Centenares de Historias [1]
Title: Centenares de Historias [1]
Fandom: In the Heights
Written: December, 2008 - April, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Words: 12900 (total)
Summary: A series of completely random pieces about the characters as kids/teens. Each piece was inspired by a single word.
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Map--
Lincoln loved history class.
The teacher always wore a silly tie, normally with exuberant polka dots or cartoon characters or bright patterns on it, which he liked to look at whenever the teacher would give the class lectures. He loved smelling the chalk; he was in the front row, closest to the blackboard. He loved his history book, too. Sometimes when he got bored in class he would page through it, looking at the pictures of long gone soldiers and running his fingers over their forlorn faces.
Lincoln's favorite part of class was handing in his homework or his tests. He would pick up the white papers lovingly, looking down at his handwriting with pride. He was the top in his class, and he knew it. He would watch his teacher smile when he handed over the papers and his heart would swell inside him. He would look behind his teacher at the world map placed on the corkboard behind his desk before turning around and walking back to his seat.
His eyes would always be drawn to the same spot on the map. He would look at the United States, up where he knew New York was. He would sit back down in his seat, thinking about how small New York really was as compared to the rest of the world.
Sometimes Lincoln would cradle his head in his arms and close his eyes, resting on his desk. He would think about how New York City was the only world he knew, how much was still out there. He would open his eyes briefly to peek at the boy sitting next to him and feel glad that he knew so little. With a small smile playing about his lips, he would close his eyes again and thank a higher power that they were friends. He didn't think he could survive everything without someone there with him.
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Tradition--
His shoes were neatly polished and he had been wrestled into a collared shirt and tie. His dark jeans were a bit too long and he grumbled as his mother rolled the cuffs up. He hated getting dressed up for Sunday church. Especially on holidays, because then he had to look nice.
His mother gave him a candy cane to tuck into his coat pocket, and he took it eagerly, pudgy fingers tearing at the clear plastic wrapping. He bean sucking on it greedily, fingertips getting covered in red sugar.
They always walked to church, he and his mother. She took the hand that was not clutching his treat and together they would cross the street and continue on for a block until they arrived at the building with the big cross on top. He would always look up at it, remembering the man that had been nailed to it many years ago. He thought it was silly to nail a man to a cross.
The Rosarios always came to church too. He would find them in the crowd, where Lincoln would be standing dutifully at his father's side, collared shirt tucked into his slacks and the same little red tie hanging from the collar. Little Nina would have on a patterned dress, her hair held back by several colorful barrettes. Once he had gotten Lincoln to pull one out, which made Nina cry.
He showed Lincoln the remains of his candy cane before following his mother to a pew. Lincoln and Nina waved to him and he waved back as he sat down. His mother made tutting noises as she pulled out a handkerchief and, licking it, began to wipe his sticky fingers.
He never listened at church, for he did not understand what was going on. He would spend the rest of the hour turning round to catch glimpses of Lincoln and Nina when his mother wasn't looking and making funny faces at them. He loved it when he made Lincoln laugh, especially when it was deathly silent in the church.
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Stake--
Lincoln, Benny, Usnavi, Sonny, and Nina were all packed into the Rosario's tiny living room, sitting next to one another on the lumpy couch. Lincoln fidgeted in his seat, plucking at the threads coming loose on his armrest. Benny was squished right up next to him, making him blush.
Benny began to laugh at the silly man on the screen - Alfred - as he tried to stake a vampire and wound up using the wrong end. Benny's laughter caused Lincoln and Usnavi, who were sitting on either side of him, to shake slightly. Lincoln couldn't help but feel bad for Alfred. He might be a bumbling fool, but at least he was brave enough to rescue the woman he loved.
Usnavi and Benny both found the movie very entertaining, while Sonny seemed frightened and Nina bored. Lincoln watched intently, if only because he found the plot engaging. The humor was lost on Lincoln, and he would periodically frown at Benny and Usnavi when they started chuckling.
"This movie would make a good musical," Lincoln commented as the credits began rolling. Benny, Usnavi, and Nina laughed at his thought, deeming it silly and completely random. Lincoln glowered at them, wishing they understood where he was coming from. After Benny, Usnavi, and Sonny had left, Lincoln reiterated this statement to Nina who, shaking her head, retreated to her room, not wanting to hear what he had to say.
Years later, when Lincoln and Nina were both away at their respective schools, Benny and Usnavi would find a printed article waiting for them in their mailboxes, telling the tale of the successful musical Tanz der Vampire in Germany. Attached was a post-it from Lincoln, reading, "Told ya so!"
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Eggs--
Lincoln hadn't told anyone, but he was allergic to eggs. Horribly allergic.
Nina knew, of course, seeing how their mother never so much as made an omelet when Lincoln was in the same room. They never had cake, for even then Lincoln could not so much as nibble a crumb without breaking out in hives. Nina had been severely punished when, at age five, she had been mad at Lincoln and had thrown a raw egg at him.
However, Lincoln had a relatively easy time with his allergy, considering how hard it was to avoid eggs. He became good at refusing food politely, saying he was full or had just eaten and pretended that too much sugar made him sick at parties. He never had to tell anyone about his egg allergy until the seventh grade, when it was world culture day.
Each of the students had been partnered up and assigned a dish to make. Lincoln was working with Benny, and they were to make the Italian dish Pasta Carbonara. They had been given the recipe, and Lincoln's ears had turned pink the second he saw '1 egg, scrambled' on the ingredients list.
Benny came over to the Rosarios' later that day, where he and Lincoln spent a good two hours making a pasta dish that would have taken Camila half that time, if not less. Lincoln had put Benny in charge of the egg, feeling very pleased with himself by the time they had finished.
"Looks decent," he said as Benny stirred the completed dish in its pot.
"No duh!" Benny exclaimed. "It took us two hours; it better be good!" And without warning, Benny scooped up some pasta and jammed the spoon in Lincoln's mouth. "Well, how's it taste?"
Spluttering and coughing, Lincoln spat the pasta all over Benny, panic stricken. He clapped his hands to his face, feeling his skin to see if anything had happened. Benny's confused and pasta-covered face looked at his red one, asking, "What's wrong, man?"
Lincoln managed to choke out, "Allergic… eggs…"
It wasn't until several hours later, when Lincoln was able to get over the fact that his best friend had seen him with hives all over his face, that he started laughing. After all, the look on Benny's face had been pretty silly.
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Flurries--
Lincoln groaned as his mother threw his jacket over his head, saying, "You'll catch cold, now put it on," in an impatient tone. He was already late for school, he knew that, and she had to make it worse by forcing a winter coat on him.
"I'll be fine," Lincoln insisted, tying his scarf in a neat knot at the base of his throat and straightening his sweater. "It's not that cold outside, Mama." Slinging his backpack over one shoulder and kissing his mother goodbye, Lincoln dashed out the door before she could say another word.
In retrospect, his mother had been right. Lincoln hugged his small frame with his arms, focusing on the snow-dusted ground and wishing he had looked out of the window that morning. He met up with Usnavi and Benny at the corner and they continued on towards school together. None of the boys spoke, their breath fogging the air in front of them and noses turning pink as they trudged up the sidewalk.
Lincoln did not look up until Usnavi, who was walking between him and Benny, grabbed his arm and, shaking it, pointed towards the school building. "Look!" he said, cheeks flushed and voice cracking.
Benny and Lincoln both followed his gaze, squinting through the flurries until they found what exactly had gotten Usnavi so excited. He seemed to be pointing at a girl who was standing uncertainly by the entrance to the school, bulky sweater making her stick-thin legs look like twigs.
"Who's that?" Usnavi wondered aloud, his eyes trained on the girl's long black hair, which the wind was tossing this way and that, particles of snow dusting the top of her head.
"Go on, man, say hola," Benny nudged the other boy, chuckling as Usnavi took off at a sideways gallop, head bobbing excitedly as he went. "She is quite a looker, isn't she?" he said quietly to Lincoln, elbowing his arm lightly.
"What?" Lincoln looked from Benny to the girl again, shrugging. "Oh… yeah, I guess so." Lincoln felt his already pink cheeks darken as Benny put an arm around his shoulders, grabbing his scarf and waving it in his face.
"That's our Lincoln," Benny sighed. "Always the polite one."
------
Tree--
"I would name him after my father," Lincoln said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly and looking around at his friends. "Kevin is a nice name and it would connect him to his grandfather without him knowing it."
"Okay," Benny said slowly, "but I still like Elvis better."
"Are you kidding?" Nina piped up, looking around at the boys incredulously. "That's not how you name your children, giving them a family name because you think it'll help you stick together or the name of some famous musician." Tossing her curls, Nina said, "Besides, not all firstborns are boys, you know."
"But for argument's sake, say it is," Lincoln's voice was calm, though he couldn't help but feel offended. "So what would you name your firstborn son?" He made sure to emphasize son, for Nina's sake.
