Here's Nisa

Friday Night Lights [1/2]

"Ay mija! You're really gonna go out of the house looking like that?" Maritza said, clicking her tongue in distain at Nisa who was wearing large silver hoops and the waist band of her plaid school uniform skirt rolled over twice, showing off a lot of leg. She wore red 4-inch Miu Miu pumps with her white knee-high socks and a pink silk Henri Bendel scarf wrapped around her head as a headband. Nisa rolled her eyes; her aunt always had something to criticize- if it wasn't her outfit it was "Do you really need to wear that much makeup?" or "It's just school; who are you trying to impress?"- she'd heard it all. Just one more year, she thought to herself. She was more than excited for the day when she could get out of the small 3-bedroom house where she lived with her aunt, uncle and their 5 children - out of Miami altogether.

"Well I guess it's a good thing que no eres mi madre," Nisa said under her breath, grabbing her notebook off the counter and stuffing it in her bag, shutting the front door behind her before Maritza could chide her for backtalk.

It was senior year of high school and Nisa had a good feeling about it - confident that it would be her best year yet. Not only was she a straight-A student and president of the student council, this year she was captain of the cheerleading team and dating Isaiah Smith, the star quarterback - effectively making her the most popular girl in school.

Nisa tapped her foot, waiting for the city bus. Two men driving by in a beat up truck stuck their heads out of the window to cat-call at her. Used to this kind of behavior, she paid them no mind. The neighborhood she lived in was, well, not the nicest, to say the least. When Maritza's husband, Santi, immigrated to the states from Venezuela for work, bringing Maritza and the kids with him, it was all they could afford. Rosita, Nisa's mother, had always believed that her daughter had great potential had begged Santi to be Nisa's sponsor so that she could attend school in the US. She had been 14 then. The first year had been rough for Nisa - she missed home, her two brothers and her mother greatly. She was the poor, shy scholarship kid with no friends amongst her rich classmates at Everglade High School. Sophomore year, however, she had really come into her own - she joined the cheerleading team and discovered drug-store makeup. She learned how to accessorize on a budget, frequenting the Goodwill and thrift shops in Miami Beach to find last season's designer scarves, jewelry, and shoes.

When the bus pulled up she flashed the driver a flirtatious smile. He waved her on without charging her a fare. That was another thing Nisa had learned throughout the years - how to use her charm and sexuality to get what she wanted. She took the bus from where she lived in Liberty City to her usual spot outside the sprawling mansions in Coral Gables, one of Miami's wealthiest neighborhoods. This was the spot where her boyfriend Isaiah picked her up to drive her to school. She had to wake up extra early every day to exercise this charade. It would be much quicker to just take the bus to school. But as the head cheerleader, the most popular girl in school couldn't be seen arriving to school on the bus now could she?

Nisa stepped off the bus and paced back and forth as she waited for Isaiah, checking her makeup in her compact mirror.

"Hey beautiful!" Isaiah shouted as he pulled up in his red convertible BMW. The light-skinned boy looked extremely handsome wearing his letterman jacket over his school uniform.

Nisa snapped her mirror shut. "Hi handsome," she said, opening the door and sliding into the passenger seat. "You ready for tonight?" It was Friday, game night.

"Course I am. You know I stay ready. Better question is are you ready? It's going to be your first night leading the squad," Isaiah said, resting his right  arm around the back of her seat as he pulled onto the road.

"I am. More excited than anything, really," she cheesed, bouncing a little in her seat.

"You'll do great babe," Isaiah smiled.

As soon as Isaiah pulled into the senior lot Nisa's friends flocked to his car.

"Nisa! You look totally hot - as always!" said Ashley Cordero, as Nisa got out of the car. Ashley was a tall, bubbly caramel-skinned girl who always wore long straight black weave. Her bundles alone probably cost more than the entirety of Nisa's wardrobe.

"This scarf is super cute," Jessie Camden gushed, reaching up to run her fingers along the silk. "Where'd you get it?"

"Neiman Marcus," Nisa lied.

"We have to go shopping some time," Jessie said, with an overly sweet smile. Jessie had fair skin and piercing blue eyes. Her natural hair color was a mousy brown color but she was always dying it - this week's color of choice was burgundy, inspired by Rihanna.

Isaiah walked over to Nisa's side of the car, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'll catch you later babe, I'm going to meet up with the guys," he said. "Bye girls," he waved to Jessie and Ashley.

"Aw, he is so sweet," Jessie sighed, gazing after him as he high-fived his football friends as he joined their group.

"You two make such a cute couple," Ashley said.

"So cute," Jessie echoed, then changing the subject, "Did you do the Calc homework last night?"

Nisa nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I was super busy going over the cheer routine last night and I didn't get a chance to do it. Could you be a doll and let me copy yours?" Jessie asked as the three headed for homeroom.

"Is 'going over the cheer routine' code for hooking up with Jason?" Ashley giggled.

"Oh whatever - hooking up with Jason, going over the routine, who says I wasn't doing both."

"At the same time?" Ashley laughed, raising her eyebrow incredulously.

"Ever hear of multitasking?" Jessie smirked before looking back at Nisa for an answer.

"I uh, yeah sure," Nisa said hesitantly. This was the fifth time since school started that Jess had asked to copy her homework and Nisa wasn't trying to get in trouble for cheating. She didn't want to ruin her chances of getting into college.

"You're the best girly," she said.

The three sat together in homeroom at the back of the classroom in their usual seats.

"Ew, did you see Nikki's shoes?" Ashley said, sitting on top of Nisa's desk. Nikki Welsh was a quiet girl with mousy brown hair who sat just seats in front of them, within earshot.

"They are so two seasons ago, so gross," Jessie agreed.

The two looked at Nisa, waiting for her to chime in. "Yeah, totally," Nisa said quietly.

"You should say something to her," Ashley said, goading her. Jessie nodded.

Nisa cleared her throat, reluctantly. Not too long ago she was Nikki Welsh.

"Nikki!" Jessie called. Nikki turned around to face the three.

"Nisa wanted to know where you got your flats.. they're super cute," Jessie mewed in a fake sickly sweet voice, reminding Nisa of what Jess had just said to her not too long ago.

Nikki opened her mouth to reply when Mr. Phillips, their homeroom teacher walked in. "I need everyone seated. In your chair please, Miss Cordero, not the desk top."

Ashley rolled her eyes and took her time settling into her seat.

As Mr. Phillips began announcements, Jessie leaned over and slid a note onto Nisa's desk.

Party tonight at Scott's place? The note read in Jessie's curly handwriting.

Scott was a fifth-year senior on the football team and one of the many guys on Jessie's list of guys to sleep with before graduation. He had rich parents that were constantly away on business trips so his house was always the place to be on weekends.

Nisa smiled and nodded an affirmative to Jessie, already trying to think of what lie she was going to tell her aunt to get out of the house. She'd exhausted almost every excuse in the book already but she had no other choice - she had to be at this party, her social status depended on it.