Soulmates

Chapter 42

Shel awoke to Celia Cruz and loud brass instruments forming a beautiful chorus.

    Still groggy, Shel opened her eyes and tried to listen to the lyrics. Then absolute fear and dread welled up inside her.

    That wasn't any Celia Cruz song. No, that was La Vida Es Un Carnaval.

    But no, it couldn't be... No. It was a Tuesday. Cleaning days are on Sundays.

    And yet, as the song continued, Shel could hear her mother walking around the apartment humming along and then heard the closet door open.

    Her mother pulled something out before walking to her room. Shel could hear the footsteps coming to her room.

    Her mother burst in. "It's cleaning day!"

    Shel shoved her face in her pillow and groaned.

    "What was that?"

    Shel got up. "Nothing, Ma. I love cleaning day so much."

    "That's what I thought. There's breakfast in the kitchen. After you eat, you can either tell me what triggered you, then clean. Or we just clean. Your father is going to be here in three hours so don't take ten years to eat... What is it called, Shel?"

    "What is what called?" Shel asked.

    "The food."

    "What food?"

    "The breakfast food--Dios mio. Huevos, Shelby. How do you say that in English?"

    Shel laughed. "Eggs, Mami."

-

Reyna has decided she wants to go home.

    She decided this the moment the bell rang, and she had to make her way over to English and write an argumentative essay using rhetoric.

    Not only that, but the prompt was vague as ever. Is power helpful or harmful to society?

    Initially, Reyna thought it meant electrical power. But nope! The prompt meant power over other people.

    It took Reyna 30 minutes to write the intro paragraph, and she was about to start writing the first actual paragraph when the bell rang.

    She spent 30 minutes writing three sentences.

    She was then pulled into a bathroom. Reyna tried to escape their grasp but couldn't. So, she threw a punch.

    Thalia narrowly missed it. "Jesus, are you insane?"

    "I'm insane?" Reyna almost screamed.

    "Ugh, never mind. You didn't meet me."

    "You didn't give a time."

    Thalia froze. "Wait seriously?" At Reyna's nod, she added, "Fuck."

    "Yeah."

    "Okay, whatever. Can we just talk about this?" Thalia pulled up her shirt to reveal a new soulmate tattoo on her side. "What the fuck."

    "What the fuck indeed. I elect we just ignore it and then stay friends."

    "Usually, I'd be up for that," Thalia said, pacing around the bathroom. "But, I am aroace."

    "Yeah, and we're soulmates."

    "Exactly."

    "How does this..." Reyna paused for a moment before gesturing wildly. "Work."