"I've always liked the name Luis," Nina said thoughtfully, brining her knees in to her chest and hugging her legs. She looked towards Vanessa, who sat next to her.
"Um…" Vanessa pursed her lips as she thought, wrinkling her brow. "I haven't thought about this before," she admitted. "After all, none of us are pregnant." This caused Benny to start laughing, no doubt because Vanessa hadn't specified herself and Nina.
Still laughing, Benny put a hand on Usnavi's shoulder, saying, "Okay, then, your turn."
"Tree?" Usnavi said blankly, having obviously zoned out and not heard a word of their conversation. He looked at Benny, perplexed, then at Vanessa, who had an eyebrow raised. Shrugging, he exclaimed, "Damn, I'm only joking!"
Nobody could tell which made Usnavi blush more: the rousing bout of laughter that followed or the soft smack across the head from Vanessa.
------
Festive--
Usnavi was supposed to be watching Sonny. The little guy could get into quite a bit of mischief if he was left unattended, but Usnavi had other matters on his mind. He had left Sonny in the back room with a comic book for company and had then come back out to the front of the store, laden with a large cardboard box.
Keeping one eye trained for movement at the door, Usnavi began stringing up multi-colored Christmas lights from the ceiling, every now and then twisting a paper clip around the beams to hold them up. He made sure each string worked before hanging it; how embarrassing would it be if half the lights were burned out?
After emptying the box of all the lights (minus the burned out ones, of course), Usnavi went into the back room again. After checking to make sure that Sonny was still reading and hadn't gotten into anything he shouldn't, Usnavi seized another box and lugged it out to the front.
He began digging through the box, coming across familiar looking garlands and funny porcelain houses, carefully wrapped in tissue paper. A Nativity scene was tucked at the very bottom, which Usnavi looked at for a minute before tucking it back in carefully. Taking one of the garlands, he began to tape it around the counter.
The bell at the door caused him to turn around, jumping slightly when he recognized the girl who had just entered. Her eyes were bright and her long hair was pushed back by the pair of earmuffs she wore. She was wearing the same thick sweater she had on when he first saw her, so bulky that it looked as if she had borrowed it from her father's closet.
"Hi, Usnavi," her voice was surprised, as if she had not been expecting to see him. "I came to do my Christmas shopping. What are you up to?"
"H-hey, Vanessa," he stammered back, pinching his leg to try and shake off his nerves. "Just decorating the place a little. Y'know, making it more Christmas-y." Usnavi tried to pretend that his stomach wasn't turning over as her eyes trailed upward to the ceiling he had just finished decorating.
"You're missing something," she giggled, pointing upwards.
"Huh?" Usnavi looked to the ceiling, mouth open and feeling very stupid. What had he forgotten? Was one of the lights not plugged in? Had a string fallen down? But when he looked, everything seemed to be just the way he had left it. He turned a confused face towards Vanessa.
"Mistletoe always makes a place more festive," she told him, her voice completely calm. Usnavi's fingers twitched, the hint of a smile playing about his lips. "I think you should put some up."
"I-I'll get right on that, V-Vanessa," Usnavi's stammer was back and he was sure his face was bright red. He turned back to finish taping up the garland as Vanessa started walking through the bodega, looking for her gifts. They did not speak again until Vanessa came up to the counter with her items and Usnavi rang them up, giving her a total that was a couple dollars less than what the register told him.
"Thanks, Usnavi," Vanessa said, waving with her free hand as she reached the door.
"See ya at school," Usnavi called after her. He watched through the window as she turned to walk down the sidewalk until she was out of sight. Smiling, Usnavi spun in a circle, waving his hands in the air, before going into the back room again to check on Sonny.
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Change--
High school was a huge deal to Benny, Usnavi, and Lincoln. The three boys has been speaking of nothing else for two weeks, voices regretful and excited at the same time. They were sad to be leaving behind the elementary school where they could pass Sonny and Nina in the halls and make funny faces at each other, but they knew that high school meant more freedom. They had picked out all their classes themselves and teachers would no longer patrol the hallways.
On the last day of summer vacation, both Nina and Lincoln laid out their clothes for the next day. Nina, who was only in sixth grade, would be wearing a plaid jumper and a white blouse. Lincoln tried to remember that she was still a girl when he saw her choice, but he couldn't help thinking about how nobody at his new school would be wearing anything like that.
Lincoln had chosen a plain blue T-shirt and dark jeans, but he couldn't help thinking that it was nowhere near impressive enough for his first day of high school. Feeling terribly nervous, he replaced the T-shirt with a red collared shirt, smiling to himself.
The next morning, Lincoln had dressed with care, making sure his shirt was not wrinkled. He cleaned his glasses with a washcloth while Nina put a headband in her curly hair, turning around in the mirror to look over her outfit.
"Look, it's Usnavi and Benny!" Nina told Lincoln, pointing out the window. Lincoln dashed over, scanning the street below for his friends. He felt his stomach turn over when he realized that both Usnavi and Benny had on plain T-shirts and their jeans had rips at the knees. Looking down at his own attire, Lincoln tugged at the bottom of his shirt unhappily.
"Much too formal," he said critically, tugging the shirt over his head as he stumbled into his room. He grabbed the blue T-shirt he had replaced the day before, changing quickly before Usnavi and Benny came up. Running his fingers through his neat hair to muss it slightly, Lincoln deemed himself ready.
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Anomaly--
Usnavi was looking critically at the board in front of him, chin cupped in his fingers and his elbow resting on his knee. His brow was furrowed and his mind was racing. The fingers on his free hand twitched slightly.
"I can't do anything," he finally said, looking around at the three people sitting at the other sides of the board. "No… wait…" He triumphantly placed the letter 'o' next to the 'n' from the word 'mine.'
"Nice," Benny said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Usnavi crossed his arms saying defensively, "Better than nothing, right?"
"Right," Lincoln piped up, whose idea it had been to play Scrabble in the first place. "Benny's turn." Usnavi couldn't help but chuckle to himself at Lincoln's enthusiasm. He always bounced slightly when it was his turn. He also announced whose turn it was but then asked if it was his, as if he did not know. Usnavi found this very entertaining.
"Uh…" Benny's eyes whizzed over the board, scrutinizing the letters. Usnavi looked over at Nina, who looked as if she was trying very hard not to point out what Benny could do. Usnavi liked it when Nina played board games with the three of them; she always beat everyone and he thought it was funny.
Usnavi watched as Benny placed the letter 'a' before the 'n' he had just used to make 'no.' M-O-L-Y followed, spelling out… anomoly?
"That's not how you spell anomaly, dear," Lincoln said suddenly, causing Usnavi to raise an eyebrow. Had Lincoln really just called Benny 'dear,' or was he imagining things? Nina covered her mouth, snickering, which assured Usnavi he was not dreaming. Benny had a very odd expression on his face, but Lincoln did not seem to realize what he had said.
"H-how do you spell it, then?" Benny asked, biting back a laugh.
"A-N-O-M-A-L-Y," Lincoln told him, still not realizing that all three of them were still trying to stifle their laughter. Controlling himself rather commendably, in Usnavi's opinion, Benny took back the letters, instead putting his 'm' and 'o' around another 'o,' spelling 'moo.'
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Spit--
Lincoln held his father's hand tightly as he walked through the frigid hallways, tiny little jacket zipped up to his chin. He was clutching a helium balloon on a pink string, something that he had made quite a fuss about before arriving.
"Don't like pink," he had said stubbornly, folding his pudgy arms in front of his chest and frowning impressively up at his father's smiling face.
Now the little boy's attention was on the tiled floor beneath him. He liked stepping on all the green ones and tried to jump over the pink ones, causing his father quite some trouble. When his father asked what he was doing, he repeated, "Don't like pink!"
"Here we are," his father announced, pointing to a door off to the left. Lincoln pulled out of his father's grasp and, forgetting all about his quest to avoid the pink tiles, dashed into the room. His mouth opened in a wide smile as he recognized his mother sitting in the bed, a bundle clasped tightly in her hands.
"I have a sissy!" Lincoln told her excitedly, showing his mother the balloon.
"Yes, you do," his mother smiled warmly as Kevin walked in the door. "Would you like to see her?" Lincoln nodded enthusiastically, losing his grip on the balloon in his excitement. Kevin grabbed the ribbon before it could float up to the ceiling and helped Lincoln clamber onto the bed.
"Here she is," Camila lowered the bundle so Lincoln could see his baby sister's face. Her eyes were closed and a lock of black hair was poking out from under the hat she wore. A trail of drool ran down her chin. "Lincoln, this is your baby sister Nina."
"I like her," Lincoln told his mother solemnly, looking up at her. "Nina…" he added, as if trying out the name. Frowning slightly, he touched baby Nina's chin, showing Camila his wet finger.
