Falling Too Fast (5 page)

“Hey,
fresa
, forget something?”

“My name's not
fresa
! It's Alexis. I hate it when you call me
fresa
, okay?” Alexis spat, spinning around quickly. Karina flinched, turning red. She was sitting behind the wheel of a dark blue Ford Bronco monster truck. Marisol and Nikki stared from inside the car, surprised by Alexis's reaction. Alexis blushed.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off. I was just … I was thinking about …”

“She's waiting for a guy,” Nikki blurted.

Alexis shot her best friend a heated stare. How dare she reveal her secret in front of these strangers?

Karina's violet eyes lit up. “Boy stalking is my specialty. Hop in.” She motioned with her hand.

The girls rearranged themselves so that Alexis could sit in the front.
Corrido
music was playing on the radio. Karina explained that it was an original
narcocorrido
, a popular northern ballad–style of music that focused on the activities of drug dealers, including beheadings, burning houses, and shootings. This song was written for her boyfriend. He was a
narco
, Karina bragged. Alexis knew that
narco
was short for “drug dealer.” Alexis liked the danceable polka-like beat despite the gruesome song lyrics. The singer's voice sounded familiar. She wondered if she'd heard the song on the radio before.

Alexis forgot about the
narcocorrido
when Nikki squealed at the sight of the musicians coming out of the music building. She studied each student as they walked down the steps. What if Christian stayed late or slipped out another door? Then she spotted him walking alone.

“That's him! That's him!” Alexis cried.

“Qué chulo,”
Karina admired.

Alexis jerked as if she'd been hit with a jealous stick. Karina noticed.

“Don't worry, Alexis. I have a boyfriend, remember?”

Alexis's cheeks flushed. She felt so childish as she mumbled an apology. Karina gestured for her to forget about it.

“He won best male singer last year,” Nikki commented from the backseat.

Suddenly, Alexis noticed that Christian was heading straight toward them. “Duck down! Duck down!” she hissed as Christian passed right in front of their truck. He hurried through the parking lot and disappeared behind a car. Her heart beat wildly. “Do you think he saw us?”

“I doubt it,” Nikki said, grinning. “So … now what?”

Alexis turned and gave Karina a knowing glance.

“Now this is what I call fun,” Karina said as she pulled into traffic. Alexis couldn't help but be impressed with Karina's boy-stalking technique. They followed Christian from a discreet distance down the street, and then for another five blocks. Finally, he headed straight into an older four-plex apartment building. Alexis noticed the gang signs spray-painted on the ground-floor wall. Then she looked at the teen-age boys in front of the complex drinking and playing rap music from a car.

“So …” Karina said, tapping her manicured nails on the steering wheel. “We could try to climb to the window for a peek.”

Alexis blushed. “Really? Have you done that before?” Karina was bold and gutsy. Alexis couldn't help but like her.

Nikki nudged her from behind. “Go find out which apartment he lives in.”

Alexis shook her head. “But what if he sees me? I don't want him to think I'm a crazy stalker or anything.”

“Well, you kind of are,” Nikki said in a teasing way. “But so what? I think it's romantic. Besides, don't you want to go see which apartment is his? I know I would.”

Nikki was cut short by the sound of a door slamming shut. Alexis jerked back and noticed that scary girl Marisol was no longer in the car. She watched in horror as Marisol crept toward the apartment complex like a black cat.

“Wait!” Alexis yelled. Karina started to laugh. “What's she doing?” Alexis asked.

Nikki hushed her. “Let her go.”

Marisol crossed the driveway. The boys in front of the complex called out to her, making kissing sounds. But Marisol must have shot them one of her scary-girl looks, because they shut up. Marisol went up to the second floor. Alexis's heart thumped wildly as she watched her move toward the door Christian had entered just moments ago. She couldn't see very well from inside the car and thought about getting out. But just as suddenly, Marisol was rushing back down the stairs.

She jumped into the car just as the door on the second floor opened and an older woman in a floral dress and short hair stepped onto the porch.

“Drive,” Marisol said, out of breath.

Karina turned on the ignition and sped down the street. The girls screamed as they rode away.

“Did you see anything?” Alexis cried, turning to Marisol in the backseat.

