She scoffs.
“Por favor.”
Then, sharp and proud:
“Roma cayó en un día.”
She looks at me.
“Rome fell in a day. Ours didn’t.”
“Mamá,”I say, sniffing, “no one even knows what happened to our civilization.”
She waves her hand like I just said something ridiculous.
“I know what happened.”
“What?”
“The Mayans went to the heavens.”
I blink.
“What, like Stargate?”
She gasps, offended. “No te burles de mí.”
But she’s smiling I that crazy mysterious way of hers. She cups my face with both hands. “There’s magic in you, Stella,” she says quietly. “You don’t beg boys like that to choose you. You don’t shrink yourself to make them comfortable.”
Her thumb wipes the last smear of mascara from my cheek.
“He saw it too,” she says. “That’s why he couldn’t stay away.”
I don’t respond. My eyes move to the familiar dark streets, while my heart wished for magic tonight—it got crushed instead.
It had been ten days since homecoming. Since I was kissed like I mattered. Then promptly discarded as if I was a leper.
Volleyball State Finals.
The gym is packed—navy and gold everywhere. Banners hanging like declarations of superiority. Parents in pearls and power suits. Alumni writing checks in the booster section.
I’m a freshman.
Which means I’m invisible.
Except I’m not.
Because everyone knows why I’m here.
Scholarship Latina freshman with a future D1 potential.
Which makes me a threat-especially to Melody Van Hinkenberg.
She’s a junior—starting outside hitter.
Legacy admission.
Daddy owns half of Wall Street.
