West Side Story

The big move

"This is my home! And where you will be staying." Anita smiled warmly.

She unlocked the wooden door and stepped aside for Kamila, it was a colourful apartment, there were silks of all colours draped from a line covering Anita's sewing room, the walls were yellow faded with time and starting to chip.

"Ven, let me show you your room." Anita guided Kamila to the guest room. The room had the same faded yellow walls , there was a bed placed in the corner of the room next to the window, the lace curtains flapped gently with the breeze sun shone through the thin material. Opposite the bed was a wooden dresser with a mirror perched on top.

"It's wonderful. Gracias Anita." They both smiled and exchanged a hug, they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"Where is Bernardo?" Kamila asked, for her sister talked so much about him yet he wasn't there.

"Oh he is probably with the sharks."

Kamila was silent, she was trying to figure how he was with sharks but there was no sea around.

"His gang." Anita said.

Kamila's mouth shaped like an 'O' her mother had warned her about the gangs.

-

Anita and Kamila were sat at the kitchen table discussing life in the city what it's like compared to Puerto Rico, suddenly a girl came through the door.

"Hola, Anita." She greeted. Her back was facing towards the sisters but once she turned round Kamila realised that it was Maria.

"MARIA!" She cried standing over and rushing to hug the girl. They embraced and Maria joined the conversation at the table. Not even five minutes later in came Bernardo, he was dusty from the brawl with the jets.

Anita went to greet him with a kiss, Kamila followed.

"Ah Kamila, so good to see you again." He hugged her quickly and then went to Maria.

"What happened this time?" Maria asked while they hugged. Bernardo sat down at the table and Anita fetched him a glass of water.

"They were messing up the flag again, Idiotas."Bernardo raised his voice.

He began to tell the story to the three girls. How the jets ran through there streets stealing items from the stalls. They had paint cans in there hands and ran to the painted Puerto Rican flag and ruined the mural, they used there hands there clothes to vandalise the flag. Stall owners directed the sharks to the jets and they sprinted through the rubble street.

The sharks saw the jets and yelled at them. They scattered and the sharks followed in groups.

Baby John was cornered he tried to climb over the barricade but the sharks were to quick. He yelled for the Jets before falling into the sharks and getting beaten up. A few seconds after the rest of the jets came running to the aid of baby John with some sharks in pursuit.

That's when the big brawl went down. Sharks and Jets, Puerto Rican's and Americans. Punches flew but before anything exciting happened the cops showed up and Sergeant Krupke separated the two gangs.

The officer gave a stern warning to both of them. No one listened and the gangs taunted each other until Riff the leader of the jets made a joke about the Puerto Rican language.

The brawl kicked off again but didn't last long, Lieutenant Schrank blew his whistle and began to interrogate the sharks about who stuck a nail through baby Johns ear. No one said anything. He then asked a shark who made his face like that. No one answered.

He ripped the nail from baby John's ear and chucked it at Bernardo, then he reminded the gangs about the eviction. Tearing down the slums to make way for the rich people. One shark stepped up and said "You can't remove us, we have rights." To which Schrank replied "Rights. Where are they?" Slapping the shark across the face.

They swarmed around the lieutenant ready to attack, fortunately for Schrank, officer Krupke stopped them. Schrank told the sharks to "Evict themselves of my crime scene."

As the Sharks left the Jets jeered at them whistling and making chicken noises, Bernardo turned round and sang in Spanish. They laughed at him but he continued. Slowly, more sharks joined Bernardo Schrank ordered them to stop but they sang above him.

Again, Schrank ordered them to disperse, this time they did but sang into the cheering Puerto Rican crowd.

"We almost had them as well!" Bernardo shouted, slamming his hand on the table and standing up

"It's the cops fault." Anita said, everyone nodded in agreement with her.