Chapter Five: Carmen
I glance over at Papi who watched the whole ordeal without a word
"Papi, you've been quiet, is there something wrong?" I ask.
"Oh, no, I'm just tired. I think I'll call it a night," he says leaving.
"Well that was weird," Cami says staring at Papi's retreating.
"Never mind him," Mami says.
"There's so much to prepare! The dresses, the shoes, the etiquette-- No Carmen, you will not be stuffing your face at the royal ball," she says glaring at me and I hold my hands up in defence.
"We've got a big day tomorrow, so I suggest you go to bed," she tells us and we obey.
"Ahhh!" I scream, sitting up in bed, panting and sweating beads.
I had the same trippin' nightmare, you'd think I'd be used to it by now.
I sigh, and I raise the hood of my unicorn onesie, slide on my bunny slippers and slip out the door. On my way to the kitchen, I pass Mami and Papi's door, I was going to keep walking until I heard my name.
"I don't think we should go to this event, Valentina. What if you-know-who comes looking for Carm?" I hear Papi's voice say.
"You-know-who?" I whisper to myself pressing my ear against their door.
"No, he won't be able to. He has no idea she's here. Because of him, Carmen has is rarely out of our sight. She'll have to go out at some point." Mami's voice answers
"But, if she marries the prince, it will be aired on television. Then they'd track her down " Papi says.
"The prince's chances of picking her are minimal, but if he does, we'll merely persuade him to choose Cami instead," Mami says.
"But," Papi insists.
"Alejandro, don't worry, nothing will happen," says Mami yawning.
Papi sighs, "Fine."
"Goodnight, honey," I hear Mami say and then I hear light snoring.
I stay in the same position for about 20 seconds before deciding to leave. I head downstairs and have a cup of water before heading back up, pausing at Mami and Papi's door to see if they've said anything about 'you-know-who.' When I get to my room I remove my slippers and flop into bed, wondering about what my parents were talking about.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Carmen Elizabeth Luciana Martina Hernández I woke you up an hour ago and you're still in bed, "As she takes the blanket away from my body, Mami sighs exasperatedly.
"Please give me ten more minutes," I plead, gripping my pillow.
"Get up, you said that an hour ago. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes "she adds as she walks away, and my ears perk up at the word breakfast.
I immediately freshen myself, put on a cropped cami and shorts, and make my way downstairs, I hadn't slept great last night because I was thinking about what Mami and Papi were talking about, I only went to bed at around 4 in the morning. When I walk into the kitchen, I'm greeted with a stack of pancakes, a pile of bacon and sausage, and a beautiful square of butter.
"Finally," Mami grumbles, "now eat quickly because we have to get to the mall before everything is gone."
Ten minutes later, Cami, Mami, and I are in our parents' SUV, speeding past what I'm sure is the speed limit on our way to Quill Park, the largest mall in Graelite.
We spent ten minutes seeking a parking spot when we arrived because it was so crowded. We practically ran into the mall when we finally located a parking spot.
"Okay, here's the deal: you two will go dress shopping while I go to the library. We have only three days to prepare for this occasion." Mami remarks as she skims through her notes.
She hands us each a card and says, "Here are your credit cards, the passwords are your birth dates and time. Spend as much as you need to impress the royal family; impressing them is our top goal. Now, go "she says, and we comply.
While we hurriedly hunt for a dress store, we encounter women yelling and physically fighting one other over masks, dresses, shoes, and even nails. We start looking through different coloured gowns after we locate a store where we're less likely to get injured.
"Remember, we're looking for red or orange gowns," Cami explains as she sifts through gowns ranging in price from $1000 to $4000.
"But I'm not looking to impress the prince," I say as I browse 'cheaper' gowns ranging from $300 to $900, occasionally stumbling across other women looking for gowns that meet the specifications but are within their budget.
"Then dress in yellow."
"But, I detest yellow."
"I'm not sure what you're going to do, but I think I found my dress. Come take a look." I try to predict what colour she would choose as I follow the sound of her voice, but what I see is nothing like what I could have imagined. She held a simple yet lovely dress in her hands.
The top was a scarlet red that faded to flaming orange, and the front of the skirt was short while the rear continued to flow, giving it a firelike appearance.
"What do you think?" she asks
"I think you should try it on," I say shooing her into a fitting room and waiting on the bench in front of it.
When Cami came out I gasped, she looked gorgeous! The dress hugged her curves and made her butt and boobs look bigger than they are, and the colours made fair skin stand out and her perfectly shaved legs would look tempting to any man at the ball.
"So?" she asks a slight blush creeping up her neck.
"Girl, if the prince doesn't find you hot as heck, then he has serious issues cause you look gorgeous!"
"Yes, I think so," I answer as I take her hands in mine.
She shrieks and dashes back into the fitting room. When she comes out, she has a solemn expression on her face.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
She whimpers, "This dress is $4000."
"That's OK. Didn't Mami tell us to spend as much money as we needed to please the royal family?" I say this while rubbing her back.
She sniffles and says, "Yeah, she did."
"Let's go get my dress, check out, and get out of here. Ok?"
"Ok.
It's difficult to realize she's older at times.
While we looked for what felt like an eternity, I found the perfect dress. It was a royal blue tulle ball gown. It had off-the-shoulder straps and a sweetheart neckline. Gems that resembled drops of water were sprinkled all over the dress making it appear sparkling wet.
"Cami, I think I found the one," I say.
"You can't buy that one."