Boscha Noceda

Chapter 11: Captain

Camila was working on dinner when her oldest daughter ran in.

"Mom! I made the Basketball team!" Boscha said, the thirteen year old dropping her backpack and practically jumping up and down.

"That's great Carino!" Camila said.

Boscha gave her a big grin.

"Don't you mean 'Capitana Cariño'?"

"¡¿Hiciste capitana?!" Camila's eyes lit up as she hugged her daughter. "¡Oh, mija, estoy tan orgullosa de ti!"

And then Luz trudged in, wearing a cheerleader uniform.

"Well, I was told to never try and join the cheer team again." Luz said.

Camila looked to her other daughter.

"Oh, Luz, how come?"

"Wellll... " Luz looked off to the distance as she recounted her tryout. "It started out good. They liked my cartwheeling and booming voice, but the others were doing so much better, so I thought if I had, like, a... a hook... a special skill, that would get me a spot on the team. But, I couldn't think of anything, then I panicked, and before anyone knew it, I did this."

Luz turned away from her family for a brief moment, then faced them again, only with her eyelids turned inside-out as she squeezed her eyes.

"Bleep-bloop-bleep!"

Boscha started laughing.

"Why wouldn't they love that!?" Boscha asked between breaths, "That was great!"

Luz smiled slightly.

"Thanks, hermana, that means a lot coming from you. And hey, don't let my defeat take away from your moment. You're the captain of the basketball team! I... I know Dad would be proud of you."

"Yeah, but I think he would be proud of you for trying something new." Boscha said, before putting Luz into a headlock and giving her a noogie, something that Luz really doesn't like.

"Boscha!"

"Oh, come on, you little bugger, it's not a big deal." Boscha said, letting go of Luz, "Besides, it's not like I can mess up your hair... any worse than you did."

"Okay, you can stop bringing the sword thing up, it was mistake!" Luz said.

"All right, mijas, break it up." Camila calmly intervened. "Dinner's almost ready, so get yourselves cleaned up."

"Dibs on the shower!" Luz was already scrambling up the stairs, determined to beat her sister to the bathroom. However, Boscha hadn't moved, but rather looked to Camila.

"Boscha, what's the matter, dear?" Her mother implored.

"Mamá..." Boscha began to sulk. "...I... I don't like how they treat Luz at school."

Camila frowned a bit. It was no secret that Luz was a bit of an outcast, and was bullied, but most of the teachers in school didn't care enough to do anything about it. Boscha was also a bit weird, but she's a natural athlete, so no one is really willing to mess with her.

"I know, Carino, but I've talked to the principal and there isn't much he can do." Camila said, silently cursing him out in her head, "Just try and keep an eye out for her, alright?"

"Mamá, I keep all three eyes out for her." Boscha insisted. "And we both know Old Man Hal can't be bothered to help if it means going up against the popular kids."

Camila had to ask. "You don't call your principal that at school, do you?"

"No." Her daughter was quick to defend herself. "I mean, not to his face. Anyway, I do everything I can to keep her bullies away, aside from beating the living crap out of them."

"And what abooouuut...?" Camila spun her index finger in a circle, pantomiming Boscha summoning flames.

"No, Mom, I didn't set any of them on fire. But for all my restraint, I still get chewed out by the teachers for defending Luz, and none of her bullies ever get any punishment. I just... I don't know what else to do."

"I know, it's hard Boscha, but you're doing the right thing, being violent will only lead to problems."

"It seems like whatever I do leads to problems." Boscha practically collapsed in her mother's arms. "Luz keeps being mistreated, and I can't do anything about it. I feel like I'm letting the family down."

Camila looked her daughter in the eye. "Boscha, no. You could never let us down. You're probably the only reason Luz even likes going to school. A lot of times, things just go wrong, even when you do everything right. It's okay to feel frustrated, mija, and we'll do everything we can for Luz. We'll figure something out, okay?"

"Okay, Mamá."

The two shared one more hug before getting back to their respective tasks. What they didn't notice, however, was that Luz was standing at the top of the staircase, and she had overheard their conversation. Luz frowned, she hated how much Boscha went through to keep her safe, only for nothing to come from it. She walked to the bathroom as she wiped her tears away.