"Spit," he said matter-of-factly, wiping his finger on his jacket. He shook his little finger at the baby and said, "No spitting, Mommy says." He looked back up at Camila. "Right, Mommy?"
"That's right Lincoln," Camila tousled his hair fondly.
------
Time--
Usnavi's eyes were trained on the clock by now, watching the little red second hand tick away another wasted moment. Sweat covered his brow, and he shifted from foot to foot impatiently. Sometimes he would hum to himself, the disjoined melody calming him somewhat.
He tried to distract himself by reading the posters lining the walls, walking up and down and standing so close he could have melted into the pictures if he had pushed himself hard enough. He tried reading every one of the seventeen magazines lining the coffee table, but found that nothing inside was interesting enough to capture his attention. He tried listening to the elevator music that was playing softly from the speaker in the ceiling, but found the simple melodies too complex to follow, not because he could not, but because he found himself incapable.
So he watched the clock, eyes watching the red second hand as it kept moving, never ceasing in its endless ticking.
He did not notice when the nice woman in the white dress who had given him a soda came back into the room. He did not hear her whisper to Abuela and did not see her retreat back into the hallway where he was not allowed.
But he did notice when Abuela pulled his thin frame close to hers, enveloping him in an embrace that smelled of flowers and cinnamon and sweat. He felt her tears on his shoulder.
Usnavi did not realize that his eyes had fogged over until he had collapsed like a baby in Abuela's arms, tears streaming down his cheeks and screams tearing at his throat.
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McDonaldization--
Nina and Lincoln had been playing a game since Lincoln had been in tenth grade. Each day they would learn a new word and tell it to the other, hoping to stump each other on what it meant. It could be anything they wanted, be it a new vocabulary word or a slang term they had heard on the street. One time Lincoln had even told Nina an acronym his history teacher used to help them remember the important dates of the Revolutionary War.
Unfortunately for Lincoln, Nina was not only the top in her class, but she was already several grades ahead in math and science, not to mention in the honors classes for everything else. Lincoln was smart, no point denying it, but Nina was a genius. He had not been able to tell her anything she did not already know, though she had taught him a word or two to pad his vocabulary with.
But today Lincoln was convinced that he would get her. He had just learned what 'McDonaldization' was by overhearing a group of seniors talking about a sociology test they had just taken. There was just no way Nina would have heard the word before.
After arriving home, Lincoln spread his homework out over the kitchen counter, just like every day, waiting for Nina to come home. They always did homework together, in addition to drilling each other with new words.
"Hey, Lincoln," came Nina's voice as he heard the door open. She entered soon after, dropping her schoolbooks onto the counter heavily. "So, what's your word?"
"McDonaldization," Lincoln told her proudly, smiling. He suppressed a chuckle as Nina's brow furrowed and she looked down at the counter, no doubt thinking. He was practically bouncing in his seat by the time Nina looked back up, expression completely blank.
"It is a term used to describe the process by which society takes on the characteristics of a fast food restaurant," Nina sounded as if she had a dictionary lodged in her throat. Lincoln's jaw dropped as she continued. "It was coined by George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society." She smiled sweetly up at Lincoln, saying, "Your word is 'facinorous.'"
"How did you know that?" Lincoln was shocked that Nina had, once again, known what his word was. He didn't even know what it meant; he had merely heard it and written it down.
He was caught off guard when Nina started laughing. She pulled a sheet of lined paper out of Lincoln's history textbook and handed it to him. Written in Lincoln's handwriting was exactly what Nina had just said.
"Next time don't leave your word lying around, okay?"
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Capacity--
Usnavi and Benny had decided to go on an adventure, and, as usual, they dragged Lincoln along. They had not a clue as to what they were going to do or where they were going, but they were determined to have fun. Lincoln protested, saying that he had to finish his homework and that he couldn't possibly have enough time to do it if he went with them.
"It's Saturday," Benny pointed out sarcastically, poking a hole in Lincoln's only excuse. He seized one of Lincoln's arms while Usnavi held the other, steering him along the sidewalk to the nearest subway station.
Lincoln protested again, saying that the subway made him sick and that he didn't want to upchuck all over his two best friends. Usnavi and Benny just laughed, remembering how Lincoln had had no problem with the subway two months ago when the Rosarios had taken them, Nina, and Sonny down to Times Square to see the ball drop on New Years.
They only had a minute to wait for the train, and when it came Lincoln recoiled in disgust, noticing that it was packed. He tried to pull his arms out of Usnavi and Benny's tight hold, but to no avail.
"What's the capacity limit on this thing?" his voice sounded miserable. He sighed as he was swept onto the train, practically falling onto Usnavi as the wave of people behind them pushed past them in impatience.
"It's a subway, genius," Benny grabbed onto Usnavi so he wouldn't fall and pulled his two friends over to a vacant spot. "There is none!"
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Tooth--
Lincoln was refusing to come out of his room, and Nina couldn't help but think he was being silly. It had been nearly five days since his surgery, and she thought he looked fine. Lincoln, however, insisted that he was still swollen and bruised and told Nina that he couldn't possibly let anyone see him in that state.
"Lincoln, I'm serious, you need to come out!" Nina pounded on her brother's locked door. "Benny and Usnavi are coming over and I'm not making excuses for you!" She heard a soft moan on the other side of the door followed by a grunt. That meant that Lincoln did not care what she had to say; he was not coming out.
"Everyone says you look fine and your healing time was only three days," Nina reminded him crossly, folding her arms over her chest. "It's been five." Sighing heavily and dramatically, Nina made a big deal out of walking to the door when she heard a knock on the other end, trying to entice Lincoln into coming out.
"Still holed away in his room?" Benny asked when Nina opened the door. She nodded and Benny, winking, walked in and began banging on Lincoln's door. "Link, buddy, I am not moving until you open this door! I'm dead serious! I'll get Usnavi and Sonny and Vanessa to all come up here and we'll bang on the door until it breaks. Hear me? Get out of your-"
The door swung open and Benny just barely managed to stop his fist from knocking Lincoln square in the face. Nina giggled at the shocked looks on both boys' faces and had to press a hand over her mouth as she watched Lincoln's face turn red.
"Happy?" Lincoln raised his arms sarcastically, smirking. Benny slung an arm around his shoulders, saying, "Very."
"Just wait 'till you get your wisdom teeth out," Lincoln grumbled as Benny swept him out the door, putting his other arm around Nina and brining her along too. "You won't want to go anywhere looking like a chipmunk either."
------
Airport--
Usnavi looked at the card he clutched in his sweaty palm and stood up shakily. His brow was furrowed and he had blanked out everything except for the card in his hand. He had no idea whatsoever how he was supposed to pull this one off.
"Okay," he said quietly, setting the card facedown on the table and taking a few steps back. He avoided looking at his friends as he stuck his arms out so they were perpendicular to the rest of his body.
Bending over, Usnavi ran in a straight line, his gait more like skipping than running. He jumped comically when he ran out of room and turned in midair, landing so he faced the other way. Then he ran around the room with his arms still out, turning this way and that and suppressing the urge to make zooming noises. He hadn't done this since he was five.
Suddenly dropping his arms, he came to a halt in front of his friends. Pretending to hold something in each hand, he brought his arms up and down as if fanning someone, taking a couple steps back as he did so. Then he turned, pointed behind him, and drew a box in the air.
It was then that Usnavi realized that nobody was shouting out any guesses. Looking at his friends blankly, he noticed that they all had their mouths open and were staring at him incredulously.
"What?" he shrugged, trying to stop himself from looking at Vanessa, whose raised eyebrow made him blush. "C'mon guys, guess!"
"Airport," Nina stifled a giggle as she spoke. Usnavi shrugged again in consent, feeling very grateful that guessing charades also happened to be something Nina excelled at. He would have felt very stupid indeed if nobody had known what he had been doing.
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Stink--
Nina had never been to a sleepover before, and certainly not one where she would be three years younger than most of the girls there. She packed her bag carefully, choosing a pair of plain pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt. She didn't want to look out of place.
The walk to Vanessa's place was short, but Kevin insisted on holding Nina's hand the entire way. She danced ahead of him sometimes, knowing that few middle schoolers would be invited to a high school sleepover.
Vanessa greeted her with a hug and a smiley hello, and Nina waved goodbye to her father. There were three girls already there, all three of them much taller and more developed than Nina's eighth grade self. She looked down at her chest, which looked horribly flat in comparison, then over the pajamas the girls already wore. They all wore tank tops and shorts, and Nina suddenly wished that she had found something other than an oversized T-shirt.
This stinks, she thought as Vanessa showed her where to put her bag. Nobody here is going to like me, I'm sure of it. They're just so much older than me!
After Nina had changed into her pajamas and got to know the other girls a little bit better, she began to feel more confident. They laughed over pizza and clung to each other during the horror movie Vanessa found in her mother's cabinet - the one she was not supposed to go into.
