Los Carnales

Chapter 6: Penance

May 20th, 2006
Tuesday, 11:55am

School was a dub. Lauren still had to show up because Chris wanted her to have a high school diploma, but she only did the bare minimum. Anytime she was there, she spent the day with her friends, fucking around unless she was in her favourite class: Latin. Unfortunately, she didn't have Latin today, which meant SCHOOL WAS A DUB.

You know how every school has that annoying group of people that are loud, boastful, feared, and are always doing the most at any given time of the school day? Well, that was Lauren and her friends: Emiliano, Normani, Ariel, and any other goon who wanted to follow her. You either adored the gang leader or hated her. And if you hated her, it wasn't like you could say anything about it. Have mercy on any poor soul that tried.

Lauren stopped at her locker to tie her bandana around her ankle, hidden beneath her black jeans so she wouldn't get in trouble with the principal. No gang activity was allowed in school—not out in the open anyway. Her friends stopped by their lockers and waited for her to grab her backpack she shoved in there in the morning; they had a plan to ditch school early. There was business at the 'Los Carnales' club she needed to take care of, like Chris advised her to do five days a week, but Lauren wanted to make a quick stop by the Catholic school Camila and Aleesia attended. It was important to talk to both girls separately. If Camila wasn't around again, Aleesia most likely would be.

"Mani, what's the word? You out with us or you're peacing out to go meet with your little boyfriend?" asked Ariel, across from Lauren's locker.

"Drew is not my boyfriend, we're just talking," Normani clarified dismissively. She got away with wearing the maroon bandana on her head in a fashionable way, adjusting the scarf in front of the small mirror on the inside of her locker door.

"Who's Drew?" asked a new member of LC that made a habit of following Normani around.

"This boy I met at Lauren's birthday party. Ain't nothing serious and it ain't y'all business anyway. I'm going food shopping with my granny, doing some homework, and THEN I'll pull up to the club."

Emiliano stopped next to Lauren and waited for her to notice him to say something. He was quiet, wore a tight lipped smile, his hair was combed back with excessive pomade, and his leather jacket made obnoxious sounds anytime he moved his arms. Emiliano leaned against a locker with his arms crossed and brown eyes watching Lauren closely. All of a sudden the gang leader was too quiet; usually at locker time, Lauren was talking up a storm and messing with her crew, causing a disruptance in the brown and orange hallway. It struck him as odd.

"What's up with you, Lauren?" he asked quietly.

Lauren organised her books absentmindedly, needing to occupy her hands with something while she pondered a few things weighing heavy on her mind. She side glanced Emiliano and shook her head, "Nothing, Suave."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Does it have something to do with Candy or Aleesia?" he persisted.

"Both," she said, giving up her resistance way too soon. Lauren stopped moving around her books to run her fingers through her hair in distress. "Candy is ignoring me again. I wanted to rent a movie from blockbuster and cook for her, but I can't reach her. I'm afraid that if I go by her school today, she won't be there again."

"Do you think that maybe it's for the best right now? Shit went down, we gotta lay low. Mingling with an EC member is risky business at the moment."

"No me importa, I miss her. I don't wanna work all week and not have some time alone with her. I go crazy." (I don't care)