My face looked out from the laptop's screen, except it was different. Cora and I had stopped looking identical after Carlos' death. Youth and hope for the future had given us the same softness around our eyes and lips, but mine had been replaced by the hard lines of someone who had lost so much too soon. Although the loss of our brother had hurt her as deeply, her entire innocence in the matter no doubt contributed to the fact that she could still smile all the way to her eyes.

Right now, though, her expression was a lot more like mine. Even though her hair was perfectly blow dried with thin strands of gold dyed across the extensive mass of it, and her face was artfully made up with the same delicate sense of a beauty magazine, she looked a lot like me. And that could only mean mami was right and something was wrong with Coralina.

"I've been calling you," I told her in English. Mami insisted all our lives that we learn English, which at first papi had refuted. It was Carlos who convinced him, half jokingly, that it would be a good idea to learn the imperialist language so that we could understand their rhetoric firsthand. With that in mind, papi decided to enroll us in private English lessons while we were starting high school, without knowing that that would be the reason I'd be able to open a path to emigrate years later.

Despite that, Cora had continued practicing it with me, not because she was finally coming around but because this way our parents couldn't overhear our conversations. And that wasn't any sort of guesswork from me, she'd told me so herself.

Thus she replied in English. "Yeah, I've been busy."

I corrected her pronunciation a bit but praised her for the correct sentence. It still didn't distract me from the meat and bones of this conversation. I let my eyes roam over her and said, "With what? Buying winter clothes for air conditioners that don't work?"

I vaguely pointed at the turtleneck sweater she wore that had to be baking her. My hometown of Maracaibo was considered the hottest city in the country and in a different timeframe, we used to joke that it was the coldest solely due to the prevalence of air conditioning everywhere, at home, schools, shops and certainly in our cars. Ever since the electrical supply became so unstable, though, the city went back to the oven it typically was and its inhabitants were its sourdough bread rolls. Seeing my sister in such a stifling piece of clothing was the most ridiculous sight I'd seen all week, and I'd had to endure Gabriel Cabrera's face up close.

"Oh, my God," Cora said with a healthy eye roll. "This is all the rage here, you know? I bought it at Zara. Only the people who can afford to keep their air conditioner running dress like this."

Never mind, it could get more ridiculous after all.

"Is that what has you so upset?" I asked, running my hand through my dark hair as it air dried. "The fact that you have to dress like you're in Europe so people think you're high class despite clearly sweating your makeup off?"

I could see her process through the barrage of words but when she eventually got the gist of it, she flipped me both birds.

"No, I'm upset because you keep ignoring me."

I raised both hands in the air. "I've been calling you for days and you're the one who doesn't pick up, who's ignoring who?"

"Yeah but I texted you on WhatsApp and you didn't reply," she said, reaching closer to the camera to bare her teeth at me.

I checked my message log and sure enough, there were five texts from her that I hadn't seen in the course of the whole week. Scrolling through them, I didn't see anything that would raise the red alerts that I detected in mami's voice the other night.

Okay, I had to proceed with caution from here on out. I set my phone down and said, "Sorry, I guess I've been too caught up in everything that is going on."

Cora snapped her jaw shut and opened it, her dark eyes dancing with the clear idea of giving me a piece of her mind. In the end, she went the same route I'd taken and asked, "So what's going on, then?"

A rush of heat travelled up my spine and settled in my chest. If I told her everything that had happened as of late I ran the risk of giving her enough fodder to make a whole ass telenovela out of it, which was the last thing I wanted to reach my parents. And yet I kind of wanted to see her eyes light up with something silly that took her mind off whatever had her in a funk.

This was what I debated when Maya burst into my room and announced, "Get ready, bitch. We're going to a party."

In the end this is also what made Cora gasp with delight. "You are? I knew it! There was a fun person stuck inside of you all along."

Maya laughed and jumped on my bed to greet Cora, who was certainly her favorite Diaz twin. "Girl, you're looking gorgeous."