But then they decided to play truth or dare, and Nina brought her legs in close to her chest, hugging her knees and hoping they would forget about her for this one. After all the rest of the girls all went to the same school and no doubt had the same gossip, gossip that Nina would not know.
True to her prediction, the girls asked each other the expected "Who do you like" questions, giggling over the answers. Nina felt a twinge of pity when Vanessa was asked this question and she did not answer 'Usnavi.' She tried to convince herself that Vanessa just did not want to tell her friends that she liked him because most of them probably did not remember him.
"Okay… Nina," Vanessa turned a smiling face to Nina, who jumped. She had been sure that they had all forgotten about her. "Truth or dare?"
"Um, truth, I guess," Nina shrugged, reminding herself that she did not really know any of these girls and as such should not be embarrassed to tell them anything.
"Who do you like?" Vanessa asked, and Nina practically melted with relief. Well, this would be easy. None of these girls knew the boys in middle school, so when she said, "Henry," all it was met with were nods and murmurs, not gasps and squeals like some of the others had been.
------
Lines--
Lincoln tried desperately to forget how he looked in the rather ridiculous pantaloons he was wearing. He tried to pretend that his grown-out hair was not curled up at the sides and not pulled into a tiny braid at the back. He tried to remind himself that everyone else looked as silly as he did.
But most of all, he tried to forget that Benny was sitting out in the audience. The rest of his friends were too, but Lincoln couldn't bear the thought of Benny laughing at him. With him, maybe. But at him would be terrible!
So it was with a horrible clenching in his stomach that Lincoln went onstage for his starring role of John Adams in 1776. He tried desperately to convince himself that Nina, whose dress was horribly revealing, would be having a worse time of things. After all, when there is only one female role, the costume designers would decide to make the dress a bit more low-cut…
Satan must have been listening to Lincoln's fears, for he had not sung two lines when he drew a blank. He gaped at the boy playing Benjamin Franklin - who had a pillow stuffed up his shirt - for a few seconds before turning towards the audience, determined to perform the best improvised version of 1776 any of them had ever seen.
Lincoln blinked and found himself looking directly at Benny. How he had picked him out of the entire auditorium when a spotlight was nearly blinding him, he didn't know. Pupils dilating and feeling like a deer caught in headlights, Lincoln screamed, "Oh shit!"
And then he ran for it.
While Nina might have scolded him for his 'inappropriate choice of words,' his understudy was very pleased.
------
Academic--
Nina looked at the colored notecards in front of her, triple-checking that they were separated into their color-coded piles. Smiling, she straightened the study guide, fingers lingering for a second on the staple holding the three pages together.
A knock at the door signaled for her to answer it, and Usnavi's smiling - but nervous - face greeted her.
"Hey Usnavi," she said cheerfully, stepping slightly to the side so he could come in.
"How's it going?" Usnavi asked, tugging at the scarf he had wrapped around his neck. Nina recognized the scarf as the one Abuela Claudia had crocheted for him two Christmases ago. She had made it in Usnavi's favorite color: red. She herself has one up in her room, where she kept it hanging on a bedpost when she wasn't wearing it.
"I finished the notecards," she told Usnavi as she took his coat and scarf and laid them carefully on a chair. "Study guides always help me too, so I typed one up for you. You can take it home and fill it in to make sure you remember everything." Usnavi sat down on the sofa and looked at the flashcards, eyes widening. He picked up the study guide next and flipped through it.
"Damn," he muttered as Nina sat down beside him. He turned towards her, eyes now wide with gratitude. "I would never have thought of this."
Nina shrugged, pointing to the notecards and saying, "I color-coded them according to time period." Usnavi replaced the study guide and picked up the pile of blue cards, '1900's' written on the top in Nina's careful hand.
"When did you find time to do all this?" Usnavi asked, running his thumb along the cards. Nina just shrugged again, smiling.
"I might have borrowed Lincoln's notes to make it a little easier," she admitted, giggling. "But I didn't tell him why, don't worry." Usnavi had told her ahead of time that he didn't want to ask Lincoln for help; he was too busy tutoring Benny, in any case.
"Thanks," Usnavi's voice seemed to melt with relief. Nina knew that Usnavi didn't want to offend Lincoln, and asking his younger sister for help studying for a history mid-term they both had to take probably would. Not many tenth grade boys would ask a seventh grader for help.
The two spent at least an hour and a half studying, cutting short when Lincoln and Benny arrived (Usnavi nearly jumped through the ceiling while Nina kept her head and neatly tucked the flashcards and study guide under the table).
Usnavi left with Benny after Lincoln gave the latter a couple tips on cramming. Nina slipped the study guide and flashcards into Usnavi's coat pockets, feeling quite pleased with her sneakiness. When Usnavi called later that night with questions, she practically knocked the phone out of Lincoln's hand to answer first.
She couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of Usnavi when he showed her his 98% a week later. The astounded looks on Benny and Lincoln's faces were just added bonuses.
------
Efficiency--
Lincoln threw his pencil across the room, where the tip splintered as it hit the refrigerator. He let his head fall heavily onto the counter, which produced a rather impressive thunk and a groan of pain. He sat up, rubbing his forehead with one hand and taking his glasses off with the other.
"You can't see without those, genius," Nina said as she came into the room. Lincoln scowled at her, though he did replace his glasses. Nina sat down beside him, looking over his shoulder at the textbook he had open on the table.
"It's statistics," Lincoln told her, his voice sounding as though he had just swallowed something nasty.
"Will I have to take it too?" Nina asked, a disgusted look on her face as well.
"Duh," Lincoln said as he closed the book and pushed it away. "You're already two years ahead in math, so you'll be taking it your junior year." Laughing, he nudged the book towards Nina. "I'm done with stats for now; want to take a peek?"
"No thank you," Nina stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm off to do my own math homework, thank you very much."
"Tell Vanessa I said hello," Lincoln called over his shoulder, knowing that the two girls, who were in the same math class even though Nina was two years younger, always did their homework together.
------
Script--
Usnavi had planned his entire life out by the time he was nine. It had been a fun thing to do back then, building castles in his imagination and sharing made-up tales with his friends. He would pretend he was far away from the apartment he shared with his mami and papi, pretend that Abuela Claudia's flat was really a mansion, that his street was paved with black concrete.
He and Benny and Lincoln had written everything down once, planning their lives out to the very last detail. Usnavi remembered how he and Benny had laughed at Lincoln when he knew the exact shade of purple his tie would be at his wedding. Lincoln, in his turn, had laughed at Benny and Usnavi when they both announced that the Rangers would win the Stanley Cup against the Islanders on they day they would get married.
Rummaging through the boxes in the bodega one day, Usnavi came across one that held some of his childhood belongings. Curious, he emptied it in a circle around him on the floor, wondering when his mother and father would have had the time to choose these things and pack them away. It was with a shock of surprise that he recognized his life plan that he had written over five years ago, when life was just a game.
I'm gonna marry a model, he had written in his untidy hand, which made him stifle a laugh. And we're not gonna have no kids, because I don't wanna waste no money. Usnavi ran a finger over the words, trying to remember the day he had written them and realizing that he could not.
Me and Benny and Link are gonna live in three big castles, but mine's gonna be the biggest because I'll be richest. I'm gonna graduate high school with all A-pluses and then do the same at a big fancy college. Then I'm gonna get me a job as a CEO at a ginormous company.
Usnavi wasn't quite sure how he had figured out what a CEO was at such a young age. He supposed that he had asked Abuela or Uncle Kevin or even his own father who got paid the most. It was almost ironic, in a cruel sense, that he was finding this naïve outline of his life now, after life had chewed him up and spat him back out covered in his own misery.
Seized with an anger that seemed to come out of nowhere, Usnavi snatched up the paper that bore his clumsy handwriting and, kicking the empty box on his way, entered the bodega, surprising the man at the counter very much. Has Usnavi been paying attention, he would have noticed that the man hastily stuffed a magazine back into the rack, but his one-track mind noticed only the chipped coffee cup that held pens and pencils found on the floor at then end of the day during clean-up.
Grabbing a pencil at random, Usnavi began crossing out the words on the paper with heavy black lines. The tip splintered, making him frown and toss the pencil aside, not caring where it landed. Choosing a pen instead, Usnavi began writing at the bottom of the piece of paper, significantly altering his life's plan.
By the time I am sixteen, I will be a high school dropout and the owner of my own bodega. I want to get married someday and have at least five kids. One of them will go on to achieve great things.
Usnavi then ripped up the paper, the pieces scattering on the floor when his angry footfalls carried him back into the back room. He packed up the box, barely noticing what he was putting back in it, before going back out into the bodega. He remained in a foul mood for the rest of the day, only perking up when Benny and Lincoln came to visit later in the afternoon.
