming to herself while running one of her hands over Kalani who was sound asleep between the two.

Mariposa abruptly turned her head, slightly scaring Olivia, like a jumpscare in a way. "I love you."

"You scared me just to tell me something you tell me 20 times a day?" Olivia asked, watching Mariposa then pout and stare at her for not giving her the expected response. "I love you too." Olivia stated, booping Mariposa's nose as a sign of affection.

"We should get matching piercings."  Mariposa randomly suggested.

Olivia stared at her, both of them still just looking at each other while hanging over the side of Mariposa's bed.  "Our boobs?"

"No!  Those ones are supposed to hurt and what if it gets stuck on our bra?  Our whole nipple will rip off.  We'll be nippless!"  Mariposa exclaimed.  Though it was pretty unrealistic, the fear of it was real.  "What about our bellybuttons?  I heard those ones don't hurt."

"I pick your ring, you pick mine?"  Olivia suggested, to which Mariposa nodded in agreement to before they did a handshake.

"Ay dios, you're going to hurt your necks like that."  Fabiola called from the doorway of the room. "Come on, the food's ready and Jordan and Laura are here." 

With Fabiola ushering them down the stairs from Mariposa's doorway, Mariposa slid down the side of her bed and onto the floor while Olivia just rolled over and stood up.  The girls walked pass the shelf of plants and Fabiola, and she watched them continue their conversation about their matching piercing animatedly before shrugging and following them downstairs.  When the three got to the kitchen, Jordan and Casimiro were peeking into all of the pots and trays, trying to figure out what was for dinner. 

"You guys can't tell what was made by the smell?"  Olivia questioned, her arm still linked with Mariposa's as they stood at the entry of the kitchen.

"There's too many smells!"  Casimiro exclaimed in frustration.

"Yeah, all we could smell was the menudo."  Jordan agreed.

Olivia and Mariposa were going to respond with how the smells of all the different food were easy enough to distinguish, but then Eladio came from behind them. "I smell menudo! Oh, there's mor—is that ceviche?"

× × ×

The days leading up to the final state championship game were filled with both excitement and nerves, especially for the team.  Beverly held another pep rally to build up the school's spirit the day of the game, but all of the attention was affecting each player differently; some players were feeding off of the positive energy and hyping themselves up, others were terrified of losing the game in front of such a big crowd. 

Mariposa didn't really know her way around Crenshaw High, like at all because it was her first time on the campus instead of in the stadium was beyond her.  She was just looking for the bathroom, so to prevent herself from getting any more confused, she texted Olivia and stayed in place.  Because Olivia also didn't know her way around the school either, she texted Spencer who left the locker room to go find Mariposa.  She was sitting on some stairs with her hands on her cheeks, waiting patiently like a child who was getting picked up late from school.