Mr. Mendes

38

"We should go to the fair" Cholo said.

"Today" I said.

"You got school" Cholo said. I shook my head no.

"I got suspended no school for me but my parents ain't know that" right after I said that my parents walked in with grocery bags.

"Oh hello" my mom said.

"Hi Mrs. Medina" all the boys said.

"Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" My mom asked.

"We'd love too" Zach said.

"Love, you rest I'll make dinner" my dad said. My mom set down the bags in the kitchen and headed upstairs.

"Aye yo dad can i help you?" I asked.

"Only if you play SOB" he said.

"Okay But we playing Mac Dre after" I said. He nodded and i stood up and went to the kitchen. I connected my phone to the speaker and started playing Calvin Cambridge by SOB.

"Ari can you ask them if they're allergic to anything" my dad said. I walked back to the living room. Danny and I looked at each other.

"Bitch I'm the boy who the fuck is you ... S-O-B the gang, y'all ain't fuckin' wit' my crew .... Day ones only I don't really fuck wit' new ..." him and I said at the same time. I laughed. "Um anyway my dad wants to know if you guys are allergic to anything?" I asked. A sea of no's were heard. "They said no" I said.

"Okay the water is boiling so then we can cook the pasta" he said.

"Um baked chicken Alfredo and homemade garlic bread?" I asked.

"You know it" he said.

"Middle finger to the feds they lockin' all my ... up. Strip a officer for his badge, make him give it up. Nah I'm playin' keep your badge we don't give a fuck. Vallejo, California where them youngin's they be quick to bust. Ruthless! We don't really give a fuck ... my dad said. I paused but didn't say the word he did.

"Ari wanna switch dad's like my dad would get mad when I played NWA in the house." Danny said, I laughed at his suggestion that I might seriously consider.

"Meanwhile that's all my dad played. I knew every lyric to every NWA song by the age of 6" I  replied.

"Yeah your mama yelled at me because of it. Alex he was more of a Tupac type of guy." My dad said smiling at the memory of us blasting Tupac and singing at the top of our lungs. Fun times.

"Mom didn't mind it until I learned the lyrics to Fuck the Police, Gangsta Gangsta, and Dope Man" I declared.

"That is very true" he laughed.

"Oh before I forget I was wondering if it was alright to take Tarzan and the guys to the fair with Danny tonight?" I questioned.

"I would normally say no but you might feel weird going back to school after the whole thing about the guy that killed your uncle story on the news so why not. You can take the rest of the week off too. Your tio was right you do work hard and missing a week of school isn't going to hurt your you're a 4.12 GPA student. Yeah go ahead" he said and stood up.

"4.12 GPA?" Jack asked.

"Im a smart girl that sometimes makes not so smart choices" I stood up to go helped my dad make garlic bread. Thizzle Dance by Mac Dre started playing.

"Y'all gonna Dance this and I ain't missing it" Danny said and stood up I ran to the kitchen and saw my dad doing the dance. I started doing it too. My dad and I laughed as we looked at them staring into him at us. I got the bread to cut and then put the mixture on. My dad and I kept singing the song. I heard someone laugh. I looked at Jonah because of the noise that escaped his mouth.

"You're very cute" he told me. My dad dropped what he was doing and turned to Jonah I stepped in front of my dad holding my arm out.

"La" I said.

"Ikn" my dad said.

"La" I told him again my dad went back to doing what he was doing. I continued coating the bread before putting the pan in the oven.

"You were going to get a gangsta beat down" Cholo said.

"Ari can you finish putting it in the dish?" My dad asked with his phone in his hand that was ringing.

"Yeah I got it" I said he went outside to take the call. I put a layer of pasta in the dish.

"When will you tell your dad about the whole Santos thing?" Danny asked getting a beer from the fridge.

"Probably not for a while" I said and continued added the layers of chicken and cheese.

"Why?" Danny asked. I looked at him.

"You're kidding right? My dad would probably go to jail for murder after I tell him" I said and my dad walked in.

"Why you drinking my beer?" My dad asked taking the beer away from Danny. My dad wiped the top with his shirt and took a sip from it.

"Dad who called?" I asked.

"Tus abuelos" I put down the jar of sauce.

"What did they say?" Good news please.

"That after you visit them for thanksgiving you will no longer have to go there to visit them" he took another sip from the beer.

"Um why?" Please be something good.

"They're moving here"

"Here?"

"Well not here to LA. Here to America. They're moving to the Bay" my dad said.

"But I enjoy my trips to the Dominican abuelo gives my pure white Hennessy" I said.

"You better be joking" my dad said a bit mad. I picked up the jar of sauce and faced away.

"I'm for sure joking" I said. No I'm not I mouthed to Tarzan. Tarzan shook his head. I added the toppings to the pasta before covering it with aluminum and putting it in the oven.