Miracles

Chapter 45

~Avisha's View~

"This is where your parents work?" I ask Luis with admiration.
"Yup, and there they are." He says, pointing at a man on the phone and a woman busily shooting commands.

"Someone grab her the red bag. The blue one is outrageous! Can't anyone do anything right today?!" Luis' mother shouts.
"Ma'am, Andrea called in sick. She won't make it for the shoot." A lady informs her.
"Well, find someone. Isn't that your job?"

"Wow!" I voice out. "Wow, indeed. They're always busy. Let's go meet them."
"Okay." I follow him to meet his parents.
"Hey mom, dad." Luis hugs his parents.
"Luis." They smile at him, his mom pulling his cheeks. I stand awkwardly and admire how happy they are to see Luis.
Mrs. Garcia looks at me. "Ah, you must be Andrea's replacement."
"No, mom. This is Sia, my best friend. The girl who'll be staying with us." Luis introduces me.
"Hi." I give them a short wave. "Hi, sweetheart. I'm Luis' mom, this is his dad. We're very pleased to meet you." Mrs. Garcia engulfs me in a warm embrace. "Nice to meet you too." I smile shyly at the parents. 
"Sia, do you have a passion for art?" Luis' dad asks smiling at the fading tattoo on my neck. "Yes." I nod.
"Dad, Sia's not going to replace one of your models," Luis says.
"Who says she's replacing someone?" Mrs. Garcia asks. "Sia is gonna be the face of the next issue of the teens' magazine. What do you say, sweetie? Do you wanna help make a difference in teen fashion?"
I smile excitedly and nod my head vigorously. "Yes please."
"Great! Let's get to work." Mrs. Garcia claps.
"Why is Flo wearing her bathing suit backward?" She shouts.
This should be exciting.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Luis asks with concern. That's one thing I like about Luis. He always checks to see if I'm comfortable before we do anything. I think it runs through the family. His parents didn't throw me judgemental looks. They made me feel at home. I give him a reassuring smile.
"Yes, I'm a hundred percent sure that I want to do this." 
"Okay, I'll be right here if you need anything." He says as a lady sits me down in a chair and starts applying makeup on my face.

Mrs. Garcia joins as soon. "Sia, is it alright if I ask you some questions?"
"Yes, please." I nod.
"Why did you shave your hair? I hope it's not a health-related topic." She says.
"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with my health." I assure her. "I shaved my hair because I felt like cutting it, it seemed cool and I wanted to be free. I guarantee you, it's the coolest thing ever. To feel the wind on my shaved head is the best feeling ever."
"I like the way you talk about it. What will you say to girls and even boys out there, with shaved heads, or what do you wanna say to teens who feel like cutting their hair short?" She asks. I smile at her question before answering.
"I'd tell teenagers out there to just go for it. Cut it if you want to. Yes, people might tease you, but just ignore them, it's your hair after all."
"Good talk. Thanks for doing this again Sia. You don't know how much this means to me." Mrs. Garcia smiles in appreciation. "I'm glad I could help." I smile back.
"Ma'am, did you want to use the brown or the black heels?" A lady with a clipboard asks.
"The black of course. Everyone knows black goes with everything." Mrs. Garcia replies and drags me to a dressing room.
"This is Shelby, she'll assist you in putting on the clothes. Tell her when you have a problem with any of them. I'll be waiting outside. Chop, chop. We don't have all day." She instructs.
We get to work immediately. 

"Move a little bit to the right." The cameraman instructs. I do as I'm told. "There, that's it. Now make it seem as if you're ready for anything." I try my best to give him that pose. "Excellent." He smiles.

"Next costume." Mrs. Garcia claps. Shelby helps me change into different clothes and applies a little bit of lip gloss on my lips. "How did I do?" I ask her. "You did great. Go get 'em." She encourages me. I smile. "Thanks."
Soon enough, we're down to the last costume which clearly screams me.
"Chin up, Sia. Confidence is the key. You have to look the part." Mrs. Garcia says. With much-gathered confidence, I pose for the camera.

"Well done sweetie. You're a lifesaver. Your pictures will be on magazines and billboards soon. Think about this header, Gratis." She says excitedly. "Spanish for free. You like?"
I giggle, "I love it. Thanks for this opportunity. I had so much fun working with you."
"I did too. Now go get something to eat and rest. I'll see you soon." She hugs me briefly and walks away.

"Hey, beautiful." Luis hugs me from behind. I giggle, "Hi Chopsticks."
"Day or Night?" He questions. "Night," I respond.
"Good, you like the stars too. C'mon, I have something planned out for us." He drags me to the elevator and clicks on the down-pointing button. The doors open shortly and we step inside the box. Luis clicks on a button and we start moving down.
"Where are we going?" I ask. "Somewhere we belong." He replies making me chuckle.
"No, seriously. Where are we going?"
"Do you remember this song; Come on, vámonos, Everybody let's go. Come on, let's get to it, I know that we can do it. Where are we going?..." And just like that, we start singing the travel song from Dora the Explorer.

The elevator comes to a halt. We get out and walk to the car park, straight to Luis' car. He drives away and soon enough he brings the car to a stop.
"Welcome to the American Museum of Natural History." Luis beams at me. "You're gonna love it."
And true to his words, I did. I really loved it. We're currently in Hayden's Planetarium and I must say, it's quite the view.

Stars move across the dome-shaped ceiling making it feel like we're outside, somewhere far away, looking up at the night sky.
They say when you dream of luminous quasars and gas giants, of bright suns and black holes, you're really dreaming of the unknown. The highest of wisdom. You might even be dreaming of connecting with someone. Connecting in a way that is so deep, so spiritual, so genuine, that it is truly out of this world.
This brings me to the question, am I connecting with Luis?

Luis rubs circles in my palm, making me turn my attention to him. He stands to his feet and helps me up. "What are we doing?" I ask. "Dancing." He says. "But there's no music." I point out just as he puts an airpod in my left ear. I smile as we slowly move to the tune of the song.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask Luis. He nods. "Go ahead."
"Why exactly did you give me this necklace?" I ask about the necklace I'm wearing. The same one he gave me when he came back to Mexico.
He caresses my cheeks making me lean into his touch, "I gave it to you because I love you. Not just as a friend or sister, but as something more." He says with gentle eyes that bore into my dark hazel ones. "If only you'll give me a chance to prove myself."
I smile, "You've done enough proving." He gleams at this, and for the first time in my entire life, someone kisses me. And it's none other than my first love and best friend, Chopsticks.