A small smile danced on Marisol's lips. “He lives in apartment number four.”

A
lexis twirled a pencil in her hand as she tried to decide what to do. She stared across the table at Nikki, who was struggling over her Geometry worksheet. The two friends often did their homework together at the Garza family restaurant.
Stop procrastinating
, Alexis scolded herself. Nikki probably thought she was doing her Geometry, too. But Alexis was actually grappling over a letter to Christian she'd been unsuccessfully trying to write for the past half hour.

She wanted Christian to like her, but she wasn't sure how to make that happen. It had been so much easier with her previous boyfriends. Boys had always seemed to like her. Well, they used to. Now she was the one doing the pursuing. Who knew writing a love letter would be so hard?

Nikki glanced up and noticed Alexis's frustration. “What's wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” Alexis lied and glanced around the room. Her family's restaurant was bustling with customers, loud Mexican music, and busy waitstaff. Her sister walked by, balancing several plates of delicious-smelling food. Her stomach rumbled. “Fabi,” she cried out, “we're hungry.”

“Get up and serve yourself, then,” her sister barked.

Just then, Nikki snatched Alexis's letter from her hands. “What's this?” Nikki asked.

“It's nothing,” Alexis said, lunging across the table to get the letter back.

Nikki pulled back and read aloud, “‘Dear Chris. Can I call you Chris?'”

Alexis glanced around the restaurant, hoping no one in her family could hear. Her ears burned fiery hot. She couldn't believe Nikki! Her friend continued reading. “‘I'm the girl who saved you from the mob at the college fair. I just wanted to write you a letter and say …'” Nikki stopped and looked up at Alexis. “Say what? That I
loooooooove
you?”

Alexis got ahold of the paper and ripped it. “Hey, that's personal.”

“What's personal?” her grandma Trini asked, coming up to their table and patting her new updo. Trini's dark hair was teased up in a messy bun with ringlets framing her heart-shaped face. Trini noticed the torn paper in both girls' hands. She pulled a chair from another table and joined them.

“What did you say to her?” Abuelita Alpha scolded as she crossed the room. “Those children have innocent ears. Don't be telling them any stories about going to the Island for Spring Break.”

Trini flinched and her cheeks reddened. “I said nothing of the sort. For being such a good Catholic, you sure have a dirty mind.” That shut Alpha up.

Alexis sat up. She had to squash the dispute before it got out of hand. “Fine! I'll tell you. But you have to promise to not fight.” She waited until both old ladies nodded. “I was just writing a letter to the boy I have a crush on. But every time I try, it just sounds so dumb.” She gestured to the crumpled papers littering the table surface.

“No, you're going about it all wrong,” Alpha said, pulling out her rosary from her brassiere. “What you should do is get down and pray to San Antonio.”

I've already tried that
, Alexis thought.

“A love letter.” Trini clapped her hands, ignoring Alpha. “We'd love to help.”

Alpha stopped praying and looked at Trini sideways. “What do you mean ‘we'?”

“Of course it should be us,” Trini said, placing her hand on her bosom. “We are the matrons of the family, and it is our duty to train our granddaughter in the art of
el amor
.”

Alexis glanced at Nikki. She was grinning ear to ear. Alexis couldn't resist smiling in response, a glimmer of hope fluttering in her chest. Maybe they could help. She picked up her pen and prepared to write.

“Okay,
mija
, take this down word for word,” Trini said, twirling a ringlet with her finger as she thought. Trini took a deep breath and sang in a passionate voice: “Hey there, tall, dark, and handsome. When you pass by, my knees go weak and my heart whirls in a sweet dream. I long to kiss those lips, touch your skin, and breathe you into my soul …”

“That's a song!” Nikki cried.

Trini blushed and rested a hand to her heart. “I can't help it if everything I learned about love is from the radio.”

“Those are horrible lyrics.” Alpha shook her head in disgust. “You could have at least chosen a happy song.”

“Song?” Nikki said, her eyes growing round. “That's it!” Nikki grabbed Alexis's hand. “Don't write, sing.”

“Sing him a letter?” Alexis asked, glancing from Nikki to her grandmothers.

