Living in America (West Side Story origin)

Chapter 2: Prejudice

Tony is sweeping the floor of Doc's store and it looked so clean someone could almost eat off of it. Doc comes into the room and walks up to the cash register, he picks up the money they made that day and looks a bit depressed.

"I've been running this store for 30 years and never have I seen such a bad sale over the daytime," Doc says as he walks over to Tony.

"Here's your paycheck for the week," 

"Doc, if things are rough you don't have to pay me full salary right now," Tony says understandingly.

Doc goes back behind the counter to tend to some customers. In the same instance  Riff, Tony's best friend, burst in with a black eye and blood gushing from his nostrils and lower lip.

"Riff! what happened to your face?" Tony says worryingly and walks over to him to inspect his face.

"It's my uncle you know how he is. I don't know how much more I can take of this Tony," Riff says  with fatigue.

"You know what you're gonna do? You're gonna stay with me and my family until you get your own place. How does that sound?" Tony says reassuringly.

"That sound better than getting my head bashed in every other day," Riff says almost laughing and walks out of Doc's store after saying goodbye. 

Riff walks down the street and bumps into Disel, they greet and then notice the Puerto Ricans moving in across the street.

"More and more of those Latinos keep moving into this neighborhood. It wont be long until this street will be corrupted with violence and drugs," Riff says with his arms crossed glaring at Bernardo and Anita who were pulling all of their luggage up the stairs to their friends apartment.

"Yeah these Puerto Ricans think they can just move into our country, take our jobs, rape our women and god knows what else," Disel says with a bit of ignorance.

"I don't think we need to worry about that, but what we do need to do is keep these streets safe. Lord knows Krupke isn't man enough to take on these foreigners," Riff says as him and Disel walk away from the scene.

---

"New York City is so beautiful, don't you think Bernardo?" Anita says right after they've moved all of their stuff into Pepe and Indio's apartment and decide to explore the city.

"It's ok I guess, to me it is no more beautiful than our San Juan," Bernardo says almost homesick.

"They are both beautiful, just in different ways," Anita states as she grips Bernardo's arm and drags him into a clothing shop she saw out of the corner of her eye. 

"Look at this fabric it's so soft! And this dress is such a beautiful colour," Anita says excitedly.

From the corner Bernardo's eye he feels the shop clerks giving them the stink eye.

"Anita we should go," Bernardo says worryingly.

"Why? We just got in here," Anita says disappointed but then gets distracted again by the dresses.

"I don't feel like we are welcome here," Bernardo says and makes Anita realise that everyone in the store was looking at them like freaks.

Anita sets down the dress she was holding and walks out of the store upset with Bernardo walking behind her.