As always, I appreciate any constructive criticism or compliments. I'm still getting the hang of this writing thing. Still not much steam, but I wanted to establish the characters first. Chapter 5 or 6 will probably start being juicier. Thanks for reading. :)
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True to his word, Bobby really did not speak with or even look at Mellie during the next couple weeks. The only time he did was merely to ask what color her dress was so he could be sure to have a matching tie and buy a nice corsage. Mellie told him it was a deep purple, and he grunted and walked off, again leaving her alone.
During study hall, she stopped observing him, instead focusing on homework and studying for the upcoming tests in a couple of her classes. However, after two weeks had passed, Mellie began to get excited for the dance. She actually had a date, and she hoped it would make the dance even better than she anticipated. The thought of having someone with whom she could dance during the slow songs cheered her, as did the idea that her friends all had dates as well. Hopefully this dance would prove enjoyable for all the girls.
During band, Mellie and Danielle talked about what they planned to wear to the dance. Danielle was wearing a red dress, wanted her hair in an updo, and had purchased red heels that matched her dress. Mellie had her purple outfit, hadn't yet decided how to wear her hair, and planned on wearing a pair of silver heels with the dress. As neither girl had yet purchased any jewelry, they planned to meet at the mall that night.
After rehearsal, Mellie went home, worked on her homework, and helped her mom prepare supper. After eating, she and her mom had some time to talk about how school was going for Mellie and what was going on her mom's work. Mellie told her mom she was somewhat afraid of Bobby, and her mom told her to just try to stay near people at the dance.
"If he gets pushy, honey, just leave him. Your friends would gladly bring you home if you needed them to do so, and any guy who is pressuring a girl for sex should be ashamed of himself and most certainly does not deserve to have the girl."
Mellie agreed with her mother. She started planning a signal for her friends to tell them she needed help. She figured she could talk it over with Danielle at the mall. Thanking her mom, Mellie ran upstairs to get her purse and take a picture of her dress and shoes. The picture would probably help her decide which jewelry would look best with her dress. She then left for the mall.
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"Those earrings are phenom. You really have to get them, Mellie. They will match your shoes perfectly; plus they are absolutely stunning." Danielle had an eye for such things, so Mellie grabbed the earrings.
"Ooh, Danielle! Check out this necklace. The ruby almost looks real, and it's the exact shade of your dress."
The girls had been going on like this for over an hour, and had yet to find very many things. However, the store they were in now seemed to be the best. Mellie had her earrings, and now Danielle had a necklace. They continued to peruse the products on display, and each made a few more selections before they headed to the cashier to pay.
Danielle had decided not to buy earrings, because she already had studs that would match the necklace she was buying. Nevertheless, she found a fancy purse that would match her dress, and she bought a pair of elbow length gloves. Mellie purchased the earrings Danielle had pointed out, as well as a matching set of a necklace and bracelet. She had actually received a silver handbag a few months earlier for her 18th birthday, so she only needed the jewelry to complete her ensemble.
After making their purchases, Mellie and Danielle walked to the cookie place, where they each purchased a cookie and a slush. Feeling rather content with their evening of spending, the two exited the mall and said they would see each other the next day in school. Both were feeling extremely excited about the dance, and Danielle had congratulated Mellie numerous times about nabbing Bobby as her date. Mellie remembered her words as she walked to her car.
"You are so lucky, dear! I am so happy for you. Be careful though, especially if he gets pushy again. If he tries to pressure you into anything, just leave him. It will still have been awesome to have him as your date. And you two will be breath-taking for the pictures!"
Danielle always looked on the bright side of things, a facet of her personality for which Mellie was eternally grateful. Her positive attitude has helped relieve some of Mellie's fears, and Danielle had easily agreed with having a signal in case Mellie needed some help. Mellie felt confident that the night of the dance would easily go her way.
