Amor Temible / Oscar Diaz

UNO

     Helicopters filled the sky every night, kids playing soccer out on the street, the neighborhood dads drinking beer on the porch steps while their wives stayed inside to talk about the chisme. Everyone knew everyone and nothing was a secret. That was the Pasadena life. If you were Latino, everyone kept their eyes on you. No one kept quiet about anything. Valeria always hated the way things went around Pasadena. Her parents were just like every latino parent in the neighborhood. Her dad worked in Santa Ana as a city landscape worker and her mom made money by cleaning people's houses. They made good money but just enough to support the family. Valeria just finished her junior year at John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School. She was a decent student, passed with a 4.0 GPA, been on her schools soccer varsity team ever since her freshmen year and was part of her school band. She wanted to get out of Pasadena and get into a good university like her brother did. Attending UC Irvine was her dream and she would do anything to get there. 

     It was just any regular summer day in hot southern California, palm trees swaying to the cool breeze in the 100 degree weather. Valeria was just riding her black penny board down her street to go to the nearby liquor store to buy chips and a drink for her and her brother, Ivan, to share. Her dad was at work and wasn't going to get back by 4 pm; her mother was at home with her brothers making dinner. A bead of sweat went down her neck as she entered the store going down the aisle to pick up her favorite bag of hot Cheetos. 

     ¨Hola mami, cómo estás?¨ said a dark voice behind her.

     Not wanting to turn back to face the guy behind her, she slightly looked to her sides to see if there was anyone near by but of course the chips had to be at the back of the store. 

     ¨Get lost Gio or I will kick you right here, right now¨ She told him and tried to sound scary. But when you're 4¨11, that never works and Gio was so much more taller than she is, anyone is actually. 

     ¨Aw, you're so cute when you're mad,¨ he replied chuckling, ¨come over to my place so you can let hat frustration out in a good way.¨

     Valeria got her chips and pushed him away from her as hard as he can. She walked to the counter and gave the cashier three dollars and walked out of there as fast as he could. She knew he wasn't going to chase her but she still tried to get back home as fast as she could. After she was a block away from her house she stopped to take a break. She has asthma but it wasn't too bad. After catching her breath she went back onto her penny board and started to make her way back home. She checked her phone and saw that in two more hours her dad was going to arrive back from work. 

     Opening the front gate to her small house she left her penny board under the table outside and opened the door. She could smell the delicious food her mom was making, chilaquiles, her favorite dish. Smiling, she dropped the chips on the table and called out for Ivan to pick up his chips. He was in the middle of a FIFA game between him and their older brother, Luis, who was currently beating Ivan 2 to 1. She walked by them and went into her room to sit on her bed. She found a comfortable position and pulled out her phone to look at Instagram. After a while she got bored and looked out the window to see her neighbor working on his car while blasting the radio. He always played 80's music and honestly, no one ever complained about it because its good music. 

     She heard the familiar alarm of her dads van locking and knew he just arrived home. She heard him take off his boots and called out to her mom. She then heard talking and went into la sala to hear what they were talking about. 

     ¨Lo siento mami pero me despidieron. Me ofrecieron un trabajo en una ciudad llamada Freeridge,¨ he informed her, ¨vamos a tener que movernos.¨

     The house was silent after that. No one wanted to move. As much as Valeria wanted to leave Pasadena, she didn't want to say bye to her friends. She was going to have to start fresh and finish her senior year in a high school she knew nothing about. Tears slowly went down her cheeks as she wiped them away slowly. She was going to have to start over in a new place, in a new world, and in a new school. 

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