Cora tossed her mane over her shoulder and batted a hand. "Nowhere near your goddess levels, though."

"You guys are making me gag," I said in a deadpan. "But also I haven't agreed to go to any parties. My party tonight is in my pajamas, making the final touchups to my chassis design-"

My sister cut me off. "Bo-ring. Your chassis is going nowhere until you put it together with the rest of the car."

"Exactly," now emboldened by my fun-loving sister, my roommate bounced on the mattress. "Instead you should take yourself out, with me and Taylor, to a party full of hot boys that will take your mind off of metal chassis and center it square on their flesh and blood chassis."

They made me want to laugh but I knew if I did that they'd take it as my defeat. Steeling myself I said, "I'm not interested in machines with chassis made of bones. The flesh and blood would be more like the doors and windows of the car-"

"Por favor para," Cora said, raising a hand.

Maya's eyebrows went up. "Not even if I tell you that Malik is coming?"

I froze.

Cora squealed. As much as I tried to not give her fodder for her drama, it had slipped out last year that I kind of had a thing for Maya's brother who had only the most beautiful chassis and doors I'd ever seen, with perfect aerodynamics in the front and the rear and who, without question, was the ultimate ride.

My entire face flamed after that thought, which signaled my defeat against Maya's and Coralina's enthusiasm. They begun to plan the outfit I'd wear through my webcam while I tried to fend them off. Taylor showed up then, confirming that the plan had been agreed upon even before I knew about it.

"Show him what mami gave us!" Cora exclaimed, barely containing her excitement for something that required a lot less of it. "And don't forget to tell me tomorrow if you at least manage to make out with him."

I couldn't take anymore of her teasing and with a dry chao I closed off my laptop. Maya convinced me to squeeze into one of her dresses, a black number that only revealed some leg but was so tight that if I sat it would show all of the extra curves I had. I tried to get out of it and into jeans and a t-shirt but the two of them wouldn't have it.

They bundled me into Taylor's car, which was always an experience. I strapped myself on and grabbed onto the seat like I was about to get in a rollercoaster. Every time we reached our destination I felt like dropping on my knees and kissing the ground, except with this dress that would be a bad idea. Even though my stomach roiled with anxiety at being driven around by her, I asked, "So is it true that Malik is coming to this party or was that just a ploy to get me out of my room?"

"Both," Maya said, twisting around the passenger's seat to look at me as though her life weren't in any risk. "He's tired of Bryce and Miguel fighting all the time and wanted to do something different. I told him I'd been invited to this party and he signed the hell up faster than I could tell him details about it."

Well in that case I should have put on a little more makeup than just mascara and lipstick. I cleared my throat. "And whose party is it anyway?"

"Amber's," Taylor said and I scrambled to the middle of the backseat so I could poke my head out and glare at her. "Don't worry about it, we're good. She invited me the other night and I said no at first because it's not like her current girlfriend likes me that much, but thinking about it afterwards I think we should just get over ourselves and move on."

"And your idea of moving on is spending a whole night watching them be lovey dovey in the same room?"

Maya shrugged. "I asked her the same."

"Yep," Taylor said. "That sounds like exactly what I need to kill off any remaining feelings."

In other words, this night was going to be a disaster.

Amber lived near campus in one of those student housing complexes that looked like a regular residence, except the closer you got to it the louder the music became and the more people stumbled in and out of doors like there were no property boundaries. My legs shook once I got out of the car and I thanked the Lord that we made it safe. I volunteered myself to be the designated driver because after tonight, Taylor would likely be nursing a massive hangover.

The walls vibrated with reggaeton blasting from Amber's living room. A bunch of white kids convulsed with what they thought were sleek dance moves and I did my best not to judge them for their lack of sabor. Which was to say, I judged them a heck of a lot but I just kept it to myself. One more person across the floor had the exact same idea and unfortunately it was Gabe. He almost burst out laughing when a girl shook her shoulders, as though spiders were crawling on them, which was when we made eye contact and for a second of truce we shared a common thought.