------
MOAR.
Fandom: In the Heights
Written: December, 2008 - April, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Words: 12900 (total)
Summary: A series of completely random pieces about the characters as kids/teens. Each piece was inspired by a single word.
------
Map--
Lincoln loved history class.
The teacher always wore a silly tie, normally with exuberant polka dots or cartoon characters or bright patterns on it, which he liked to look at whenever the teacher would give the class lectures. He loved smelling the chalk; he was in the front row, closest to the blackboard. He loved his history book, too. Sometimes when he got bored in class he would page through it, looking at the pictures of long gone soldiers and running his fingers over their forlorn faces.
Lincoln's favorite part of class was handing in his homework or his tests. He would pick up the white papers lovingly, looking down at his handwriting with pride. He was the top in his class, and he knew it. He would watch his teacher smile when he handed over the papers and his heart would swell inside him. He would look behind his teacher at the world map placed on the corkboard behind his desk before turning around and walking back to his seat.
His eyes would always be drawn to the same spot on the map. He would look at the United States, up where he knew New York was. He would sit back down in his seat, thinking about how small New York really was as compared to the rest of the world.
Sometimes Lincoln would cradle his head in his arms and close his eyes, resting on his desk. He would think about how New York City was the only world he knew, how much was still out there. He would open his eyes briefly to peek at the boy sitting next to him and feel glad that he knew so little. With a small smile playing about his lips, he would close his eyes again and thank a higher power that they were friends. He didn't think he could survive everything without someone there with him.
------
Tradition--
His shoes were neatly polished and he had been wrestled into a collared shirt and tie. His dark jeans were a bit too long and he grumbled as his mother rolled the cuffs up. He hated getting dressed up for Sunday church. Especially on holidays, because then he had to look nice.
His mother gave him a candy cane to tuck into his coat pocket, and he took it eagerly, pudgy fingers tearing at the clear plastic wrapping. He bean sucking on it greedily, fingertips getting covered in red sugar.
They always walked to church, he and his mother. She took the hand that was not clutching his treat and together they would cross the street and continue on for a block until they arrived at the building with the big cross on top. He would always look up at it, remembering the man that had been nailed to it many years ago. He thought it was silly to nail a man to a cross.
The Rosarios always came to church too. He would find them in the crowd, where Lincoln would be standing dutifully at his father's side, collared shirt tucked into his slacks and the same little red tie hanging from the collar. Little Nina would have on a patterned dress, her hair held back by several colorful barrettes. Once he had gotten Lincoln to pull one out, which made Nina cry.
He showed Lincoln the remains of his candy cane before following his mother to a pew. Lincoln and Nina waved to him and he waved back as he sat down. His mother made tutting noises as she pulled out a handkerchief and, licking it, began to wipe his sticky fingers.
He never listened at church, for he did not understand what was going on. He would spend the rest of the hour turning round to catch glimpses of Lincoln and Nina when his mother wasn't looking and making funny faces at them. He loved it when he made Lincoln laugh, especially when it was deathly silent in the church.
------
Stake--
Lincoln, Benny, Usnavi, Sonny, and Nina were all packed into the Rosario's tiny living room, sitting next to one another on the lumpy couch. Lincoln fidgeted in his seat, plucking at the threads coming loose on his armrest. Benny was squished right up next to him, making him blush.
Benny began to laugh at the silly man on the screen - Alfred - as he tried to stake a vampire and wound up using the wrong end. Benny's laughter caused Lincoln and Usnavi, who were sitting on either side of him, to shake slightly. Lincoln couldn't help but feel bad for Alfred. He might be a bumbling fool, but at least he was brave enough to rescue the woman he loved.
Usnavi and Benny both found the movie very entertaining, while Sonny seemed frightened and Nina bored. Lincoln watched intently, if only because he found the plot engaging. The humor was lost on Lincoln, and he would periodically frown at Benny and Usnavi when they started chuckling.
"This movie would make a good musical," Lincoln commented as the credits began rolling. Benny, Usnavi, and Nina laughed at his thought, deeming it silly and completely random. Lincoln glowered at them, wishing they understood where he was coming from. After Benny, Usnavi, and Sonny had left, Lincoln reiterated this statement to Nina who, shaking her head, retreated to her room, not wanting to hear what he had to say.
Years later, when Lincoln and Nina were both away at their respective schools, Benny and Usnavi would find a printed article waiting for them in their mailboxes, telling the tale of the successful musical Tanz der Vampire in Germany. Attached was a post-it from Lincoln, reading, "Told ya so!"
------
Eggs--
Lincoln hadn't told anyone, but he was allergic to eggs. Horribly allergic.
Nina knew, of course, seeing how their mother never so much as made an omelet when Lincoln was in the same room. They never had cake, for even then Lincoln could not so much as nibble a crumb without breaking out in hives. Nina had been severely punished when, at age five, she had been mad at Lincoln and had thrown a raw egg at him.
However, Lincoln had a relatively easy time with his allergy, considering how hard it was to avoid eggs. He became good at refusing food politely, saying he was full or had just eaten and pretended that too much sugar made him sick at parties. He never had to tell anyone about his egg allergy until the seventh grade, when it was world culture day.
Each of the students had been partnered up and assigned a dish to make. Lincoln was working with Benny, and they were to make the Italian dish Pasta Carbonara. They had been given the recipe, and Lincoln's ears had turned pink the second he saw '1 egg, scrambled' on the ingredients list.
Benny came over to the Rosarios' later that day, where he and Lincoln spent a good two hours making a pasta dish that would have taken Camila half that time, if not less. Lincoln had put Benny in charge of the egg, feeling very pleased with himself by the time they had finished.
"Looks decent," he said as Benny stirred the completed dish in its pot.
"No duh!" Benny exclaimed. "It took us two hours; it better be good!" And without warning, Benny scooped up some pasta and jammed the spoon in Lincoln's mouth. "Well, how's it taste?"
Spluttering and coughing, Lincoln spat the pasta all over Benny, panic stricken. He clapped his hands to his face, feeling his skin to see if anything had happened. Benny's confused and pasta-covered face looked at his red one, asking, "What's wrong, man?"
Lincoln managed to choke out, "Allergic… eggs…"
It wasn't until several hours later, when Lincoln was able to get over the fact that his best friend had seen him with hives all over his face, that he started laughing. After all, the look on Benny's face had been pretty silly.
------
Flurries--
Lincoln groaned as his mother threw his jacket over his head, saying, "You'll catch cold, now put it on," in an impatient tone. He was already late for school, he knew that, and she had to make it worse by forcing a winter coat on him.
"I'll be fine," Lincoln insisted, tying his scarf in a neat knot at the base of his throat and straightening his sweater. "It's not that cold outside, Mama." Slinging his backpack over one shoulder and kissing his mother goodbye, Lincoln dashed out the door before she could say another word.
In retrospect, his mother had been right. Lincoln hugged his small frame with his arms, focusing on the snow-dusted ground and wishing he had looked out of the window that morning. He met up with Usnavi and Benny at the corner and they continued on towards school together. None of the boys spoke, their breath fogging the air in front of them and noses turning pink as they trudged up the sidewalk.
Lincoln did not look up until Usnavi, who was walking between him and Benny, grabbed his arm and, shaking it, pointed towards the school building. "Look!" he said, cheeks flushed and voice cracking.
Benny and Lincoln both followed his gaze, squinting through the flurries until they found what exactly had gotten Usnavi so excited. He seemed to be pointing at a girl who was standing uncertainly by the entrance to the school, bulky sweater making her stick-thin legs look like twigs.
"Who's that?" Usnavi wondered aloud, his eyes trained on the girl's long black hair, which the wind was tossing this way and that, particles of snow dusting the top of her head.
"Go on, man, say hola," Benny nudged the other boy, chuckling as Usnavi took off at a sideways gallop, head bobbing excitedly as he went. "She is quite a looker, isn't she?" he said quietly to Lincoln, elbowing his arm lightly.
"What?" Lincoln looked from Benny to the girl again, shrugging. "Oh… yeah, I guess so." Lincoln felt his already pink cheeks darken as Benny put an arm around his shoulders, grabbing his scarf and waving it in his face.
"That's our Lincoln," Benny sighed. "Always the polite one."
------
Tree--
"I would name him after my father," Lincoln said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly and looking around at his friends. "Kevin is a nice name and it would connect him to his grandfather without him knowing it."
"Okay," Benny said slowly, "but I still like Elvis better."
"Are you kidding?" Nina piped up, looking around at the boys incredulously. "That's not how you name your children, giving them a family name because you think it'll help you stick together or the name of some famous musician." Tossing her curls, Nina said, "Besides, not all firstborns are boys, you know."
"But for argument's sake, say it is," Lincoln's voice was calm, though he couldn't help but feel offended. "So what would you name your firstborn son?" He made sure to emphasize son, for Nina's sake.
