Falling Too Fast (11 page)

When it was their time to perform, Alexis took the mic and smiled at the audience. The crowd looked tired. She focused on the trees lining the park to calm her nerves. Then she turned to glance at the members of the mariachi ensemble. Their smiles gave her all the strength she needed to sing. Alexis smiled as the guitars started to strum their chords, followed by the horns, and finally her cousin began to jam on his accordion behind her. Alexis took a deep breath and opened her mouth to sing.

 

The Dos Rios mariachi group played their hearts out to a standing ovation. Because of their competitors' ages, and the friendly nature of the competition, there weren't any prizes awarded, but that didn't seem to bother the members much. They had tried their best, and everyone in the audience had felt their enthusiasm. The ride back was festive, with lots of impromptu singing of mariachi songs like “Por un Amor,” “La Malagueña,” and “La Media Vuelta.” They sang along to “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “No Tengo Dinero,” and other Selena and Kumbia Kings classics the bus driver had on his CD player. It was late when they finally got back home to Dos Rios.

Alexis's heart swelled when she saw the “Dos Rios” welcome sign, proclaiming it to be “the home of the big enchilada, population 6,956.” She couldn't help but be proud to represent Dos Rios. Looking at the faces of her friends on the bus, she hoped they would stay committed to showing people how great a group of high school students from a small town could be.

Suddenly, her new phone rang, playing a short mariachi melody. She didn't recognize the number, but she went ahead and picked up.

“Alexis, it's me, Christian. How are you?”

Alexis screamed, “Oh, Christian! I'm so happy to finally hear from you. I've been so worried, and they wouldn't let me in to visit you. How are you? Listen, we're actually driving back from our first mariachi performance. Can you believe it? Us. Performing onstage. It was amazing. We completely won the audience's hearts.” Alexis could feel herself babbling, but she couldn't stop. It was so good to finally hear his voice. “Are you out?”

“Um, sort of.” Christian paused. “I knew you guys could do it, that's great,” he continued.

“Where are you? Come to the restaurant. We're going to have a little party — nothing big, just the families and friends. I can't wait to see you. I've been so worried. But today has been the best day, and now with you free everything is perfect.”

“I would love to, but …”

Alexis covered her left ear with her hand. She could barely hear him over the noise on the bus. They were approaching the school and she could see that there was a crowd of family members waiting in the parking lot. Alexis pressed the phone to her ear to better hear Christian.

“What is it?” Alexis asked.

“Well, they cleared me of any drug-related charges.”

“That's great. I knew they would.”

“But …”

“But what?” Alexis asked. Why was he acting like this? It was making her stomach squirm.

“They're … they're deporting me back to Mexico.”

“What?” Alexis, confused, felt her heart drop. “I don't …”

“I leave this afternoon.”

“I don't understand.” Alexis fell back into her seat. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. His words became jumbled. It didn't make sense. Deported? Her perfect day burst into a hundred billion pieces. The bus had stopped. Her bandmates streamed off into the parking lot, but Alexis was unable to move.

“Christian, I'm so sorry.” Her voice cracked. “This is all my fault. I will never forgive myself for taking you to the races. I never should have left you — I should have made Santiago stay and look for you —”

“It's not your fault.” Christian sounded tired. “The police never would have bothered with me if I hadn't been hanging around with the Salinas brothers.” Alexis could hear the bitterness in his voice. She wished she could give him a hug. “Listen, I have to go, but I wanted to call and let you know that I'm okay.”

Alexis wiped away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. “This is horrible. What about your scholarship? All your dreams? What about us?”

Christian was quiet. It put Alexis on edge. She heard voices cheering loudly from outside the bus. But Alexis felt like she was miles away.

“Is this it?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“I don't know what to tell you. This is as much a shock to me as it is to you. I have no idea where I'll live, how I'll eat, and no idea of my future.”

“I can help you,” Alexis said, feeling pressure on her heart as if someone were pressing a weight to her chest. “Please let me. I can get you a better lawyer. We'll find a way to get you back.”

He was silent again. “What you need to do is concentrate on whipping that mariachi group into shape. I'm not going to go easy on you guys at next year's regional competition just because I have a crush on your group's lead singer,” he joked.

Alexis couldn't help but laugh. “We'll practice. I promise.” Alexis felt tears welling up in her eyes again. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. But we'll see each other again.” He paused and for a second Alexis wondered if the call had been dropped. “Do you remember those lyrics you sang so beautifully to me on my driveway?”

Alexis felt herself blush. Of course she remembered. She had practiced the song over a hundred times in the mirror. Alexis started to softly sing “Me Gustas Mucho” to Christian.

As she sang, the words held new meaning to her. When she had first sung the song she was a hopeful girl trying to attract the eye of a cute boy. Now when she sang about not letting anyone or anything keep him from her she thought about the US border patrol and the Rio Grande River that physically kept them apart.

When she finished, Christian gave a heartfelt laugh. “Well, then I guess you'll keep chasing after me, huh?”

“I guess.”

“And you promise not to let anyone or any border keep you from chasing me?”

“Yes.” She shrugged. “Why not? Saving
charros
just so happens to be a hobby of mine.”

He laughed again. “Well then, I'll have to keep you close, very close.”

They said good-bye. Alexis took a deep breath and stared at the “call ended” screen. Alexis looked up at the sound of someone calling her name. Santiago stood at the front of the bus motioning for her to come outside. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and got up. At the door, she noticed her grandma Trini and Abuelita Alpha holding signs with her name up over their heads. Alexis glanced around the group, at all the families that had gathered to celebrate the return of the Dos Rios mariachi team. There was a newfound gleam in her bandmates' eyes. She noticed a quiet confidence in the way the twins shared the highlights of the trip with their mother, real excitement in Karina's voice as she made her family pose for pictures with her harp, and genuine friendship in the way Nikki introduced Marisol to her family. Everywhere she turned, the Dos Rios mariachi ensemble glowed with pride, power, and team spirit. They had
finally
felt the music.

M
any thanks to all the fabulous people who continue to support the Border Town series. Specifically, I'd like to thank Amanda Maciel, Anna Bloom, the entire Scholastic team, and my super agent Stefanie Von Borstel. I also want to thank Dolores Josefina Ibarra Reyes and her family at San Jalisco restaurant for sharing their stories and food with me. Thank you to Jose Lopez for rescuing my computer not once, but several times.
Muchísimas gracias
to Rosario, Michael Arreola-Pro, and Nishat Kurwa for providing me with a great space to write. To Nikki Garza, Lizby Munoz, Roxy Gonzalez, Tabby Sue Brocha, Maria Elena Ingram, Juan
y
Maria Elena Ovalle, Cynthia Perales
y sus comadres
, and Juan Salazar and his AVID class at Brown Middle School, thanks for providing me with great stories, reading drafts, and answering all my crazy questions. To the Weslaco High mariachi group and to mariachi teachers and students everywhere, thanks for keeping the
cultura
alive. And lastly to my family,
gracias por aguantarme
during these last few crazy months — love you all!

MALÍN ALEGRÍA is the author of
Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico
and
Estrella's Quinceañera
. Malín grew up in San Francisco, California, and lives there now, where she teaches, writes, and is hard at work playing in dirt. To learn more about her and her books, visit her online at www.malinalegria.com.

Photo by Dulce Paz