The New National Anthem

“Daniella Rosa Rodriguez!” I heard my mother scream.

“¡usted consigue su culo aquí abajo en este mismo instante!” (You get your ass down here this instant!) I groaned, pulling my luggage down the stairs. Within the past six months, I’d gotten in so much trouble. I was sick of it, too. I would never say it to their faces, but I’m so glad that my parents are sending me to San Diego with my Aunt and Uncle Fuentes. They had two kids, one my age named Michael, and another who was a year older than me, named Victor. I’d never met any of them before, my parents never liked going to the annual family reunions. Apparently, it was still summer for another three days there, before they all went back to school. Just my luck, I only had three days to make friends.

 “I’m coming, Jesus Christ!” I yell back, making my way down the steps.

“¡no tomar el nombre del Señor en vano!” (Do not take the Lord's name in vain!) She scolded me.

“Mom, English. I’m going to be living in America, after all.” She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I love you, mi hija. You know that right?” I nodded and hugged her back.

“I love you too, Mamá. Now let’s go, I don’t want to miss my flight.” My mother smiled, taking my third bag of luggage out to the car. The ride to the airport was silent except for the sounds outside the car. It was strangely awkward. I could never have an easy conversation with my mom. We always fought; it was like we weren’t even related. I didn’t like it. As we pulled up to the airport, there was still silence as I pulled my bags out from the back of the car.

Really? She couldn’t even say goodbye? It was like I was just something to throw away. Fine. Whatever. My thoughts were buzzing through my head. As I started to walk off, I heard my name called. Turning around, I saw my mom waving, with tears rolling down her face. I gave her a simple wave; I was done with her neglecting me. I looked at my phone for the time as I walked into the building, seeing I only had half an hour before my flight. Taking a deep breath, I found a spot in line and slowly made my way through the security guards and metal detectors. Sitting on the plane, I looked around. Why was I looking for people that I knew? My mom wouldn’t let me tell any of my friends that I was moving. She was too afraid that they’d follow. Hah! Like they have that kind of money, I thought to myself. They spend it all on marijuana as soon as they get their hands on it… or even before. I sighed inwardly at the thought of starting over. I wasn’t one for making friends easily. I silently hoped that my cousins were cool, not hard headed like my mom and dad. Before I closed my eyes, a large white man sat next to me, breathing heavily and sweating everywhere and panting as hard as he could. I silently groaned and moved closer to the window, slowly closing my eyes and drifting to sleep as we took off.

I was shaken awake after what felt like five minutes. Looking at my phone clock once again, I saw that three hours had already passed and we were almost about to land. I looked out the window, seeing California. It was a lot different than I imagined. Looking to the other side of me, the man was gone. Hm, probably in the toilet, I laughed at myself. I rubbed my eyes and stretched, making sure to not hit any overhead buttons in the process. I turned in my seat, trying to crack my back to no avail. As the plane slowed on the runway, screeching in the process, the pilot came on the speaker, telling people to stay seated until we came to a complete stop. As he finished his spiel, my lovely neighbor came back to his seat. At least he wasn't sweating and panting anymore, I thought. After what felt like forever, the plane stopped moving. The seatbelt light turned off and everyone seemed to get up at once. I rolled my eyes and stayed seated, waiting for nearly everyone to get off. I liked my space, and I wasn't going to get pushed around by people. Hell no, not unless I was at a concert. I grabbed my backpack, and walked off the plane. Getting into the California airport, I saw the baggage claim and my three bags all in order. I silently walked over there, grabbing my own shit, and made my way outside. Looking around, I was confused. Was I supposed to be looking for people I didn't know? How was I getting to their house? What would I do if they forget? I started to panic, looking around at all the faces. I looked around at people, seeing that they actually held up signs with people's names on them. I laughed, easing myself. So it wasn't just a movie thing, I thought to myself. I scanned the signs and saw "Rodriguez" written in bold letters. The sign was held by a woman with short white hair, who next to her was a very Mexican-looking man. To the other side of her were two boys who looked my age. The woman made eye contact with me and her face immediately turned into a huge grin. I quickly walked towards them, and was pulled into a tight embrace before I could ask if they were the Fuentes family. I guess that's a yes, I thought to myself, smiling. Finally someone who's happy with my presence. 

**********

Hey guys! I hope you liked it. Hopefully I'll be updating sometime next week! I hope you enjoyed it. Vote/comment/fan? ♥