Page 7 of Red Queen
“Yoga? Don’t you usually do that in the morning?” Of course, she’s skeptical. Damn it.
“I had a meeting early today, and I couldn’t go to class.” Why does she always have to know about everything?
“Alright, whatever you say, Rosita. I was just calling you to tell you that Chris invited us on Sunday, so we’ll meet you at the race.”
“That’s great! Okay. See you then.”
“Are you rushing somewhere, young lady?” No, Mom, I’m just lying butt naked in my bed, and it’s starting to get a bit uncomfortable.
“Kind of. I was about to take a bath before you called me.”
“Ah. Alright, amor, I won’t keep you up anymore. But I thought you were doing yoga?” Man, she’s attentive.
“I was. I just finished, actually.” Whew. Nice save.
“Alright. Get into that bath before it gets cold. Goodnight, hija. Te amo mucho.”
“Yo también te amo, Mamá.”
Now that I had my daily call with my mom, I decided to take a bath for real this time. Way to kill the vibe. I put on my robe and I start running the water into the tub.
Meanwhile, I grab some candles—I always have some in my suitcase, I cannot ever take a bath without a candle—and turn on my speaker to put on my usual playlist.
It starts with “Bittersuite” by Billie Eilish, but given my music taste and mood swings, I wouldn’t be surprised if Spotify put on Olivia Rodrigo’s “Enough for You” next, followed by “Bed Chem” by Sabrina Carpenter. Gotta love the Spotify algorithm.
While I’m waiting, I send Lana, my best friend, a text, asking if she has time tomorrow morning. We’re far away from each other now, but she can show me the yoga moves on a video call, too. She quickly writes back a “Yes”, which means I can get up early tomorrow. Awesome. At least I can wind down a little before the wine date with Trina.
6
ROSA
Iwake up to the familiar sound of the old red clock deafening my eardrums. Shit. I groan as I sit up in bed and press the stop button. Harry Potter’s “Prologue” blares from my phone, signaling it’s time to wake up. I put one on my phone as well, just in case my clock had died during the night. Again.
I wish I could be in Hogwarts right now. Just a wave of my 12-inch, Dragon Heartstring wand and I’d be feasting like Ron in two seconds. Instead, I pull on my yoga outfit and get ready for the video class with Lana.
She and I became roommates in college. At first, I didn’t get accepted, and I was driving back and forth every day from home. I was really tired, the constant traveling was taking up almost my whole day, alongside my classes. Those were a long couple of weeks.
But then, around the end of October, I got an email saying that they have a spot for me. I swayed in, and there she was. She studied marketing and communication. It was uncommon to put people together in a dorm who had different majors, but maybe that was the key that kept us together.
We had so many differences, but we turned them into little puzzle pieces that would add to each other’s personality. It was like meeting my long-lost twin.
“Hey, girl. Looking fresh.” I see her beautiful, bright face as I accept the video call. That’s also a difference between us, she’s an early bird and I’m a night owl. For weeks, it was the biggest problem we had, but we figured it out.
“I can’t help it. It’s too early,” I whine, and she just laughs again. I’m jealous.
“That’s what I’m here for. Yoga instead of coffee. Come on now, where’s your mat? Look alive, Ro.” I follow her instructions and we start the class. It really does make wonders. I always feel fresher after her class, which sounds cliché, but I mean it. “So, what’s up with you lately? When can I see my little witch again?”
I laugh at the nickname. I haven’t heard that in a while. “Whenever you have a wedding, or a company party, maybe a birthday party with 500 people.”
Lana and I watched quite a lot of horror movies in our dorm, despite us being the most scareable people on Earth. So after they were over, we watched a couple of episodes of Winnie the Pooh, since that’s our favorite childhood series.
I told her one time that my family sometimes called me a kangaroo, cause I often mimicked Kanga and Roo, and Ro comes from that nickname. I first hated it but I grew to like it.
“I’d be happy if I could find 5 friends to invite for my birthday party, let alone 500.”
“Anyway. No idea. I’ve got some big events coming up now, and I’m quite busy. And I’m still following my uncle around. Maybe I’ll go back home after the summer break.”
“Ah, my busy bee working her ass off. From now on, I’ll call every morning.”
