her; Alex Alvarez [discontinued]

[chapter one]

[her; Alex Alvarez]

Alex and I were on the couch of their apartment, with our laptops in our laps. We sat right next to each other, so we could see what the other was looking at. We were looking at shoes, for the beginning of the school year. I was looking at the bland ones, I just wanted a single pair of shoes that would last me the entire year. I may be rich-washed, because of Schneider, or dad, but I didn't lose my sense of saving money in that adoption. I still got my Cuban heritage. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to really care about what was on his feet. He was looking at all the expensive shoes. I rolled my eyes but saw a really nice pair on his screen. I pointed it out and all he said was "Ew". I playfully rolled my eyes and kept scrolling. We put on our headphones after a while of silence, and sat, scrolling mindlessly. Eventually, I saw Mrs. Alvarez walk through the door, with lots of groceries in her hands, I was about to get up to help her, but she quietly put her hand up to stop me and I sat back down. She threw a toilet paper roll at Alex, and it made me laugh a bit. He looked up surprised and Mrs. Alvarez said "C'mon papito, you know I got a bum shoulder!" He unspeaking grabbed a bag, set it on the table, and practically sat on top of me since this doofus wasn't watching where he was going. I shoved him off, and then Elena and Abuelita started arguing... 

Eventually, Abuelita said something along the lines of "You need to do something about this little sinvergüenza!" After a bit more bickering between the two, Abuelita came up to us and said "Oye, Elena no sabe la palabra 'sinvergüenza'!" Alex responded with "Aye, que tonta!" I laughed, and high fived Abuelita. I was very close to the entire family. Elena and I shared a love of the planet and trying to save it. Abuelita and I LOVED doing each other's nails and I always listened to her talking about Abuelito. I'd always listen in on Penelope's great and horrible days at work, and as for papito? He and I have been best friends since I lived here. Dad wasn't always sober when I had first gotten here. And when I would run to their apartment crying, Alex would always be the one to open the door and hug me. He's my best friend, and he always will be.

While I had zoned out, Abuela and Elena argued once again, and after Elena stormed off to her room, I gave Alex a quick look and ran after Elena. He always understood that I was gonna be there for anyone in the family, so he was ok with it. As I walked down the hallway, I heard Penelope say, "who do you think you're insulting?" And Alex responded with a witty comment, in an attempt to get what he wanted. I do not want to hear the rest of that conversation.

When I started walking out of Elena's room, I heard Mrs. Alvarez say "alright, it's Friday cmon family dinner time!" She yelled out some commands to Elena and told me and Alex me to help her make a salad. We all looked around awkwardly... "You already had dinner didn't you?." She asked. Alex stood up, and I, while sitting down, both pointed at Abuela and said," SHE MADE ROPA VIEJA." Mrs. Alvarez looked disappointed. Alex just said "I'm not made of stone" so he could lighten up the mood. I giggled to myself. Alex walked over to the counter and commented on us watching her eat to make her feel better. Mrs. Alvarez laughed and said we could do it next Friday. I was surprised my dad wasn't here yet. He definitely isn't as close to the family as I am, but he's starting to grow into the family more, and it makes me really happy. I said bye to Alex for the time being and went back up to my apartment. Dad said he felt a bit sick, so I just gave him a bit of soup and did all the normal things. Eventually, he fell asleep. I stayed next to him watching TV and eventually fell asleep next to him.