Mia Carreon is currently working on her BFA in Creative Writing while still dabbling in directing plays and teaching theater to children and teens in El Paso, TX. She also has a love for movies and television that has helped fuel her creativity since she was a kid.
A: Adrien is the bus boy at the local cafe. In high school we had three classes together. He’d always sleep. On graduation day he skipped out and didn’t walk. Turns out his grade average was a C-. People say that’s why he’s still a bus boy.
B: Bethany is my next door neighbor. Her arthritis acts up when it gets cold and she pays me $5 every time I help her with groceries. She has old ribbon candy in her front room and I tried it out of curiosity. It was disgusting.
C: Claudia sits next to me on a long bus ride to California. We discuss our families and friends. I tell her about visiting my cousin, Katia. She says she’s visiting her brother and his kids. They live on only $80 a week.
D: Dave is my ex-best friend. He’s in a relationship with Eva. We met in third grade when we sat next to each other. Dave started hanging out with the “popular kids” and stopped being friends with me. I miss him.
E: Eva is in my dance class. Dave and I hung out with her before they dated. Eva asks me if I like Dave. While we’re taking a break for water she massages her feet as I take a drink. I tell her no. Dave doesn’t want to hang around me anymore.
F: Fred was my first crush. He has red hair and freckles. I Facebook stalk him sometimes. He’s into rock climbing. That’s a turnoff for me. He’s still cute though.
G: Gabby is my cousin Katia’s oldest daughter. I don’t know anything about her. She’s 5 or 6 years old. She’s named after our grandma. My future daughter was supposed to be named Gabby.
H: Harriet is my mom’s best friend. She has a lazy eye and bought me ice cream every year on my birthday until I was 13. When I was 14 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctor is my uncle Jake.
I: Isabel is Tori’s middle name. She used to date Ryan. I don’t talk to her anymore.
J: Jake is my uncle, my dad’s brother. He helped Harriet beat breast cancer. He’s also Katia’s father. Uncle Jake doesn’t talk to her because she dropped out of college. He’s disappointed in her. I am too.
K: Katia is my older cousin. She’s got 3 kids at age 27. I don’t know why she doesn’t use birth control. She’s smart enough to get a degree. I don’t know her well other than that. I don’t want to be like her when I get older.
L: Laurie is the owner of the cafe. She hired Adrien as the bus boy. When he cleaned my table off the other day, Laurie yelled at him because he did a lackluster job. I feel bad for Adrien. Laurie is an awful boss.
M: Moriah is my mother’s name. She eats pizza on the weekends and salads during the week. Her favorite thing to do is spend time with Harriet. My mom doesn’t have any sisters. I’m glad I don’t have any either.
N: Nick is my younger brother. He wants to be a busboy at the cafe with Adrien. I told him it’s not a fun job. His response was to pour ice down my back at Eva’s birthday party. Dave laughed at me. I cried.
O: Ophelia is my cat. I named her after the girl in Hamlet because unlike other cats, she loves the water. I know what irony is. Ophelia has never drowned when I give her a bath though.
P: Pete is my mom’s boss. Whenever he visits for dinner he sneezes because he’s allergic to Ophelia. My mom doesn’t like having him over but it gets her small raises in pay. Pete is Adrien’s dad. I think he wants me to date Adrien.
Q: Queenie is my grandma’s nickname. We would call her that instead of grandma. She died the same year Harriet got breast cancer. I haven’t spoken about her death in years. I wanted to name my future daughter after her, with her given name, Gabriella. I miss her.
R: Ryan is complicated. I was in love with him. He was my first everything. And yes, I mean everything. He sent me mixed signals after giving me what I wanted. He dated Tori for five years. I’m happy they broke up. They deserve each other but she did nothing wrong. He laughed when I cried the first time.
S: Stephan is my dad’s name. He and mom divorced when I was 9. He’s dating Laurie. He’s gotten her to soften up a little. His favorite food is mushu pork and he always mixes the rice and other sides up with it. I think he’s still in love with my mom though. Maybe.
T: Tori dates Fred now. I’m still jealous that she dated Ryan but she’s doing better with Fred. They go rock climbing all the time. I’m happy for her.
U: Uvilla is my other neighbor. She’s not as old as Bethany but she’s old enough to be considered old. She only speaks Spanish and used to watch me when I was little. The only English she knows is “Food is ready,” “Time to sleep,” and “How are you?” I learned Spanish to speak with her. She replaced Queenie after she died. I’ll be sad when she dies too.
V: Victor is our mailman. I think he has the hots for my mom. Eva is his daughter. I don’t think it would be a good idea for them to date. He’s a nice guy but he always asks for mom to give her the mail personally. It’s a bit creepy.
W: Will is the landlord of Harriet’s apartment. Whenever I visit her he always says hi to me. He’s a small old man with balding gray hair on the sides of his head. He walks with a small limp. In his hands he carries flowers for Harriet every Saturday. I hope one day someone does that for me.
X: Xavier is my lab partner. He’s Dave’s new best friend. He’s nice. I tell him to tell Dave that I miss hanging out with him. He says he tells Dave but I know he’s lying. He doesn’t like me. I do all our assignments. He’s getting free As.
Y: Yolanda is the cashier at the grocery store. She’s Xavier’s aunt. Whenever I use her line she always asks about him. He never calls her. She’s a sad old woman. I fear she’ll never get to know him. I should fluke our next project and tell him to shape up for his aunt.
Z: Zen is my fictional boyfriend’s nickname. I picked it because it’s a calming word. Zen isn’t like Ryan. He’s a gentleman who cares about me and my relationships with other people. I wish he was real.