Falling Too Fast

by Malín Alegría

  Her mother, Magda, bussed tables and scolded someone on the cordless phone. “How come whenever a big concert is in town, you two get sick all of a sudden? No. Wasn’t your mamá ill last week? Your poor mamá is always sick. Maybe I should bring her some chicken soup.” Magda motioned for Alexis and Santiago to get out of her way with a flick of her wrist.

  In the kitchen, Alexis heard pots and pans clanging. Chuy, her dad’s right-hand man, was rushing around the kitchen. He had taken on more responsibilities after her dad’s minor heart attack six months ago. The heart attack brought the family together. Everyone wanted to do their part to help with the ever-growing medical bills — Alexis had stopped taking private vocal lessons.

  Turning to her left, she admired the wall-high shrine to her late grandfather, Lil Rafa “Los Dedos del Valle” Treviño Garza. The shrine was decorated with burning candles, incense, fake flowers, tequila, his famous accordion, and other trinkets her grandmother Trini had collected.

  Alexis noticed Santiago talking to their grandmother Trini. He motioned to the accordion. Grandma Trini sat at a table she’d converted into a Lil Rafa souvenir stand — complete with CDs, miniature replicas of her late husband, bumper stickers, and the crochet doilies she made herself.

  Alexis’s dad, Leonardo, was also with Grandma Trini. Walking up to them, she noticed that her dad was crocheting a toilet seat cover. Leonardo had taken up crochet while he was in recovery to help him relax, and soon realized that he was really good at it. Her dad looked up as she approached.

  Leonardo held up the toilet seat cover for her to admire. “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful, Dad,” Alexis said, touching the intricate weave.

  Suddenly, Leonardo sniffed the air. His eyes grew large with alarm. He passed the crochet piece to Grandma Trini and stood up. “Chuy,” he growled.

  “Sorry! Sorry!” Chuy cried from the kitchen in Spanish. Moments later, Chuy appeared carrying a big silver pot, his straight black hair held back with a hairnet. He was a small guy with sharp eyes and an easy smile. “Sorry! Sorry!” he repeated as he carried the pot of burnt beans out the back door.

  Alexis turned her attention back to her grandma Trini and Santiago. Grandma Trini was reaching into the altar to grab the accordion. Alexis watched in horror as her cousin put the instrument on upside down. Trini giggled and showed him how to put it on correctly.

  Santiago combed his fingers through his locks and began pushing random buttons as he tried to sing “La Bamba.” His voice was totally off-key, but Grandma Trini didn’t seem to notice. She was clapping for him like he was a rock star. Thankfully, Santiago left after one song to serenade the other customers.

  “Smell me,” Trini commanded, thrusting her voluptuous boobs at Alexis’s face.

  Alexis took a sniff and made a curious face. “What am I smelling?”

  Trini licked her pink lips and glanced around the room. “I was reading this article about male pheromones I borrowed from the doctor’s office—”

  “Stole! You stole that magazine!” Alexis’s other grandmother, Abuelita Alpha, cried from her side of the restaurant. The two grandmothers were always meddling in each other’s business. “Mentirosa.”

  Trini leaned into Alexis. “Anyway, like I was saying,” she said. “They makes the men hungry for love,” she explained. “So I got some of the used bacon lard from the kitchen to test it out. What do you think?”

  Alexis winced at the thought. “I don’t know, Grandma.”

  “Here you go, honey,” her mother interrupted, placing a plate of quesadillas with rice and beans in front of Alexis. It was her favorite meal.

  Alexis stared at the plate. She couldn’t imagine eating anything at the moment. All she could think about were her doused dreams, the dysfunctional mariachi group, and El Charro Negro. She had done everything the old lady told her to do. Her chest tightened at the thought of never singing with El Charro Negro onstage. “I’m sorry, but I’m not hungry.”

  “Not hungry!” both grandmothers cried out together.

  Abuelita Alpha stormed across the room in her favorite black dress. Usually she respected Trini’s side of the restaurant, but this was an emergency. Alpha put a cold, pruned palm on Alexis’s forehead. “She doesn’t have a fever.”

