Jade Awakening

The Gang at El Taco Guapo

When we got to El Taco Guapo, a middle aged Mexican server escorted us to our table. We sat with two people on one side and three on the other -- Cat sat in the middle of Robbie (and Rex) and I, and Andre and Beck sat across from us. I recognized Andre from the first meeting of Spring Awakening, he was in the band playing the guitar, I believed. He was also in my 4th period class, but we never had the chance to speak to each other, so this would be our first real interaction.

"This was a good call, man. I hear this place's tacos are the chiz," he says to Beck.

"You can thank her, uh... Sorry, what was your name again?"

"Well my full name is Catarina, but nobody calls me that except for my Nona. So you can just call me Cat!"

"Sounds good to me," Rex said mischievously. "Here Kitty Kitty."

"Rex! That's not polite," Robbie chastised. "Sorry about him."

"Ooh! Your puppet can talk?" She asked.

"He's not a puppet!" Robbie said a little too defensively. He tried to recover with, "But you are a doll."

That was the lamest pick-up line I have ever heard. Beck, Andre, and I averted our eyes towards our menus out of second-hand embarrassment.

Cat let out her signature laugh. "Ahahaha! Gross."

A moment of awkward silence passed before Cat decided to break it again. There wasn't a natural flow of conversation with us not really knowing each other all that well.

"What's chiz?"

"I think it's a German sausage," Andre said whilst still looking through his menu. "Ooh, they got buffalo tacos!"

The server came to take our drink orders -- Robbie asked for a chocolate milk from the kids menu, Cat, Andre, and I all got sodas, and Beck ordered a lemonade.

"So how are rehearsals going?" Cat asked to get the conversation going again.

"Pretty good," Andre answered first. "They're having me pre-record all of the electric guitar parts so that I can play the acoustic guitar parts live for when we perform."

"Your character plays guitar?" she asked.

"Nah nah, I'm in the band. I haven't had rehearsals with these guys yet -- not until they get to rehearsing their singing parts."

"How many songs do you play guitar for?" I ask.

"All twenty-two of them!"

"That's so many!" Cat said, impressed.

"Ah, nothing that he can't handle," Beck said as he gave Andre a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Music is his life. He learned to play the guitar, piano, drums, and french horn all on his own. Wasn't it your talent on the keys on strings that got you into Hollywood Arts?"

"You make it sound like I'm a prodigy or something, but yeah," he said bashfully. "How about you all? How did you get in?"

Our server came back with our drinks and then took our dinner orders before we answered Andre's question. Andre went for his buffalo tacos, Robbie ordered tamales, Beck and I each asked for a burrito, and Cat ordered flan, claiming that she wanted to eat dessert first.

"Well, I auditioned with a stand-up routine," Robbie said, "but Rex kept ruining my jokes."

"It was high-larious," Rex cackled evilly.

"It wasn't funny!"

"You weren't funny! I saved you, Rob."

"You're such a good ventriloquist!" Cat praised.