Chapter One: Party

This chapter basically sets up a certain event that has to happen for the rest of the story to work, so it's sort of slow. I apologize to those who cannot read Spanish, but it's hardly important to the overall plot.

 

Cold. That was the only word I could think as I sat on the edge of my bed. I had about fifteen blankets wrapped around myself, but it wasn’t helping much. I was shaking violently. It wasn’t just the cold. I was terrified.

It was early December. I had no job, barely any money, and a dwindling store of food. My electricity had been cut off after I missed a couple of bills. I was honestly afraid that I would freeze to death. It wouldn’t be very surprising.

I was startled by the ringing of my cell phone. I debated answering it, and then decided I probably should. I got up, still covered in blankets, and took the phone from the dresser. I sat back down on the bed, flipping it open, and waited for the person on the other line to talk.

“Hey, Liz, what took you so long to pick up?”

“H-hey Adriana,” I replied. I slammed my teeth together, trying to keep them from chattering.

There was a pause. “I know you’re usually scared, chica, but…you sound even worse than usual. What’s up over there?” Adriana asked.

Typical Adriana. She did all kinds of crazy stuff to make me feel better – but she never withheld the truth from me. “Nothing. They just sh-shut off my elect-t-tricity. I’m freezing,” I responded, although I knew she was right.

There was another, shorter, pause. “Well, I called to invite you to a party…this just gives you all the more reason to come,” Adriana reasoned out loud. “It’s down at my cousin’s place, friends and family invited,” she continued, going from concerned to excited.

My heart spasmed at the thought of that many people. “Adriana, you know I don’t like parties,” I complained.

“Aw, come on, you haven’t gone out in the longest time.”

“Will they be speaking Spanish?” I asked.

“But – but there’ll be Mexican food, and music! And it will be warm. We’ve got electricity over there,” Adriana spouted.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” The only Spanish I knew was fragments I could remember from high school Spanish class and the little Adriana had taught me.

Adriana sighed. “Don’t worry. We all know some English, so if you really can’t figure out how to say something, we’ll manage.”

I looked out my bleak apartment window. The background of the darkening city created a reflection, and I could see my pale, scared face. Warmth…food…good food, at that. So many things could go wrong, but I was dying to get out of the cold. And I had to admit, although I was starving, more frozen dinners didn’t sound all that good at the moment.

“What time is it at?” I finally asked.

“Yes!” Adriana exclaimed, her voice overflowing with excitement. “It’s in an hour. I’ll come pick you up then. Adios, mi amiga.”

“Adios,” I mumbled. I shut the phone and stared at the wall, suddenly unable to do anything. I was going to a party. The world must’ve been ending.

 

…

 

Though I should’ve been expecting it, I still jumped when someone knocked at the door. It was too damn quiet all the time. That was the problem. And yet, I was afraid to make noise.

I smoothed the green dress I had put on. It was one of the only ones I had. I walked to the door and looked through the peephole out of habit. Sure enough, it was Adriana. I unlocked the door and opened it.

“You look great, Liz,” Adriana said, smiling.

“Thanks,” I replied tentatively. “You look great, too.” She had on a gold-colored dress that looked amazing next to her light brown skin and conformed to her curvy body. It was a lot better than mine in comparison.

“Come on,” she said, turning abruptly to leave and then looking back at me. “We’re gonna have a blast tonight.”

I bit my tongue and nodded.

As we drove to Adriana’s cousin’s house, I looked out the windows, forcing myself not to envision a crash. There are many, many ways you can crash a car – I’d exhausted the possibilities through experience and imagination.

It was a short drive, as we could’ve walked the distance, but the car was better due to the harsh December air.

We walked to the door wordlessly, but Adriana was smiling the whole way. “I promise you, tonight is going to be fun,” she said.

I nodded again.

When we were close to the door, Mexican music, loud talking, and laughter could be heard. Adriana rang the doorbell. After a few moments, a large Hispanic woman answered the door. “Adriana!” she exclaimed with a thick Mexican accent.

“Hola, tía Larisa,” Adriana greeted. “Ella es mi amiga Elizabeth,” she said, indicating me.

“Hola,” I said quietly, smiling as best as I could and waving slightly.

“Encantada, Elizabeth. Pase adentro,” the large woman, who was Adriana’s aunt from what I had gathered, said warmly. I didn’t know what the last part meant, but she had stepped aside to let me in, so in I walked. Adriana came in after me, immediately recognizing other people and greeting them.

The atmosphere in the house was surreal. I had been in situations like this a couple times before due to the fact that Adriana and I had been friends throughout and after highschool. However, I never seemed to get used to the culture that was so different from what I grew up in. I think it was mostly the music – the music and the entirely different language, and perhaps the tone of voice I could hear people talking to each other in. It was all so warm and inviting and friendly, even more so this time than other times I had been at gatherings with Adriana, and it moved something inside of me. I was simply standing and observing, and I began to smile.

