The Quinceañera - Chapter 3
Ashanti snuck a peek at her cell phone. There was a message from Jordan.
‘Look. I know I’m the hottest guy in the world, but I know I look better than Mase. Do u not like me like I like u? U r way outta my league for sure, but I thought I had a shot. Hope I still do. I’m not mad. Just want u to know I think ur special.’
Ashanti replied with ‘face blowing kiss’ emoji.
Jordan sent back ‘thumbs up’ emoji.
“Miss Zavala,” the literature teacher screeched.
“Yes, ma’am,” the freshman cheerleader smirked.
“Don’t let me see it again.”
She nodded and slipped the device into her Tory Burch purse.
“Thank you,” the petite white-haired lady said.
After class. Devon sought her out.
“We still good,” he inquired.
“Of course. Why?”
“I figured it’d be me or Jordan you picked.”
“Well, you figured wrong,” she teased.
“I still want a dance at the quinceañera,” he said.
“I’d like that!”
“I know you just didn’t wanna hurt his feelings. I’m gonna make you my girl.”
“Do your parents even like me,” she asked.
“They think you’re nice.”
“They have nothing to say about me being trans?”
“It’s really none of their business. You’re all female to me.”
“Cool,” she shook her head. “I’ll catch you later.”
At home that evening, Ashanti tossed and turned in bed. Who would she ultimately pick. She desperately wanted a boyfriend, but was hesitant to make the desire known. She loved the attention to the two popular jocks gave her. They made her feel pretty and interesting. But she was concerned about how others might react.
It did not appear that Jordan or Devon had any qualms about her gender. How could she share it with her parents. She felt lost.
She texted her mentor from Santa Fe.
-I want a boyfriend.
-Don’t we all hun. What’s going on?
-There’s 2 guys that like me. They seem cool. What do i do?
-LOL. Have fun.
-I’m serious.
-Call me
“Hey, chica! Happy birthday again!”
“Thanks, Lia!”
“Tell god-muhvah all about it,” the soothing voice requested.
Lia listened and took a deep breath. “They both seem like nice young men. And I get your hesitation. I’m almost 40 and I have the same concerns when it comes to dating. Things are a little different now than they were when I was your age as far as attitudes go, but people’s motivations are the same. You’re young. Don’t force yourself to pick one. Be honest and tell them you would like to hang out individually, but not exclusively yet.”
“That’s a great idea! I can date them both.”
“Slow down. That’s not exactly what I’m saying. Keep the interactions light. Guys have a tendency to become possessive. We don’t want no fights, hunty!”
“I can do this,” Ashanti smiled.
“Keep me posted. Get some sleep, birthday girl.”
“Night!”
Ashanti crafted a text. She sent a variation to each guy. The jist was that she definitely wanted to hang out soon and get to know him better. She was just too young to pick an exclusive boyfriend at the moment so she might hang out with someone else on occasion. She hoped that was cool, but understood if not.
The replies were almost instantaneous.
Devon sent four emojis. Thumbs up. Film projector. Ticket. Bowling ball. They were followed by a question mark. Then he wrote, ‘Tell me when.’
Jordan messaged, ‘Yeah! I can live with that.’ He added a kiss mark emoji.
Ashanti chose not to respond tonight. She pulled up the Netflix app and tapped on ‘Insatiable’. She rolled on her side and waited to fall asleep.
‘Look. I know I’m the hottest guy in the world, but I know I look better than Mase. Do u not like me like I like u? U r way outta my league for sure, but I thought I had a shot. Hope I still do. I’m not mad. Just want u to know I think ur special.’
Ashanti replied with ‘face blowing kiss’ emoji.
Jordan sent back ‘thumbs up’ emoji.
“Miss Zavala,” the literature teacher screeched.
“Yes, ma’am,” the freshman cheerleader smirked.
“Don’t let me see it again.”
She nodded and slipped the device into her Tory Burch purse.
“Thank you,” the petite white-haired lady said.
After class. Devon sought her out.
“We still good,” he inquired.
“Of course. Why?”
“I figured it’d be me or Jordan you picked.”
“Well, you figured wrong,” she teased.
“I still want a dance at the quinceañera,” he said.
“I’d like that!”
“I know you just didn’t wanna hurt his feelings. I’m gonna make you my girl.”
“Do your parents even like me,” she asked.
“They think you’re nice.”
“They have nothing to say about me being trans?”
“It’s really none of their business. You’re all female to me.”
“Cool,” she shook her head. “I’ll catch you later.”
At home that evening, Ashanti tossed and turned in bed. Who would she ultimately pick. She desperately wanted a boyfriend, but was hesitant to make the desire known. She loved the attention to the two popular jocks gave her. They made her feel pretty and interesting. But she was concerned about how others might react.
It did not appear that Jordan or Devon had any qualms about her gender. How could she share it with her parents. She felt lost.
She texted her mentor from Santa Fe.
-I want a boyfriend.
-Don’t we all hun. What’s going on?
-There’s 2 guys that like me. They seem cool. What do i do?
-LOL. Have fun.
-I’m serious.
-Call me
“Hey, chica! Happy birthday again!”
“Thanks, Lia!”
“Tell god-muhvah all about it,” the soothing voice requested.
Lia listened and took a deep breath. “They both seem like nice young men. And I get your hesitation. I’m almost 40 and I have the same concerns when it comes to dating. Things are a little different now than they were when I was your age as far as attitudes go, but people’s motivations are the same. You’re young. Don’t force yourself to pick one. Be honest and tell them you would like to hang out individually, but not exclusively yet.”
“That’s a great idea! I can date them both.”
“Slow down. That’s not exactly what I’m saying. Keep the interactions light. Guys have a tendency to become possessive. We don’t want no fights, hunty!”
“I can do this,” Ashanti smiled.
“Keep me posted. Get some sleep, birthday girl.”
“Night!”
Ashanti crafted a text. She sent a variation to each guy. The jist was that she definitely wanted to hang out soon and get to know him better. She was just too young to pick an exclusive boyfriend at the moment so she might hang out with someone else on occasion. She hoped that was cool, but understood if not.
The replies were almost instantaneous.
Devon sent four emojis. Thumbs up. Film projector. Ticket. Bowling ball. They were followed by a question mark. Then he wrote, ‘Tell me when.’
Jordan messaged, ‘Yeah! I can live with that.’ He added a kiss mark emoji.
Ashanti chose not to respond tonight. She pulled up the Netflix app and tapped on ‘Insatiable’. She rolled on her side and waited to fall asleep.
5 years ago