  “But look at those bags,” Trini cried.

  “I think she looks sad.” Her mother frowned.

  “Where does it hurt?” Alpha asked, poking Alexis’s shoulder.

  Alexis shrugged. “I don’t know, all over, I guess.”

  Her grandmothers and mother cried out in anguish.

  “She’s lovesick,” Trini explained to a customer who looked shocked by their outburst. “We Garzas are very passionate women, you know.”

  “There is a boy I like,” Alexis began. “He sings mariachi at the new performing arts high school in Mission. You know, the one I wanted to go to.” Her mother and grandmothers nodded with understanding. Alexis felt her chest tighten again as she continued. “And to make it worse, our high school mariachi group totally sucks this year. I’ll never be able to compete at his level and he’ll never look at me.”

  “Ay, mija,” her mother said in a comforting voice. “I’m sorry things are not as you planned. But maybe you’re just looking at it wrong. Have you even tried to woo him?”

  “Have you no shame!” Abuelita Alpha cried, making the sign of the cross over her chest. “A decent woman would never chase after a man.”

  “Sometimes they need a little help,” her mother said. “Your dad was so shy. I thought he would never ask me out.”

  “Really?” Alexis couldn’t believe her ears. “What happened?”

  “Well.” Her mother sat down. Her eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. “I asked him out. He tried to hide from me at first, but I didn’t give up. I knew that he was the one and I was not going to let him go without a fight.”

  Abuelita Alpha frowned as she patted her daughter’s hand. “You never told me that. I always thought he chased you. This is all my fault. I should have let you curl your eyelashes when you wanted — then maybe you wouldn’t have turned out so unladylike.”

  Trini rolled her eyes and then turned to Alexis. “So you see, sometimes boys are a little slow.”

  Alexis’s mom smiled. “Sometimes?”

  “Most times,” Trini corrected herself. “You can’t just give up. You make him notice you. Once he sees you, he has no choice but to fall madly in love with you.”

  “But how am I supposed to do that? He goes to school in Mission. I don’t know where he lives. He might have a girlfriend — or maybe ten.” Alexis swallowed her growing anxiety.

  Trini handed Alexis a bacon-scented handkerchief that she had been keeping tucked in her bosom. “No hay peor lucha que la que no se hace.” Alexis gave her a confused look and Trini translated: “The worst fight is the one not taken … or something like that.”

  Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking glass. Her father started cursing. Alexis was about to run into the kitchen when she heard her dad yell: “What idiot put an upside-down candle of San Antonio in my oven?” Alexis blushed and sat back down to eat her plate of food in silence.

  Alexis was not surprised when none of AP Castillo’s “special” students showed up for practice the next day. Justin started setting up the chairs as if they were just running late. Alexis pulled out her phone to call her cousin. Santiago was probably hanging out with a new girlfriend. She was about to tell Justin to forget about the others when Nikki raced into the room with her large guitarrón case.

  “Castillo is out looking for people,” Nikki said, out of breath. “He asked us to help.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Alexis cried, throwing her arms in the air. “Calf rope them and drag them back?”

  Justin laughed.

  Alexis shook her head. “Forcing those guys to take mariachi was a big mistake.”

  Nikki set her guitarrón down by a chair. “Don’t be like that,” Nikki said
, grabbing Alexis’s hand and pulling her out of the room. Justin followed at her heels. “We need them. You know we do.”

  Alexis sighed inwardly. She hated when her friend was right. They walked down the deserted hallways searching for the missing mariachi members in empty classrooms, behind stairways, and around columns. In the girls’ bathroom, Alexis saw the scary girl’s black combat boots in the last stall. Justin decided to wait outside.

  Alexis walked up to the door and pounded on it.

  “Go away!” the scary girl said.

  Alexis took a breath. She glanced at Nikki for support. Nikki mouthed the words “Be nice” at Alexis.

  “Excuse me,” Alexis said, trying to make her voice calm.

  “This stall is busy,” the girl said in a stern voice.

