“I don’t know,” I moaned. “I wanted to go out with Matty.”
“Emerson’s hot, though. Even if he is an arsonist,” Fabián said grudgingly. “He better not be here today. I’m counting on filming for my channel and do not need a fire marshal shutting the party down.” Egad, I didn’t even think about Emerson being at Yessenia’s today. After all, he did not play a “cool woodwind.” I pushed it out of my mind—today I had to focus on Matty.
“He’s hot in a symmetrical kind of way,” Ruth added thoughtfully.
“Okay then, show of hands, who thinks I should go out with Emerson Cheng?” I asked the car.
Everyone raised their hand. Even my mom, who was a big proponent of two hands on the wheel.
I guess that settled it, then.
■ ■ ■ YESSENIA’S QUINCEAÑERA 2:30 P.M.
We pulled up to Yessenia’s ginormous compound. It looked bigger than our entire school.
Fabián gave a low whistle and said, “Damn.” Mom didn’t even scold him for cursing.
I stared at Yessenia’s huge house and reminded myself that it was time to be Quiet Parvin. The Parvin who didn’t stage elaborate pranks and just nodded and giggled at whatever boys said. The one with fantastic makeup and eyeliner (that, admittedly, had taken a couple tries). I looked down at my right hand. I’d even written the letters NT for “No Talking” in big Sharpie inside my palm to remind myself. It was gonna be hard.
Mom parked, then got out with us to say hello.
“You ready?” Fabián asked. I nodded. I wore a nice black dress and shoes with a wedge heel, and I’d only nicked myself twice while trying to shave my entire body. I was as ready as I was going to be.
Ruth squeezed my hand, then whispered, “This is stupid, just be yourself.”
I looked away. When had being myself ever gotten me anywhere? I stared at the Sharpie letters on my hand and decided to ignore Ruth. I took a deep breath and exhaled all the “too much” out of me.
Yessenia’s front lawn greeted us with two huge silver balloons for the number “15.” We could hear mariachi music floating in from the backyard, and a butler opened the door when we knocked.
A freaking butler.
“Hello,” Mom said, momentarily flustered in the face of a dude wearing a tuxedo and holding a silver platter. Now I knew where I got my flustering from. It must be genetic. “We’re here for Yessenia?” she asked.
“Right this way,” the butler said in a full-blown En-glish accent, leading us through the marble foyer. Mom looked back at us like Can you believe this? We all shook our heads.
He led us from the foyer into the main part of the house, where a huge ceiling filled with skylights let in some of the September light. To the left was a gigantic marble kitchen, where parents chatted with each other, and an absolutely massive TV on the right, where some of my classmates played a really violent video game. A table with presents sat in the middle of the two spaces, practically spilling over with gifts. There must have been at least fifty guests here, plus everyone’s parents. This party was no joke.
We left our presents for Yessenia on the gift table. I’d gotten her an eyeshadow palette, Ruth had made her a customized sophomore year memory book, and Fabián had regifted a skincare set that he’d gotten in the mail from some PR company.
Mom turned toward us. “Okay, I’m just going to hang out here with the adults. Just for a little bit. Then I’ll come back when I pick you all up,” she said, eyeing the crudité platters and fondue fountain set up just for the parents.
I rolled my eyes. “You should just stay.”
“Yeah, Mrs. Mohammadi, this is kind of the event of the century. You wouldn’t want to miss this,” Fabián added wisely.
“All right,” Mom said. “I guess I can do that.” She nodded seriously, as if she were doing us a favor. And before I could say anything else, she waved to one of her friends and made a beeline for the fondue.
“This is amazing,” Ruth said, looking up at the pink and silver balloons dotting the ceiling. I could see her eyes roving over the paper straws and mason jars full of pink lemonade. This party was a Pinterest dream come true, and Ruth was in heaven.
“Let’s go say hi to Yessenia,” I said, using it as an excuse to look for Matty.
Fabián and Ruth followed me to the backyard, where a group of full-on mariachis casually strummed traditional Mexican music underneath a giant oak tree.
Fabián nodded approvingly. “That ranchera’s legit.”
The swimming pool had been converted into a dance floor, and a piñata in the shape of a llama hung from a tree in the yard. All around us were tables for drinks, tamales, twelve different kinds of salsa, tacos, and enchiladas.
I glanced around for Matty, but he must not have arrived yet. Instead, I saw Yessenia in a white ball gown, sitting on a pouf near the edge of the dance floor, surrounded by some girls I had seen around in band. Yessenia hadn’t gone to the same middle school as us, though, so a lot of the guests here were new to me.
“Hey, Yessenia.” I waved. Yessenia looked up and smiled. She wore a tiara and full makeup, and she looked like a princess.
“Oh my gosh, thank you for coming to my quince!” she said, throwing her arms around me like we were best friends. “I love your gold makeup!”
I beamed. Maybe Yessenia was nicer than I had thought.
“Hii!” Ruth squealed in the same octave as Yessenia, excited to have someone to be super girly with for once. “I love your tiara!” Ruth said. They hugged tightly
