La Chispa 2024

" B l ack Com b at B oot s"
"Jane! Honey! You're going to be late for school!" M om grabs hold of the cold, steel door knob and
gives it another futile twist.
"Come on Jane! It's the first day of a new semester, baby! You want to make a good impression,
don't you?" M om received only silence.
She began knocking on the door using their secret knock? bum, bum-bum, bum, bum-bum. T hen
she placed an ear up to the cracked-paint and listened in vain.
"Would you just open the door, Jane? Jane, I mean it! Open this door!"
From the other side of the wood divider, I looked into the mirror. It was clouded with steam from
the hot running water that was emptying out into the sink. I couldn't see my messy bun or my
favorite worn-out black t-shirt staring back at me. I only saw him.
"Jane! I'm warning you. Don't make me count! One! Two! T hr?"
T he door swung open, millimeters away from M om's pointed nose, letting some of the steam
escape with it.
I ran to my room and slammed the door behind me, followed by mom's pestering questions about
whether I was aware that I was ruining my life by leaving the house only an hour before the first
period started.
I sat down on my bed and began lacing up my black combat boots. He had always loved my
combat boots; said they made me look even more beautiful. He liked me in them. He liked me.
It had been too cold to wear high heels that night. I was already in a strapless dress with frigid
goosebumps for sleeves and he was kindly waiting outside my bedroom door in his well-fitted tux,
holding a blue hydrangea corsage. He never forgot that blue hydrangeas were my favorite flower. I
decided to ditch the heels and instead put on my purple slipper socks to match my deep violet dress.
I grabbed hold of the cold steel door knob and started to give it a gentle twist when I remembered I
wasn't wearing any shoes at all. I decided to wear my black leather combat boots, since they were
my only other option besides my red Converse, and I sat down on my lavender bedspread and began
meticulously lacing them up.
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