  Alexis wanted to kick down the door. She wanted to tell the girl to just forget about mariachi, but Nikki was right. They needed a full mariachi ensemble, and no one else had auditioned. She had to bring AP Castillo’s group of misfits together. “I’m sorry to bother you. My name is Alexis. I’m in the mariachi group. The group that’s supposed to be meeting right now.”

  Silence.

  “Well … I just wanted to see if maybe you’d like to try out the violin. I’ve been playing it for a while and we could practice together. If you want …”

  The stall door flew open. Alexis jumped back, narrowly missing getting hit. The scary girl still didn’t say a word; she just stared at Alexis through black eyeglass frames. Alexis wondered if she was going to bite her.

  “You want to teach me?” the girl asked in disbelief.

  Alexis felt her cheeks flush. “Well, yeah, that’s if you want to learn. You don’t have to play the violin. I just thought it would be cool to have two people play violin in the group.” Alexis searched the girl’s pale face. She couldn’t read her expression, especially not behind her nest of messy, dyed-black hair.

  “I thought you didn’t want us in your group,” the girl said.

  “We do,” Nikki cut in. Alexis was grateful for the backup.

  “Yeah,” Alexis tried again. “We actually need you. If you’re willing to give us a shot.”

  The girl was silent again for a moment, glancing from Nikki to Alexis and back again. Then she shrugged. “I guess it beats picking up trash.”

  “Yay!” Alexis cheered.

  “I’m Marisol, by the way.”

  “I’m Alexis and this is Nikki,” Alexis responded. The scary girl had a name. It was a good first step. Alexis grabbed Marisol’s hand and pulled her out of the bathroom. “Let’s go see if we can round up some more recruits.”

  They found the cholo twins tagging the back of the library wall. Alexis had to threaten to call the cops before they decided to come along. Pedro and Pablo were actually pretty harmless, Alexis thought, once you got over their tough-guy exteriors and clown-sized baggy clothes. As they circled around the outside of the cafeteria, Justin noticed something.

  “Hey” — he pointed across the lawn — “isn’t that the rude girl with the cell phone?”

  They all looked and noticed her walking across the grassy lawn with an unlit cigarette hanging off her lower lip. Before Alexis could say anything, the group took off to go after her.

  “Wait up,” Alexis yelled after them.

  The rude girl spotted them coming from twenty feet away and shouted: “I’m not joining your stupid band, so leave me alone.”

  “Please just give it a chance,” Nikki said as she approached.

  “No,” the girl snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You can’t make me.”

  The thug twins smirked at each other. “Wanna bet, Karina?” they said to the rude girl in unison. The taller twin spoke up. “But for real, you know Castillo. He’s not going to let up. This mariachi stuff is better than Castillo’s boot camp training and those ugly orange uniforms he made us wear. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep from wearing that uniform again.”

  Karina’s eyes got really big as the brothers came near her. She took a step back. “You better stop!” Her voice sounded nervous. “Don’t come any closer.”

  Karina glanced around for an escape. Then she took off running to the football field. That’s when everyone started to run. Karina began yelling at the top of her lungs as she looped around the grassy lawn. She was quick and spun right out of the twins’ clutches. This was crazy, Alexis thought. Then she noticed Karina running in her direction. She was too focused on the boys behind her to look forward. Alexis screamed, “Stop!” just as Karina slammed right into her.

  The force of the collision threw both girls back onto the grass. Alexis reached for her forehead. There was sure to be a bruise. Karina cried out as she rubbed at the top of her head. The two girls stared at each other. All of a sudden, Karina started to giggle. Then her giggle turned into a loud, full-bellied laugh. Alexis couldn’t help but laugh with her. Then everyone started cracking up. She noted the smiling faces around her. Maybe they could become a group after all? Karina got up, cleaned the pieces of grass off her jeans, and then offered Alexis a hand. Alexis hesitated. There was a small smile creeping onto Karina’s lips.

  “I can’t believe you guys want me in your mariachi group. Have you heard me play that stringy thing?” She crossed her eyes and made a crazy face. “You must be really desperate for members. I don’t get it. Why do you guys care so much?”