"I've always liked the name Luis," Nina said thoughtfully, brining her knees in to her chest and hugging her legs. She looked towards Vanessa, who sat next to her.
"Um…" Vanessa pursed her lips as she thought, wrinkling her brow. "I haven't thought about this before," she admitted. "After all, none of us are pregnant." This caused Benny to start laughing, no doubt because Vanessa hadn't specified herself and Nina.
Still laughing, Benny put a hand on Usnavi's shoulder, saying, "Okay, then, your turn."
"Tree?" Usnavi said blankly, having obviously zoned out and not heard a word of their conversation. He looked at Benny, perplexed, then at Vanessa, who had an eyebrow raised. Shrugging, he exclaimed, "Damn, I'm only joking!"
Nobody could tell which made Usnavi blush more: the rousing bout of laughter that followed or the soft smack across the head from Vanessa.
------
Festive--
Usnavi was supposed to be watching Sonny. The little guy could get into quite a bit of mischief if he was left unattended, but Usnavi had other matters on his mind. He had left Sonny in the back room with a comic book for company and had then come back out to the front of the store, laden with a large cardboard box.
Keeping one eye trained for movement at the door, Usnavi began stringing up multi-colored Christmas lights from the ceiling, every now and then twisting a paper clip around the beams to hold them up. He made sure each string worked before hanging it; how embarrassing would it be if half the lights were burned out?
After emptying the box of all the lights (minus the burned out ones, of course), Usnavi went into the back room again. After checking to make sure that Sonny was still reading and hadn't gotten into anything he shouldn't, Usnavi seized another box and lugged it out to the front.
He began digging through the box, coming across familiar looking garlands and funny porcelain houses, carefully wrapped in tissue paper. A Nativity scene was tucked at the very bottom, which Usnavi looked at for a minute before tucking it back in carefully. Taking one of the garlands, he began to tape it around the counter.
The bell at the door caused him to turn around, jumping slightly when he recognized the girl who had just entered. Her eyes were bright and her long hair was pushed back by the pair of earmuffs she wore. She was wearing the same thick sweater she had on when he first saw her, so bulky that it looked as if she had borrowed it from her father's closet.
"Hi, Usnavi," her voice was surprised, as if she had not been expecting to see him. "I came to do my Christmas shopping. What are you up to?"
"H-hey, Vanessa," he stammered back, pinching his leg to try and shake off his nerves. "Just decorating the place a little. Y'know, making it more Christmas-y." Usnavi tried to pretend that his stomach wasn't turning over as her eyes trailed upward to the ceiling he had just finished decorating.
"You're missing something," she giggled, pointing upwards.
"Huh?" Usnavi looked to the ceiling, mouth open and feeling very stupid. What had he forgotten? Was one of the lights not plugged in? Had a string fallen down? But when he looked, everything seemed to be just the way he had left it. He turned a confused face towards Vanessa.
"Mistletoe always makes a place more festive," she told him, her voice completely calm. Usnavi's fingers twitched, the hint of a smile playing about his lips. "I think you should put some up."
"I-I'll get right on that, V-Vanessa," Usnavi's stammer was back and he was sure his face was bright red. He turned back to finish taping up the garland as Vanessa started walking through the bodega, looking for her gifts. They did not speak again until Vanessa came up to the counter with her items and Usnavi rang them up, giving her a total that was a couple dollars less than what the register told him.
"Thanks, Usnavi," Vanessa said, waving with her free hand as she reached the door.
"See ya at school," Usnavi called after her. He watched through the window as she turned to walk down the sidewalk until she was out of sight. Smiling, Usnavi spun in a circle, waving his hands in the air, before going into the back room again to check on Sonny.
------
Change--
High school was a huge deal to Benny, Usnavi, and Lincoln. The three boys has been speaking of nothing else for two weeks, voices regretful and excited at the same time. They were sad to be leaving behind the elementary school where they could pass Sonny and Nina in the halls and make funny faces at each other, but they knew that high school meant more freedom. They had picked out all their classes themselves and teachers would no longer patrol the hallways.
On the last day of summer vacation, both Nina and Lincoln laid out their clothes for the next day. Nina, who was only in sixth grade, would be wearing a plaid jumper and a white blouse. Lincoln tried to remember that she was still a girl when he saw her choice, but he couldn't help thinking about how nobody at his new school would be wearing anything like that.
Lincoln had chosen a plain blue T-shirt and dark jeans, but he couldn't help thinking that it was nowhere near impressive enough for his first day of high school. Feeling terribly nervous, he replaced the T-shirt with a red collared shirt, smiling to himself.
The next morning, Lincoln had dressed with care, making sure his shirt was not wrinkled. He cleaned his glasses with a washcloth while Nina put a headband in her curly hair, turning around in the mirror to look over her outfit.
"Look, it's Usnavi and Benny!" Nina told Lincoln, pointing out the window. Lincoln dashed over, scanning the street below for his friends. He felt his stomach turn over when he realized that both Usnavi and Benny had on plain T-shirts and their jeans had rips at the knees. Looking down at his own attire, Lincoln tugged at the bottom of his shirt unhappily.
"Much too formal," he said critically, tugging the shirt over his head as he stumbled into his room. He grabbed the blue T-shirt he had replaced the day before, changing quickly before Usnavi and Benny came up. Running his fingers through his neat hair to muss it slightly, Lincoln deemed himself ready.
------
Anomaly--
Usnavi was looking critically at the board in front of him, chin cupped in his fingers and his elbow resting on his knee. His brow was furrowed and his mind was racing. The fingers on his free hand twitched slightly.
"I can't do anything," he finally said, looking around at the three people sitting at the other sides of the board. "No… wait…" He triumphantly placed the letter 'o' next to the 'n' from the word 'mine.'
"Nice," Benny said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Usnavi crossed his arms saying defensively, "Better than nothing, right?"
"Right," Lincoln piped up, whose idea it had been to play Scrabble in the first place. "Benny's turn." Usnavi couldn't help but chuckle to himself at Lincoln's enthusiasm. He always bounced slightly when it was his turn. He also announced whose turn it was but then asked if it was his, as if he did not know. Usnavi found this very entertaining.
"Uh…" Benny's eyes whizzed over the board, scrutinizing the letters. Usnavi looked over at Nina, who looked as if she was trying very hard not to point out what Benny could do. Usnavi liked it when Nina played board games with the three of them; she always beat everyone and he thought it was funny.
Usnavi watched as Benny placed the letter 'a' before the 'n' he had just used to make 'no.' M-O-L-Y followed, spelling out… anomoly?
"That's not how you spell anomaly, dear," Lincoln said suddenly, causing Usnavi to raise an eyebrow. Had Lincoln really just called Benny 'dear,' or was he imagining things? Nina covered her mouth, snickering, which assured Usnavi he was not dreaming. Benny had a very odd expression on his face, but Lincoln did not seem to realize what he had said.
"H-how do you spell it, then?" Benny asked, biting back a laugh.
"A-N-O-M-A-L-Y," Lincoln told him, still not realizing that all three of them were still trying to stifle their laughter. Controlling himself rather commendably, in Usnavi's opinion, Benny took back the letters, instead putting his 'm' and 'o' around another 'o,' spelling 'moo.'
------
Spit--
Lincoln held his father's hand tightly as he walked through the frigid hallways, tiny little jacket zipped up to his chin. He was clutching a helium balloon on a pink string, something that he had made quite a fuss about before arriving.
"Don't like pink," he had said stubbornly, folding his pudgy arms in front of his chest and frowning impressively up at his father's smiling face.
Now the little boy's attention was on the tiled floor beneath him. He liked stepping on all the green ones and tried to jump over the pink ones, causing his father quite some trouble. When his father asked what he was doing, he repeated, "Don't like pink!"
"Here we are," his father announced, pointing to a door off to the left. Lincoln pulled out of his father's grasp and, forgetting all about his quest to avoid the pink tiles, dashed into the room. His mouth opened in a wide smile as he recognized his mother sitting in the bed, a bundle clasped tightly in her hands.
"I have a sissy!" Lincoln told her excitedly, showing his mother the balloon.
"Yes, you do," his mother smiled warmly as Kevin walked in the door. "Would you like to see her?" Lincoln nodded enthusiastically, losing his grip on the balloon in his excitement. Kevin grabbed the ribbon before it could float up to the ceiling and helped Lincoln clamber onto the bed.
"Here she is," Camila lowered the bundle so Lincoln could see his baby sister's face. Her eyes were closed and a lock of black hair was poking out from under the hat she wore. A trail of drool ran down her chin. "Lincoln, this is your baby sister Nina."
"I like her," Lincoln told his mother solemnly, looking up at her. "Nina…" he added, as if trying out the name. Frowning slightly, he touched baby Nina's chin, showing Camila his wet finger.
