Borderline

Chapter 3 - Mocosa

Borderline - Ch. 3

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               I was stuck in the dress shop, watching Blanca trying on all different kinds of wedding frou-frou, while concentrating on not gagging. Imagining her wearing this down the aisle and walking up to my brother was just vomiting material. Her gigantic ring was stuck on her finger, and on several occasions I had just glared at it, hoping my brain waves could cause it to explode and disappear.

               But no such luck, so I was definitely in a torturous situation. Blanca kept expecting me to say things like, “muy bonita,” or “wow, that’s stunning,” but in my mind I was thinking I should win an Oscar. My lying skills were dramatically improving through all of this.

               Earlier this morning, Miguel had come upstairs to my room to talk to me about all of this. “Hey, you okay with it all?” he had asked me.

               “Su-ure,” I said, dragging it out sarcastically before I could stop myself.

               His anger started to radiate. “You know, if you want me to, I’ll go down to the aeropuerto right now and catch the next flight back to Mexico to bring one of her real friends up here.”

               “That would actually be great,” I responded, matching his tone, “because then, I would not only get out of spending time with her, but I’d also get to spend a few days without seeing your face.”

               Miguel  pounded his fist into my wall, and I wondered that it didn’t make a hole. He was officially ticked off. “Stop being such a mocosa, Maria!”

               “I’m not a brat! I just think this whole thing is stupid!”

               “What would you have rather me do?” He yelled, his face turning red and the muscles in his throat straining. “Let them sell this place and have you carted off to some boarding school so I would never have to see you?”

               Tears streamed down my face, but not because I was sad. I jumped up off my bed and stepped in front of him. “That would’ve been fine with me, because it would’ve been a better life than this is.” With that, I pushed past him, but his hand grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away.

               Miguel spun me around so that I had to look him in the eye. “Go with her today,” he said in a heated whisper. “And be nice. She needs some friends.”

               I pulled my arm away from him in one harsh movement. “I’ll go,” I spit back at him, “but I will never be her friend.”

               And so here I was, texting Gill, wishing my misery would just end. Maybe a fire would come and burn the shop down, or… there have been a few earthquakes in Nebraska. It could swallow me up into the earth and I’d go willingly. Or a tornado could come and sweep me off to some foreign place where I could meet some new people…

               Stop bein so dramatic. Gill texted me. I had been sharing my plans for self-destruction with him.

               Come be here w/ me, then. I retorted back.

               No way, I’m stuck here w/ my sister. She came frm college.

            Hannah’s bck? I wanna come c her!

            Haha. Myb l8r. if ur bro lets ya.

            I snarled and snapped my phone shut. He knew perfectly well that Miguel wouldn’t let me go with him. We had already had to resort to sneaking and lying.