I mean one moment we were like best friends then she would just annoy me.
“Ting!” It was my phone, the screen read three messages from laugh buddy# Nina.
“Hey, did u get home b4 curfew? Will I need 2 send u bail money, ha-ha.”
“No, bt I wouldn’t need it.”
“Did ur mom allow you to come for the after-party?”
“No, she refused.”
“Oh, my gorrsshh!”
“Why? I am going to be so bored.”
“She said something about our neighborhood. And how it isn’t safe.”
“Bt can’t she allow u if I dropped u off.”
“Cuz that maggot, Adriana, is going to be there.”
“What! Who in their right mind invited her?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“She will try to steal ur date.”
“Don’t worry, I will find a way to be at that party.”
After I put my phone on charge in the living room, I went into the kitchen to find Grandma fixing lunch.
“What’s for lunch?” I asked as delicious aromas tortured my rumbling stomach.
“Don’t ‘what’s for lunch’ me when I heard you disrespect your mother half an hour ago, and I’m not joking when I say, you will not see your lunch until you apologize.”
“Aargh, where is she?”
“She went to the store with the twins to get me some butter for the twin’s birthday cake.”
“Oh.” I started to walk away from her when she continued, “I hope you’re helping us tonight because cooking for all those people is going to require more than 12 hours.”
“I had kinda wanted to go to a party.”
“So after the party.”
“It ends at 11:00PM,” I said with caution trying to quieten the words.”
“Eleven, what madness is that?”
“Ahh just like mom.”
Soon mom and the girls came back with Leo whom they had found on the way. They ate their lunch in silence and went their separate ways, mom and Abuela started on most of the food which needed to be cooked.
Leo and the twins watched TV and I prepared to leave for Nina’s house.
“Abuela, I am going now.”
“Okay, have you packed your dress and all you need?” Mom asked.
“Yah,” I said quickly and headed out the door, and just as I had reached the curb of our driveway the door swung open.
I turned around to see mom at the door and the twins running towards me. With open arms, they embraced me in a hug.
“Have fun at your dance.” They said with ear-to-ear grins.
“Sierra. I’ll pick you from Nina’s at 10:00PM,” Mom who was still standing at the door said.
I quickly let go of the twins and headed to Nina’s massive house. By the time I arrived, it was coming to 6:30PM.
“You’re late”, Nina said as she opened the door for me.
“Well hello to you as well.”
“Where is your dress, I need to see it.”
Once we entered her room, I changed into a round, long turquoise off-shoulder tulle, evening gown.
“Wow!” Nina exclaimed, “Talk about a modern Cinderella, damn!”
“Compared to you, I think you’re the Cinderella,” I said admiring her white floral-patterned mermaid dress that had a white-to-gold trail.
“I doubt it and speaking of Cinderella, your Prince Charming is downstairs in the living room getting the car keys from my dad.”
“Oh okay,” I said calmly trying not to blush but failing miserably.
“Anyway, enough blushing, come and sit down so I can work on your hair and make-up.”
In about forty minutes I was all shimmering and glimmering. We headed out of Nina’s room and downstairs to get our shoes.
As I was heading down my legs stopped moving.
There he was with a confident, sweet smile looking at me coming down, standing tall and clad in a handsome black tuxedo. My skin started to get goosebumps, I felt my heartbeat had quickened and my main panic was that I would sweat off all the layers of makeup Nina had put on me.
“Sierra, what are you waiting for, an alarm bell? If you don’t put on your shoes now I will throw them out the window,” said Nina who already had her shoes on and was going to check herself in the mirror.
“Now Nina, that is no way to treat a guest, Sierra I do apologize for my daughter’s behavior.” Said her father who had handed Ricardo the keys to their Mercedes.
“It’s perfectly fine Mr. Martinez, I’m used to it.”
“But that shouldn’t have to be the case, Nina, come and apologize.”
“Sorry, Papa,” Nina said as she walked back into the living room. She walked over to her brother and whispered in his ear, “You better stop gawking at her and close your mouth lest a fly enter it.”
“Very funny,” he said closing his mouth and trying to recover his calm-collected demeanor which had been disrupted by the gorgeous angel who was seated on the staircase.
Nina laughed as she walked from the living room towards me who was still trying to put on shoes I couldn’t see from behind the dress.
“Do you need help fitting the glass slipper, Cinderella?” Nina said bursting into another fit of laughter.
“Actually, yes I kind of need help, I can’t even see my feet.”
“Oh okay, Ricardo come help Nina put on her shoes.”
“Why can’t you do it?”
“Firstly, I can’t breathe in this dress not even mentioning sitting, so to bend in this dress would be excruciatingly painful, and second of all it would allow you time to bond with your date.”
“You summoned me, your highness,” Ricardo said with a little bow and a mischievous smile.
“Don’t be silly, this is a serious matter.”
“What’s the problem? Your lip gloss isn’t the right color?”
“No, Dumbo Sierra can’t see her shoes from behind her tulle dress.”
“And how am I supposed to help.”
“By helping tie the strap of her shoes.”
“Oh okay,” He said bending down on one knee to tie my shoes.
I avoided all eye contact even though I felt him staring at me, in the awkward silence.
“Chhkkk,” went Nina’s phone. “Oh so cute, I’m so posting this on Insta.”
To be continued…
princejez 