  Alexis blinked, stunned. They were desperate. But this was a highly unusual situation. Most schools had waiting lists for their mariachi groups. People had to audition to even be considered. Mariachi was a prestigious school activity — just not at Dos Rios. If only she could find the right words to show Karina and the rest of the group how great high school mariachi could be.

  “Yes, we are desperate,” Justin said, coming up behind Alexis. “We want to form a group. We want to perform. We do care and we’re not ashamed to admit it. Mariachi music is more than just singing love songs at restaurants.”

  Alexis stared at Justin. He looked taller, more confident standing there. She couldn’t help but feel proud.

  “Mariachi music is powerful. It can bring people to their knees. When I play my trumpet, I feel the song coursing in me,” he continued. “Our music is who we are — it’s in our blood. I feel like I can do anything when I play.”

  Everyone stared at Justin. No one dared laugh. The gleam in his brown eyes told them that he was speaking his truth. His words moved Alexis. She wondered if his speech was enough to sway the new recruits.

  When no one said anything, Alexis said, “I have an idea. Do you guys want to see something?”

  The group exchanged glances and then nodded.

  They drove to the new performing arts academy, located in the city of Mission. On the way, Alexis explained the world of competitive high school mariachi. The way it usually worked was that each school ensemble would go head-to-head against other schools in their district and then move up to compete statewide and even nationally, if they were really good. There were cash prizes for best male singer, best female singer, and best group ensemble — and of course the bragging rights that came with these titles. Some contestants had even been offered record contracts after the tournament. Every year there were rumors of sabotage or cheating, so schools fiercely guarded their teams and performance secrets.

  Pedro, the tall lanky twin, whistled when they walked onto the campus. The high school looked more like a college, with its numerous state-of-the-art buildings and perfectly manicured lawns. This was the arts magnet school that Alexis had wanted to apply to, but their waiting list was ridiculous.

  “You sure it’s okay if we’re here?” Marisol asked. Alexis turned back to face her.

  “Well, technically you guys aren’t in mariachi yet, so we’re not competition.” Alexis smiled in a flirty way. “This is just a field trip.”

  The group nodded approvingly. She led them to a modern-looking building with south-facing windows that curved into a semicircle. Alexis’s heart
started to beat wildly as they climbed the steps. She had a secret agenda. Only Nikki knew, because she was her best friend. Christian Luna, aka “El Charro Negro,” went to this school. Alexis was secretly hoping to see him, or better yet, actually talk to him.

  Mariachi music poured out of the main concert hall. In the lobby there was a wall-length glass case filled with gold trophies and photos of the high school mariachi regional champions. In the middle of the group was Christian Luna, wearing his signature black outfit. Her heart skipped a beat. But this was no time to swoon over him, she told herself. She was here to inspire her would-be mariachis. Alexis motioned for them to be silent and the group tiptoed to a door that seemed to lead to the auditorium. It was locked.

  “Tough security,” Karina commented, snapping her gum loudly.

  Pablo, the short twin, studied the lock. He glanced at his brother, who nodded in understanding. Alexis stared wide-eyed at Nikki when she realized that they were going to pick the lock. Who are these guys? Alexis wondered, glancing around the lobby. Pedro passed Pablo a set of silver keys and a small screwdriver. Pablo inserted a key and pounded it in with the back of the screwdriver. Alexis jumped at the sound. Thankfully, the music inside concealed the click of the door unlocking. Alexis held her breath. She thought about backing out. We’ve already gone this far, she thought as she led the group into the darkened auditorium.

  The group huddled by the door, camouflaged by the darkness. Bright floodlights illuminated the professional concert stage. Alexis’s heart swelled. She dreamed of one day singing in a fancy auditorium like this. Onstage, a group of musicians dressed in their school uniforms stood at attention listening to the music director. It was a twenty-piece ensemble with six violins, one guitarrón, five trumpet players, a harpist, four guitarists, and three students holding small guitars called vihuelas. Alexis gasped at the sheer size of the entire group. This was way more people than had been a part of the university show.