"Spit," he said matter-of-factly, wiping his finger on his jacket. He shook his little finger at the baby and said, "No spitting, Mommy says." He looked back up at Camila. "Right, Mommy?"
"That's right Lincoln," Camila tousled his hair fondly.
------
Time--
Usnavi's eyes were trained on the clock by now, watching the little red second hand tick away another wasted moment. Sweat covered his brow, and he shifted from foot to foot impatiently. Sometimes he would hum to himself, the disjoined melody calming him somewhat.
He tried to distract himself by reading the posters lining the walls, walking up and down and standing so close he could have melted into the pictures if he had pushed himself hard enough. He tried reading every one of the seventeen magazines lining the coffee table, but found that nothing inside was interesting enough to capture his attention. He tried listening to the elevator music that was playing softly from the speaker in the ceiling, but found the simple melodies too complex to follow, not because he could not, but because he found himself incapable.
So he watched the clock, eyes watching the red second hand as it kept moving, never ceasing in its endless ticking.
He did not notice when the nice woman in the white dress who had given him a soda came back into the room. He did not hear her whisper to Abuela and did not see her retreat back into the hallway where he was not allowed.
But he did notice when Abuela pulled his thin frame close to hers, enveloping him in an embrace that smelled of flowers and cinnamon and sweat. He felt her tears on his shoulder.
Usnavi did not realize that his eyes had fogged over until he had collapsed like a baby in Abuela's arms, tears streaming down his cheeks and screams tearing at his throat.
------
McDonaldization--
Nina and Lincoln had been playing a game since Lincoln had been in tenth grade. Each day they would learn a new word and tell it to the other, hoping to stump each other on what it meant. It could be anything they wanted, be it a new vocabulary word or a slang term they had heard on the street. One time Lincoln had even told Nina an acronym his history teacher used to help them remember the important dates of the Revolutionary War.
Unfortunately for Lincoln, Nina was not only the top in her class, but she was already several grades ahead in math and science, not to mention in the honors classes for everything else. Lincoln was smart, no point denying it, but Nina was a genius. He had not been able to tell her anything she did not already know, though she had taught him a word or two to pad his vocabulary with.
But today Lincoln was convinced that he would get her. He had just learned what 'McDonaldization' was by overhearing a group of seniors talking about a sociology test they had just taken. There was just no way Nina would have heard the word before.
After arriving home, Lincoln spread his homework out over the kitchen counter, just like every day, waiting for Nina to come home. They always did homework together, in addition to drilling each other with new words.
"Hey, Lincoln," came Nina's voice as he heard the door open. She entered soon after, dropping her schoolbooks onto the counter heavily. "So, what's your word?"
"McDonaldization," Lincoln told her proudly, smiling. He suppressed a chuckle as Nina's brow furrowed and she looked down at the counter, no doubt thinking. He was practically bouncing in his seat by the time Nina looked back up, expression completely blank.
"It is a term used to describe the process by which society takes on the characteristics of a fast food restaurant," Nina sounded as if she had a dictionary lodged in her throat. Lincoln's jaw dropped as she continued. "It was coined by George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society." She smiled sweetly up at Lincoln, saying, "Your word is 'facinorous.'"
"How did you know that?" Lincoln was shocked that Nina had, once again, known what his word was. He didn't even know what it meant; he had merely heard it and written it down.
He was caught off guard when Nina started laughing. She pulled a sheet of lined paper out of Lincoln's history textbook and handed it to him. Written in Lincoln's handwriting was exactly what Nina had just said.
"Next time don't leave your word lying around, okay?"
------
Capacity--
Usnavi and Benny had decided to go on an adventure, and, as usual, they dragged Lincoln along. They had not a clue as to what they were going to do or where they were going, but they were determined to have fun. Lincoln protested, saying that he had to finish his homework and that he couldn't possibly have enough time to do it if he went with them.
"It's Saturday," Benny pointed out sarcastically, poking a hole in Lincoln's only excuse. He seized one of Lincoln's arms while Usnavi held the other, steering him along the sidewalk to the nearest subway station.
Lincoln protested again, saying that the subway made him sick and that he didn't want to upchuck all over his two best friends. Usnavi and Benny just laughed, remembering how Lincoln had had no problem with the subway two months ago when the Rosarios had taken them, Nina, and Sonny down to Times Square to see the ball drop on New Years.
They only had a minute to wait for the train, and when it came Lincoln recoiled in disgust, noticing that it was packed. He tried to pull his arms out of Usnavi and Benny's tight hold, but to no avail.
"What's the capacity limit on this thing?" his voice sounded miserable. He sighed as he was swept onto the train, practically falling onto Usnavi as the wave of people behind them pushed past them in impatience.
"It's a subway, genius," Benny grabbed onto Usnavi so he wouldn't fall and pulled his two friends over to a vacant spot. "There is none!"
------
Tooth--
Lincoln was refusing to come out of his room, and Nina couldn't help but think he was being silly. It had been nearly five days since his surgery, and she thought he looked fine. Lincoln, however, insisted that he was still swollen and bruised and told Nina that he couldn't possibly let anyone see him in that state.
"Lincoln, I'm serious, you need to come out!" Nina pounded on her brother's locked door. "Benny and Usnavi are coming over and I'm not making excuses for you!" She heard a soft moan on the other side of the door followed by a grunt. That meant that Lincoln did not care what she had to say; he was not coming out.
"Everyone says you look fine and your healing time was only three days," Nina reminded him crossly, folding her arms over her chest. "It's been five." Sighing heavily and dramatically, Nina made a big deal out of walking to the door when she heard a knock on the other end, trying to entice Lincoln into coming out.
"Still holed away in his room?" Benny asked when Nina opened the door. She nodded and Benny, winking, walked in and began banging on Lincoln's door. "Link, buddy, I am not moving until you open this door! I'm dead serious! I'll get Usnavi and Sonny and Vanessa to all come up here and we'll bang on the door until it breaks. Hear me? Get out of your-"
The door swung open and Benny just barely managed to stop his fist from knocking Lincoln square in the face. Nina giggled at the shocked looks on both boys' faces and had to press a hand over her mouth as she watched Lincoln's face turn red.
"Happy?" Lincoln raised his arms sarcastically, smirking. Benny slung an arm around his shoulders, saying, "Very."
"Just wait 'till you get your wisdom teeth out," Lincoln grumbled as Benny swept him out the door, putting his other arm around Nina and brining her along too. "You won't want to go anywhere looking like a chipmunk either."
------
Airport--
Usnavi looked at the card he clutched in his sweaty palm and stood up shakily. His brow was furrowed and he had blanked out everything except for the card in his hand. He had no idea whatsoever how he was supposed to pull this one off.
"Okay," he said quietly, setting the card facedown on the table and taking a few steps back. He avoided looking at his friends as he stuck his arms out so they were perpendicular to the rest of his body.
Bending over, Usnavi ran in a straight line, his gait more like skipping than running. He jumped comically when he ran out of room and turned in midair, landing so he faced the other way. Then he ran around the room with his arms still out, turning this way and that and suppressing the urge to make zooming noises. He hadn't done this since he was five.
Suddenly dropping his arms, he came to a halt in front of his friends. Pretending to hold something in each hand, he brought his arms up and down as if fanning someone, taking a couple steps back as he did so. Then he turned, pointed behind him, and drew a box in the air.
It was then that Usnavi realized that nobody was shouting out any guesses. Looking at his friends blankly, he noticed that they all had their mouths open and were staring at him incredulously.
"What?" he shrugged, trying to stop himself from looking at Vanessa, whose raised eyebrow made him blush. "C'mon guys, guess!"
"Airport," Nina stifled a giggle as she spoke. Usnavi shrugged again in consent, feeling very grateful that guessing charades also happened to be something Nina excelled at. He would have felt very stupid indeed if nobody had known what he had been doing.
------
Stink--
Nina had never been to a sleepover before, and certainly not one where she would be three years younger than most of the girls there. She packed her bag carefully, choosing a pair of plain pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt. She didn't want to look out of place.
The walk to Vanessa's place was short, but Kevin insisted on holding Nina's hand the entire way. She danced ahead of him sometimes, knowing that few middle schoolers would be invited to a high school sleepover.
Vanessa greeted her with a hug and a smiley hello, and Nina waved goodbye to her father. There were three girls already there, all three of them much taller and more developed than Nina's eighth grade self. She looked down at her chest, which looked horribly flat in comparison, then over the pajamas the girls already wore. They all wore tank tops and shorts, and Nina suddenly wished that she had found something other than an oversized T-shirt.
This stinks, she thought as Vanessa showed her where to put her bag. Nobody here is going to like me, I'm sure of it. They're just so much older than me!
After Nina had changed into her pajamas and got to know the other girls a little bit better, she began to feel more confident. They laughed over pizza and clung to each other during the horror movie Vanessa found in her mother's cabinet - the one she was not supposed to go into.