“You have got to try this,” Adriana gushed, coming towards me from out of the crowd and holding a delicious-looking dish.

“No problema,” I muttered, not even stopping to think if that was correct or not, and took the plate from her. “Gracias,” I said before taking the fork and digging in.

Adriana laughed. “¿Tienes mucha hambre?”

“You have no idea,” I said after I’d swallowed, unable to think of the Spanish for it. “¿Quienes…son las otras personas a la fiesta?” I asked, struggling to remember the words. I ate another large bite of the dish she’d given me.

“Mis primas y primos, mi tía y mi tío, mis hermanos y hermanas, mis padres, y muchos amigos,” Adriana replied.

“¿Y la música en vivo?”

“Amigos de mi familia.”

I nodded, taking another bite.

“¿Cómo está la comida?” Adriana asked.

“Está muy rico,” I replied with enthusiasm. Really, it was the best thing I’d eaten for about a month.

“I’ll be right back, Liz, I’m gonna go socialize some more,” Adriana stated, surprising me by switching back to English so quickly.

“Okay,” I responded. Adriana wandered off and I quickly finished my food, and then began walking around the house.

“Tú eres una amiga de Adriana, ¿no?”

I turned to see a petite woman with the same skin tone as Adriana. “Sí, ¿y tú eres…?”

“Soy Cristina, una prima de Adriana. Esta es mi fiesta.”

“Ah, tú eres la prima. Encantada.”

“Igualmente. ¿Cómo te llamas?”

“Elizabeth.”

“Pues, Elizabeth, pasatelo bien.”

I nodded, and she walked away to talk to others. It was so strange. What Adriana and now Cristina had hoped for seemed to be coming true – I was starting to enjoy myself. Actually enjoy myself. I wasn’t afraid. I wandered into the crowd around the musicians that were playing.

“Liz!” Adriana shouted over the loud clamor. She walked over to me. “They’re going to play one of my favorite songs. ¡Bailemos!”

I didn’t have time to think of a response. Me? Dancing? I had little choice as Adriana, laughing, dragged me out to the dance floor, which was just an open circle around which the crowd was gathered. The thought of dancing suddenly had me petrified, but then the music shifted to a contagious uplifting beat, and I found myself moving without even thinking about it. Soon I was dancing as I never had before. It felt so good to be suddenly carefree. I smiled over at the acoustic guitar player, thankful for the music that had so drastically changed my mood. He smiled back.

The regular dance changed into a friendly form of a dance-off between Adriana and me. She would show off her moves, and then back down, and then I would improvise with surprisingly good results. At times, I started to feel extremely self-conscious, but the music always brought me back.

Eventually, Adriana and I stumbled back into the crowd, laughing and exhausted. A decent amount of people cheered and shouted things that I couldn’t comprehend but sounded good all the same.

“What did I tell you, chica, isn’t this great?” Adriana asked.

“The best night I’ve had in ages,” I responded, smiling earnestly.

 

…

 

“It’s time to leave,” I complained in a tired voice when at last the party was drawing to a close. “What time is it?” I wondered out loud, my eyes starting to droop. The sentence was already out before I realized I knew the Spanish for what I’d asked.

“Son las tres y media,” Adriana replied.

“In the morning?”

Adriana smirked. “No, in the afternoon,” she replied sarcastically. “It was dark when we arrived. What did you expect?”

We walked out the door then. “Ugh,” I said, wincing in reply to the blast of December air. I pulled my coat tighter around me.

Adriana led us to her car.

“I think I’ll walk home,” I said, declining her unspoken offer. Adriana looked surprised. “I danced tonight. I danced. A little cold isn’t going to hurt me.”

“You’ll freeze your toes off! Who are you and what have you done with Liz?”

I laughed shakily. “I don’t know. Liz seems to have disappeared tonight.”

“Well, hold up. I’ve got something for you.” Adriana’s eyes lit up in a familiar, happy way as she said this. She opened her car door and reached into the back seat, pulling out a small brown paper package. She handed it to me.

I looked at the package curiously for a second. Then I opened it, turned it upside down, and poured its contents into my hand. Several wads of $20 bills fell out.

“Oh,” I breathed.

“It’s just a little something to get you back on your feet. Think nothing of it.”

I hugged Adriana, unsure of what to say. “Thank you,” I mumbled.

Adriana smiled. “You sure you want to walk home?”

“Umm…” I put the package inside my jacket pocket. I was still a bit dazed from the shock of her generosity. “Yes…Yes I do, because…it’s only a few blocks away.”