“Oh, yes.” Trini batted her eyes. “A
serenata
would be so much better than a stupid love letter. The
serenata
is truly romantic. It's part of our culture, our heritage. In the movies it's always a guy who comes to a girl's window at night to confess his feelings for her.” Trini's eyes sparkled as she sighed. “Then the girl turns on the lights and comes onto her balcony to show the boy that she likes him, too.”

“I must agree with your grandma Trini,” Abuelita Alpha said in a grave voice. “No one can resist a
serenata
. It takes real guts to sing your heart out in front of the whole world.” She glanced sideways at Grandpa Frank sitting at the opposite end of the counter with a bunch of his buddies. “I always wished someone would sing me a
serenata
. Young people nowadays know nothing about romance.” She frowned. “They send a beep on your phone and that's it, you're engaged.”

Alexis laughed. “Abuelita, it's not like that.”

“Ah no?” Alpha shot her a challenging look. “Look at your cousin. Have you ever seen him bring a girl flowers or write a letter? He just beep beep on the phone and the girl beep back and that's it.”

“She's right,” Trini agreed. “In the old days, men were men and they treated women like precious flowers. That's how your granddaddy Lil Rafa won my heart.” Trini sighed, resting her manicured palm over her heart. “The
serenata
is powerful. It can turn any frog into a prince.” Trini caught herself. “Not that you're a frog, honey.”

“Don't you two have anything better to do than put crazy ideas in Alexis's head?” Everyone turned at the severe tone in Fabi's voice.

Alexis glanced at her sister's frown. Fabi's stance was like a brick wall. The last time Fabi listened to Grandma Trini, she ended up dancing at her quinceañera with a handsome stranger who everyone swore was the devil. But this was different, she told herself. The
serenata
idea wasn't
that
crazy. It was just a little old-fashioned. Alexis glanced at Nikki.

“Alexis, it's perfect,” Nikki said, her eyes growing bright. “Christian seems like the kind of guy who's big on theatrics. He does call himself El Charro Negro. I think he'd be blown away by a
serenata.
We can even get some people from the group to perform and everything.”

“You think they would help?”

Nikki nodded. Alexis felt the excitement building in her stomach. The
serenata
was a pretty good idea. Christian would have to like it, she thought. He obviously liked mariachi — and who could resist a romantic gesture like this?

 

The following week, Alexis arrived late to mariachi rehearsal. The printer in the school library had run out of ink and she had to wait for the librarian to put in a new cartridge so she could finish printing her
serenata
lyrics. All weekend, she'd been searching for Spanish ballads without much luck. Most of the songs were about heartbreak or eternal love. Alexis needed something fun — like her. The librarian recommended the song “Me Gustas Mucho” — “I Like You a Lot.” It was a cute, flirty song about a girl who didn't care what people said or how long it took, she would not give up or let anything come between them.

“Mr. Castillo?” Alexis asked.

“Assistant Principal Castillo,” he corrected.

“Yes, I'm sorry, sir. I think we should try this song today,” she said, smiling brightly.

AP Castillo reviewed the music. Overall, he was very supportive and encouraged Alexis to take an active part in leading the group — especially since everyone had started showing up on time for rehearsals after her unauthorized “field trip.” Alexis played a version of the song sung by a legendary Mexican singer for the group on the CD player. No one seemed impressed. Then she told them about her plan to serenade Christian. That did the trick. Nikki, Marisol, and Karina thought it was romantic. The twins didn't believe she'd go through with it. Justin turned bright red, and Santiago fell out of his chair laughing.
He can stay home
, she thought.

 

Alexis was determined to whip the group into shape for her
serenata
. She forced herself to stay positive. All they needed was practice — lots of practice. She did not include her cousin in this analysis. Alexis winced as Santiago punched a bunch of random buttons on the accordion. She brought her hands to her ears. “What is that?” she asked, interrupting their practice. The group had been rehearsing the song all week. Alexis hoped that they would be ready to do the
serenata
by next Friday. But the new musicians were still learning their finger positioning, and Santiago was doing his own thing.