She got in her car, started it, and drove out of the parking lot. It's a good thing we finally picked out our stuff, she thought. Otherwise, the mall would have closed before we bought anything. She had stayed longer than she thought she would, and it was dark out. Luckily, Mellie had finished all of her homework prior to leaving for the mall, so it was alright that their shopping had taken more time than she had planned.
Mellie drove up to an intersection and stopped for the red light. She was still musing about the dance, and decided she wanted to turn on some music. The light turned green, and Mellie drove forward, still reaching over to her radio to turn it on. Since she was looking at the radio, she didn't notice the bright lights approaching her until it was too late. She only heard a loud squealing of brakes, which caused her to look up and realize what was happening. Mellie didn't even have time enough to scream before the car slammed into her.
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Earlier that day.
Oscar was in a foul mood as he left school. He still felt so wired recently. He had so much energy, but it was mainly negative energy. He knew better than to give in to his violent urges, but they were so damned hard to ignore sometimes. He didn't know what had come over him, but he knew he could trace it to the beginning of the school year.
He hadn't gotten in trouble yet this year, and he was doing really well in all of his classes. He should be feeling happy. But he wasn't. He suspected it had something to do with that girl. Mellie. He believed that he had a crush on her, which was impossible. Dios mio, he thought to himself. He liked Latinas, with their sassy charm and sexy appearance. He did not like white people. They were rude, they looked down on Hispanics, and they thought they were the best people in the world. The fact that he was Mexican made his shady background even worse. People expected him to be a law-breaker, a gangster, a felon. Then when he did break laws, he was punished all the more, just because of his background.
He had messed up just once really. In getting involved with a few former friends. They had encouraged him to break the law, to push the limits, to steal, commit arson, and beat people up. He had welcomed any semblance of friends, and had vigorously followed their lead. Then he got caught, and caught again. And put in prison, and expelled from school. His so-called "friends" had deserted him, leaving him to the authorities. If not for his family, he most likely would have embraced his bad-boy image and joined a gang. But they kept him sane and accepted him in spite of his problems. They had stood by him during the entire year-long process, and had encouraged him to return to the normal high school and to graduate.
Now he was getting straight A's, spending time studying, and hanging out with friends who didn't force him to break the law to earn their friendship. But it didn't matter. Whenever anything went wrong, the principal brought him into her office for questioning. If he so much as touched someone, like when he caught Mellie that first day of school, people would assume he was trying to hurt or take advantage of them. He felt that no matter how hard he worked, he would never escape his past.
It hadn't mattered to him before. What people thought of him, what they said about him. None of it had mattered. Until this semester. Now all of a sudden he wished people could see him for who he was now, not who he had been two years ago. He wished that Mellie in particular could look at him without fear or judgment in her eyes.
Why am I crushin' on this chica? He couldn't get over her for some weird reason. He felt drawn to her in a way he had never previously felt about anyone, male or female. But instead of pursuing her, he'd helped her get a date with that pendejo! The asshole who only wanted sex. Oscar couldn't bear the thought of Mellie being with Bobby, the idea of her kissing him, or doing more than kiss—STOP THINKING! He mentally chastised himself for even holding the idea of her being his. It was ridiculous. It was stupid. It was there, though, and so strong. He sighed. I need to stop thinkin' about this mujer. No necesito mas problemas in my life. I have enough as it is.
In order to escape his thoughts, he called up one of his friends, Carlos, and asked if he wanted to hang out. Carlos said yes, and offered to come by and pick Oscar up. Oscar consented, and waited for his friend to arrive.
Carlos and Oscar hung out at Carlos's house until after dinner with Carlos's family. Oscar enjoyed eating with them because Carlos had four brothers and a sister. All of them were younger, with Anjelica being the youngest. Every boy in the family and all of their male friends were fiercely protective of her, and Oscar was no different. He was putty in her hands.
"Oh-car! Play with me!" Anjelica demanded as soon as she saw them. She had her doll out and a suitcase of doll clothes. Oscar went over to help her dress her doll.
"How is Juana doing today?" he asked her.
