That was my third guess.
âÂÂTremendous.â âÂÂYeah.â I asked her if she ever thought of leaving the oppression of New York. I wanted to find any semblance of whimsy in her heart that I could latch onto. She told me sheâÂÂd thought about moving to Newark once. It was enough. âÂÂI know how you feel,â I told her. âÂÂThis city will chew you up and spit you out if youâÂÂre not careful, especially a girl as bea- so close to beauty as you.â She pounded her chest with one fist until something popped inside and a burp escaped. âÂÂMaybe I could get you out of here, get you out of this crazy life your brother and Carl are mixed up in,â I told her. âÂÂYeah, alright,â she sighed and crawled back through the window. I stood and stared out over the city of giants, wondering how many crimes were being committed at that exact moment. It broke my heart to think of the poor fighting the poor, keeping each other down over silly turf wars. âÂÂIâÂÂm not afraid of you,â I shouted. âÂÂI will see your ruthlessness and raise you love!â âÂÂHey asshole!â a childâÂÂs voice shouted from across the alley. âÂÂKeep it down, some of us have jobs in the morning.âÂÂ
Probably a newsie but I like this scenario better.
The next day I confronted Esteban about his sister over breakfast. He stood in front of a scrambled egg pan with his mouth open. âÂÂYou love my sister?â âÂÂWhat? Is that so hard to believe? Just because we come from different backgrounds? Just because it might cause bad blood between our crews?â He turned his head to the side and squinted, âÂÂWhat?â âÂÂLook, love is a weird word. I think I could really start to appreciate Maria but she is a complex woman.â âÂÂIâÂÂll say,â he scoffed. âÂÂWell you should be telling her that, she could use a good guy.â âÂÂWait, IâÂÂm confused.â âÂÂFrankly, IâÂÂve been trying to get her out of the house now for a few years. SheâÂÂs got no ambition.â Esteban tended to his eggs. âÂÂSo, do we need to schedule a knife fight or something?â âÂÂA knife fi- No. Nonono. IâÂÂm happy for her. YouâÂÂre a good change of pace for her.â Carl came into the kitchen in boxers and a shirt reading âÂÂFit for Life!â that couldnâÂÂt quite cover his stomach. âÂÂThis guy has a crush on my sister,â Esteban laughed. Carl joined in the laughter which seemed to wake Maria from the kitchen floor, where she had presumably spent the night. She rubbed her eyes and squinted. âÂÂWhatâÂÂs so goddamn funny?â âÂÂThe writer says you two are running off together,â Esteban wiped the tears from his eyes. âÂÂUgh,â she swooned. I reminded her that we had discussed it all the night before, that this was the best thing for her, and most importantly, that I was willing to fight her brother. âÂÂFuck that,â she shook her head. âÂÂYou want to kidnap me, thereâÂÂs only one person you have to fight.â She poked a thumb into her pimpled chest. Carl and Esteban laughed harder. I didnâÂÂt want to fight her. It was antithetical to my plan of loving her someday, but I wasnâÂÂt so sure I wanted to do that anymore either. The circumstances were nearly out of my control and I tried to rein them back in. âÂÂLetâÂÂs everyone just calm down.â Maria pushed me once, hard, and likened me to an unmentionable piece of female genitalia. She was not backing down. Cornered in the kitchen I had no other choice but to go through with it now. We were going to tussle over a girl, over her. I straightened my back and leaned over with my arms fully extended toward the ground. I started snapping.
"Hey!"
I knew this to be a symbol among New York gangs signifying the beginning of a battle. I took a rhythmic step toward her with each snap. Carl and Esteban could no longer breathe they were in such awe of my quick assimilation into their culture. Maria stared as well. It was working. Four hours later I sat on a plane with only one functioning eye. The seat next to me was empty. I couldnâÂÂt figure out how things had gone so wrong so quickly. Perhaps the tribulations of New York slums were too intricate to understand in a single trip. I would have to return someday, perhaps there would even be an award winning novel in it. A stewardess passed through the isle and stopped to look at my face. âÂÂOh my god,â she said. âÂÂYour eye.â I scoffed and gave it a âÂÂthis old thing?â point. She touched it gingerly and winced for me. âÂÂWhat happened?â âÂÂGang fight,â I told her, and without anything left to say, we took one another by the hand and made our way to the rear lavatory.
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