“You like it, huh?” He smiled. “I've been trying to think of a way to make my sound special. I've been watching these videos with this guy named Steve Jordan. Man plays with his eyes closed and everything. He's the best, even bigger than Grandpa. I'm going to be like him.”

“That's fine, but we're supposed to be playing together,” Alexis reminded him, trying to make her voice sound calm. Time was slipping by, and soon Christian's group would be traveling across the state for competitions.

“Yo,
prima
, you can't rush art. Besides, I think it's better to be organic. Forget the music. Let's just play from our hearts.” He threw the music sheets in the air with a dramatic flourish.

The rest of the group laughed until AP Castillo growled at Santiago to pick up his music and begin again. Castillo gave Santiago too many chances, Alexis thought. Her cousin never took anything seriously. Her heart dropped, and tears threatened to spill, as the musicians started to play her song. They were a mess. The guitars were off tempo. Karina kept complaining about her nails. But there was no going back, she told herself. The group had to get better. If she was ever going to get the chance to compete or get Christian to notice her, she had to get the group ready to perform. They were going to do the
serenata
, whether they were ready or not.

 

The day of the
serenata
, Alexis ate two plates of enchiladas with rice and beans. She was ravenous and scared out of her mind. She wanted to tell her grandmas about the
serenata
. But she was afraid of what they would do if Christian didn't appreciate her song. They were likely to go up to his apartment and drag him out by his hair. Alexis couldn't have that. She would have to do this
serenata
on her own.

As the mariachi members suited up in last year's outfits for the first time, AP Castillo lit up. The slightly used navy-blue uniforms, with shiny silver buttons and red sashes, transformed the rowdy high school bunch into a professional mariachi ensemble. Even Marisol looked the part, with her hair combed back in a clip.
She has the prettiest brown eyes
, Alexis thought,
when you can actually see them
.

However, nothing could disguise their sound. They weren't too bad for a group that had just started a couple of weeks ago, especially since many of the new members had never even held an instrument before. But they still weren't quite ready for a performance and especially not ready to serenade the regional champ. They were either really gutsy or clinically insane.

Luckily, Santiago had a backup plan for Alexis.

“Hey,” he said, pulling Alexis off to the side. “I know you want to make a good impression on Mariachi Boy. But I think we still kind of suck.” He smirked. “So I made this CD with your song and I thought we could just pretend to play behind you while you do the singing.”

Alexis threw her arms around Santiago and pulled him into a hug. “Oh, Santi, you're the best.” As she released him, she wondered, “Do you think the other guys will mind?”

Santiago laughed. “I think they'll be relieved. I saw Karina freaking out behind the Dumpster a minute ago.

 

“The group got to Christian's apartment in the early evening. Shortly after their arrival, they saw Christian get home from his practice and go inside. Now Alexis and her bandmates were clustered on the sidewalk outside his building.

A couple of local boys leaned against a car hood, cracking jokes about them. Alexis ignored the boys and glanced at her group. Her friends looked good. She hoped she looked just as good. Alexis touched her hair to make sure the rose was in place. She'd borrowed her grandma Trini's big hoop earrings and dabbed some bacon grease behind her ears for luck. It was time. Alexis turned and gave Santiago a gesture to start the music.

Violin and trumpet sounds erupted into the night. Marisol did a stellar acting job pretending to play the violin. Then the twins and Nikki wiggled their fingers on their guitar strings along with the music. She waited for her cue and then, after taking a deep breath, Alexis opened her mouth.

She looked up at Christian's window and sang as she did a little dance in place. The boys on the car hood started to clap along with the beat. She was putting herself out there and Christian could totally reject her, but like Justin had said, mariachi made you feel bold and courageous. She knew she wouldn't regret doing this, no matter what the outcome was.

Lights started to flick on throughout the apartment complex. It reminded her of a big Christmas tree. Each apartment was lit except for his. Was he asleep? Alexis shook her worries off and continued to sing. Then the song came to an end. Her friends looked at her, wondering what to do next. His neighbors had come out to
oooh
and
aaah
at their outfits, but there was no sign of Christian.
No
, she thought, as her cheeks flared hot.
It can't end like this
. Alexis motioned to Santiago to replay the song. Maybe Christian hadn't heard them the first time?