But then they decided to play truth or dare, and Nina brought her legs in close to her chest, hugging her knees and hoping they would forget about her for this one. After all the rest of the girls all went to the same school and no doubt had the same gossip, gossip that Nina would not know.
True to her prediction, the girls asked each other the expected "Who do you like" questions, giggling over the answers. Nina felt a twinge of pity when Vanessa was asked this question and she did not answer 'Usnavi.' She tried to convince herself that Vanessa just did not want to tell her friends that she liked him because most of them probably did not remember him.
"Okay… Nina," Vanessa turned a smiling face to Nina, who jumped. She had been sure that they had all forgotten about her. "Truth or dare?"
"Um, truth, I guess," Nina shrugged, reminding herself that she did not really know any of these girls and as such should not be embarrassed to tell them anything.
"Who do you like?" Vanessa asked, and Nina practically melted with relief. Well, this would be easy. None of these girls knew the boys in middle school, so when she said, "Henry," all it was met with were nods and murmurs, not gasps and squeals like some of the others had been.
------
Lines--
Lincoln tried desperately to forget how he looked in the rather ridiculous pantaloons he was wearing. He tried to pretend that his grown-out hair was not curled up at the sides and not pulled into a tiny braid at the back. He tried to remind himself that everyone else looked as silly as he did.
But most of all, he tried to forget that Benny was sitting out in the audience. The rest of his friends were too, but Lincoln couldn't bear the thought of Benny laughing at him. With him, maybe. But at him would be terrible!
So it was with a horrible clenching in his stomach that Lincoln went onstage for his starring role of John Adams in 1776. He tried desperately to convince himself that Nina, whose dress was horribly revealing, would be having a worse time of things. After all, when there is only one female role, the costume designers would decide to make the dress a bit more low-cut…
Satan must have been listening to Lincoln's fears, for he had not sung two lines when he drew a blank. He gaped at the boy playing Benjamin Franklin - who had a pillow stuffed up his shirt - for a few seconds before turning towards the audience, determined to perform the best improvised version of 1776 any of them had ever seen.
Lincoln blinked and found himself looking directly at Benny. How he had picked him out of the entire auditorium when a spotlight was nearly blinding him, he didn't know. Pupils dilating and feeling like a deer caught in headlights, Lincoln screamed, "Oh shit!"
And then he ran for it.
While Nina might have scolded him for his 'inappropriate choice of words,' his understudy was very pleased.
------
Academic--
Nina looked at the colored notecards in front of her, triple-checking that they were separated into their color-coded piles. Smiling, she straightened the study guide, fingers lingering for a second on the staple holding the three pages together.
A knock at the door signaled for her to answer it, and Usnavi's smiling - but nervous - face greeted her.
"Hey Usnavi," she said cheerfully, stepping slightly to the side so he could come in.
"How's it going?" Usnavi asked, tugging at the scarf he had wrapped around his neck. Nina recognized the scarf as the one Abuela Claudia had crocheted for him two Christmases ago. She had made it in Usnavi's favorite color: red. She herself has one up in her room, where she kept it hanging on a bedpost when she wasn't wearing it.
"I finished the notecards," she told Usnavi as she took his coat and scarf and laid them carefully on a chair. "Study guides always help me too, so I typed one up for you. You can take it home and fill it in to make sure you remember everything." Usnavi sat down on the sofa and looked at the flashcards, eyes widening. He picked up the study guide next and flipped through it.
"Damn," he muttered as Nina sat down beside him. He turned towards her, eyes now wide with gratitude. "I would never have thought of this."
Nina shrugged, pointing to the notecards and saying, "I color-coded them according to time period." Usnavi replaced the study guide and picked up the pile of blue cards, '1900's' written on the top in Nina's careful hand.
"When did you find time to do all this?" Usnavi asked, running his thumb along the cards. Nina just shrugged again, smiling.
"I might have borrowed Lincoln's notes to make it a little easier," she admitted, giggling. "But I didn't tell him why, don't worry." Usnavi had told her ahead of time that he didn't want to ask Lincoln for help; he was too busy tutoring Benny, in any case.
"Thanks," Usnavi's voice seemed to melt with relief. Nina knew that Usnavi didn't want to offend Lincoln, and asking his younger sister for help studying for a history mid-term they both had to take probably would. Not many tenth grade boys would ask a seventh grader for help.
The two spent at least an hour and a half studying, cutting short when Lincoln and Benny arrived (Usnavi nearly jumped through the ceiling while Nina kept her head and neatly tucked the flashcards and study guide under the table).
Usnavi left with Benny after Lincoln gave the latter a couple tips on cramming. Nina slipped the study guide and flashcards into Usnavi's coat pockets, feeling quite pleased with her sneakiness. When Usnavi called later that night with questions, she practically knocked the phone out of Lincoln's hand to answer first.
She couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of Usnavi when he showed her his 98% a week later. The astounded looks on Benny and Lincoln's faces were just added bonuses.
------
Efficiency--
Lincoln threw his pencil across the room, where the tip splintered as it hit the refrigerator. He let his head fall heavily onto the counter, which produced a rather impressive thunk and a groan of pain. He sat up, rubbing his forehead with one hand and taking his glasses off with the other.
"You can't see without those, genius," Nina said as she came into the room. Lincoln scowled at her, though he did replace his glasses. Nina sat down beside him, looking over his shoulder at the textbook he had open on the table.
"It's statistics," Lincoln told her, his voice sounding as though he had just swallowed something nasty.
"Will I have to take it too?" Nina asked, a disgusted look on her face as well.
"Duh," Lincoln said as he closed the book and pushed it away. "You're already two years ahead in math, so you'll be taking it your junior year." Laughing, he nudged the book towards Nina. "I'm done with stats for now; want to take a peek?"
"No thank you," Nina stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm off to do my own math homework, thank you very much."
"Tell Vanessa I said hello," Lincoln called over his shoulder, knowing that the two girls, who were in the same math class even though Nina was two years younger, always did their homework together.
------
Script--
Usnavi had planned his entire life out by the time he was nine. It had been a fun thing to do back then, building castles in his imagination and sharing made-up tales with his friends. He would pretend he was far away from the apartment he shared with his mami and papi, pretend that Abuela Claudia's flat was really a mansion, that his street was paved with black concrete.
He and Benny and Lincoln had written everything down once, planning their lives out to the very last detail. Usnavi remembered how he and Benny had laughed at Lincoln when he knew the exact shade of purple his tie would be at his wedding. Lincoln, in his turn, had laughed at Benny and Usnavi when they both announced that the Rangers would win the Stanley Cup against the Islanders on they day they would get married.
Rummaging through the boxes in the bodega one day, Usnavi came across one that held some of his childhood belongings. Curious, he emptied it in a circle around him on the floor, wondering when his mother and father would have had the time to choose these things and pack them away. It was with a shock of surprise that he recognized his life plan that he had written over five years ago, when life was just a game.
I'm gonna marry a model, he had written in his untidy hand, which made him stifle a laugh. And we're not gonna have no kids, because I don't wanna waste no money. Usnavi ran a finger over the words, trying to remember the day he had written them and realizing that he could not.
Me and Benny and Link are gonna live in three big castles, but mine's gonna be the biggest because I'll be richest. I'm gonna graduate high school with all A-pluses and then do the same at a big fancy college. Then I'm gonna get me a job as a CEO at a ginormous company.
Usnavi wasn't quite sure how he had figured out what a CEO was at such a young age. He supposed that he had asked Abuela or Uncle Kevin or even his own father who got paid the most. It was almost ironic, in a cruel sense, that he was finding this naïve outline of his life now, after life had chewed him up and spat him back out covered in his own misery.
Seized with an anger that seemed to come out of nowhere, Usnavi snatched up the paper that bore his clumsy handwriting and, kicking the empty box on his way, entered the bodega, surprising the man at the counter very much. Has Usnavi been paying attention, he would have noticed that the man hastily stuffed a magazine back into the rack, but his one-track mind noticed only the chipped coffee cup that held pens and pencils found on the floor at then end of the day during clean-up.
Grabbing a pencil at random, Usnavi began crossing out the words on the paper with heavy black lines. The tip splintered, making him frown and toss the pencil aside, not caring where it landed. Choosing a pen instead, Usnavi began writing at the bottom of the piece of paper, significantly altering his life's plan.
By the time I am sixteen, I will be a high school dropout and the owner of my own bodega. I want to get married someday and have at least five kids. One of them will go on to achieve great things.
Usnavi then ripped up the paper, the pieces scattering on the floor when his angry footfalls carried him back into the back room. He packed up the box, barely noticing what he was putting back in it, before going back out into the bodega. He remained in a foul mood for the rest of the day, only perking up when Benny and Lincoln came to visit later in the afternoon.
------
MOAR.