Adriana laughed. “You sound like you’re trying to talk in Spanish again.”

I glared at her for a moment and then laughed as well. “I’ll be fine. It was a great party.” I blinked. “I don’t think I’ve ever used that sentence before.”

Adriana smirked slightly. “See you around, chica.”

“Adios,” I said, waving goodbye. Adriana waved back and got into the car.

I started walking down the darkened street, hands in my pockets. The fears that normally would’ve plagued me, the fear of the darkness and the cold and of being alone, were strangely absent. I felt peaceful for once…and…happy. It was so unusual.

“Hey, you!” I heard suddenly behind me.

I looked around. I was the only one on the street in front of me, so whoever had called had to be addressing me. I looked back to see a Hispanic woman that seemed familiar. She had probably been at the party. She was thin, wiry, and strong looking with somewhat extravagant makeup and an angry look on her face. I stopped walking and looked back at her. “Hey there. Who are you?” I asked.

“My name’s Brenda Wentworth, and you’re a f*****g w***e.”

I let my breath out with an audible woosh, and stared open-mouthed at her. I couldn’t talk for about ten seconds. “…Excuse me?” I finally said.

“You heard me. You’re a f*****g w***e.”

“…Is there a problem?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“The problem is you. You, tryin’ to hit on my man, starin’ over at him, smilin’ at him, dancing like that to get his attention,” Brenda seethed.

“Excuse me?” I asked again. “Are you sure you have the right person?”

“Of course I have the right person. There was only one white b***h at the party.”

I was growing increasingly confused at this woman’s hostility. “Look…I don’t know what you saw, but I definitely wasn’t hitting on any guys. I don’t even know who ‘your man’ is.”

“The acoustic guitar player. The one you kept smilin’ over at like the dumb w***e you are.”

I suddenly understood. I laughed a bit uncontrollably.

“You think that’s funny, b***h?”

“No, I don’t think you understand. I was just happy because of the beautiful music. I’m not really big on dancing, or parties really–”

“You think I care? You were hittin’ on my man.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean any harm. Just go home. I’ll never see him again anyways.”

Suddenly the world tilted and I was looking up at the sky, pitch black because of the clouds. Brenda had shoved me down; apparently I’d hit a nerve. “You think sorry’s gonna cut it?” she snarled, picking me up again and throwing me down against the sidewalk. Pain exploded in my head from the impact. Somewhere in my subconscious, I noted that she really was as strong as she looked, and even more so. She kicked my head, sending it down into the sidewalk again, as if the pain wasn’t already bad enough. I felt the side of my face scrape and I was pretty sure I’d started bleeding.

I tried as hard as I could to get up. I managed to, but I didn’t remain standing long. “Wait–” I tried to get out, but I was ignored. An unexpected punch sent me down back to the ground. I felt my ankle twist and snap, overpowering the pain of scrapes. I screamed out loud.

“Shut up, b***h,” Brenda yelled at me, getting down and assaulting my face with a barrage of punches. I was left breathless. She got up again and stared down at me for a while. “F**k you,” she said finally. She turned and walked off into the night, leaving me alone and bleeding.

Author's Note

Yes, there are people who overreact that badly. My mom got assaulted like this once, by a biker girl, because some guy the girl had liked whistled at my mom.

Reviews

[Forist.johnston]

I liked it, made me feel like I was watching the scene unravel from a window or something. Off to chapter 2!

[KEi]

Hm... Brenda seems slightly unbalanced to me.
Haha. I like her, though. She may become my favourite character if she appears in future. I like wackos.

Also, a note: I love tha fact that you didn't translate the Spanish. Whether it was intentional or not, I don't know, but it really put the reader into the speaker's (Elizabeth's) shoes.
The fact that i know zero Spanish made me empathise with the heroine while conversations were being held solely in Spanish, and I just thought "Oh, God, Liz... I know how you feel.".
It's an excellent effect, I must say.
:)

[Jake Donald Stephens]

Good lord! Some people! I was expecting Brenda to rob the main character of all those 20 dollar bills she'd just received, and was surprised when she didn't.
This is very well-written, and a good beginning. I'll read more for sure.

[Wolfwind Words]

Other then having a language barrier durring the times of spanish, since i know nothing of it, the story keeps getting better and better! I can't believe this characters bad luck. She tries to lighten up and something twists fate against her. I shall read on!

[Alexanne Dauntless]

wow some people can be such cruel demonic creatures. Ugh. But I really did like the chapter. You have great vivid imagery. And your Spanish is really good too. =]] Course I guess I'm not the best judge of that... I only took 2 years. haha. But anyway, it's very interesting and I can hardly wait to read more.