Fairy Eyes

Part 2: Chapter 8: Ember

Ember brushed her hair off her face with her hand. She grabbed a fistful of it, twisted it into a bun, then sighed. It was another hot day in Miami on the day of  graduation from college. The weather had reached over 100 degrees and everyone stayed in their homes laying on their sofas, staring at their computer screens.

The cars burned their oil outside, filling the air with smog that seemed to dissipate all around like it was being smoked. Loud reggaetone blared, making the ground beat with such an intensity it almost seemed as if there could be an earthquake.

They were waiting at the restaurant of Mrs. Rodriguez before they decided to trudge to the stadium, where they would be doing their walk down the graduation podium in our caps and gowns. Her friends Olivia, Marisol and her kept dipping their chips in chorizo cheese and pouring from the rum bottle that they ordered. The señora decided to put them very far in the back, so that they wouldn't disturb the older men who would come in, see them, and make complaints about "the state of western women these days."

Ember was talking to my friends about college. Where she had gotten accepted. North University. The idea of being lost in a Georgia town, even if it was notorious for it's college football, was lost on her. Yet, when it came compared to to the few that had accepted me, it was the safest and most prospecting place for her mama. When her mama approved of something, there was no way she could get in the way of her enthusiasm. It almost made her feel resentful the way that her mom was always giving her ideas of how her life should go, instead of allowing Ember to make her own decisions.

"I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's Georgia after all. Land of the Republicans. What if I hate it?"

"You'll probably hate it" said Marisol, dipping into the cheese. "You could have gone to the Bahamas and met a nice, dark-skinned man, and sat on the beach smoking reef. Meet a strong, hulking black man. Have mixed kids. Teach music to the kids. Never leave the islands, and sail out to one of the deserted ones when you are an old lady to die. Yet, you had to go to North. You'll probably come back with a boyfriend that drives a truck and a liking to country music. Maybe you'll even vote Republican. "

"It was my mom. She thought I needed to get into a different environment."

Ember had recently broken up with her boyfriend Gary the past year. They had spent the two years together making love, smoking pot, and dealing around the school.

When his brother got arrested, the police department called her. Said they had a list of all the people they needed to keep a watch on. Then Ember's mom came on their secret stash in the bedroom that they had been dealing but hadn't sold yet. It was after that of which they decided they couldn't be together without drawing the attention of their parents. They got carried along their academic trajectories, making excuse after excuse as to why they could not see each other.

Gary got into college in California, and decided then that it was time to break it off with Ember. He was very distant and cold at that point, making it sound as if they  were never going to get back together again.Ember felt regretful and stupid that she had allowed myself to fall for him. To have given her virginity to him. Only to be let down.

Ember was determined to be smarter the next time, and if that meant doing what my mom wanted me to do, she was going to do it. No alcohol, no emotions, no boys, no emotions, and NO BOYS! Who's the responsible daughter now?

"Your mom shouldn't have control over where you want to go to school" said Olivia.

"On that note, I would agree with you" I said. "Yet we had this discussion. Over and over. It almost seems like I'm whispering now, and she just raises her voice louder so she can hear the sound of her own dreams."

"Let's have another drink!"