Que mal baila esta gente.

I glanced away and followed my friends into the kitchen. That was when Maya pulled out her cellphone, fired off a rapid series of texts, and said, "Heads up, incoming Malik any second now."

I braced myself against the counter, the minutes stretching forever until finally the most beautiful black boy strode in. Suddenly there was no more oxygen in the kitchen and it wasn't because there were about ten people crammed inside looking for drinks or snacks. No, it was because I'd sucked it in with a single gasp. Malik was gorgeous tonight, in a simple red t-shirt and a cap worn backwards. He hugged Maya, high fived Taylor and waved at me. I barely managed to wiggle my fingers at him.

Then, out from behind him, Gabe strolled into the kitchen. Maya and Taylor zeroed in on him with the same awareness I had for Malik.

I got it, Gabe was attractive. He was about a head shorter than Malik and was built different. Where Malik was naturally lean and long like a model, Gabe was fit with muscles and a trim waist that spoke of hours of effort at the gym. Or hours of playing a sport. Either way, he had that little something that coined the term Latin Lover, the turn of his lips, the five o'clock shadow and the swagger in his body that made his movements look more like he was dancing through a room rather than walking. He was hot and flashy and Malik was more unassuming, and I liked him better for it.

"Look who's here," Maya said, smiling with a wicked glint that she'd kept at bay seeing my response to her brother. I hissed a warning at her but she paid no mind.

"Evening, señoritas," Gabe said, lifting up his beer bottle. "Anybody want a drink?"

"Please," Malik said, following him to the fridge in search of cold ones. The joint effort made them automatic friends and in the next moment, they'd exchanged names and handshakes. Seeing the two of them like this gave me a bad feeling I couldn't explain, as if two worlds were colliding and I was in between, waiting to be crushed. This was what I got for chatting with Cora even for a few minutes.

Taylor accepted a beer from Gabe and asked him, "So, how do you know Amber?"

"Who?" he asked before taking a swig.

"The one who lives here," she said.

"Oh, I don't." Gabe shrugged. "One of my buddies invited me, thought it was a good idea to nurse my broken heart."

Both of my friends cooed and I glared at them. Who were they, to feel sorry for the enemy?

"Never a bad idea to distract your heart by using your eyes," Malik said.

Not missing the surprise on my face, Maya turned on her brother and asked, "And are you here to distract your eyes, too?"

Malik's smile was bashful. "Better than looking at my roommates, at least."

"Well, you're in fine company to do that," Gabe said, giving me a look so indiscrete that no one needed to be explained that he was referring to me. Or the dress I wore. But since most likely he was teasing me, I readied myself to return a good jab at him when suddenly Malik spoke.

"Oh, no. Maya here is my sister," he said as he pointed at her and then glanced at Taylor and I. "And these girls are her best friends, so they're like my little sisters too. I'm mostly here to take care of them and sure, sightsee a bit too."

The look on Maya's and Taylor's faces confirmed what I'd just heard. To him, I was a little sister. The sound that reverberated in my head wasn't the music in the living room or the many voices shouting over each other, it was the sound of my breaking heart.

And it was all worse when I turned and saw the realization on Gabe's face. In a few seconds he'd connected the dots and pitied me. Nothing hurt me more than that.

Then, as if coming to this party hadn't been a bad idea, his ex walked into the kitchen with a red cup in hand and a definite buzz in her eyes, that she set on Gabe and I standing next to each other.

She pointed at us and screamed, "I knew it! You were desperate to be with her."

I froze like a deer caught in the headlights when I realized I was too far from the exit, even though that was the goal I now desperately wanted to achieve. As she advanced, I looked around, calculating how many people I would have to elbow out of the way, when suddenly an arm draped itself around my waist and pushed me flush against a warm body. The scent of cologne drifted towards me and the rumble of the owner's voice caused a shiver through my body.

The whole room went silent as Gabe squeezed me tighter against him, drawing every eye in the room towards us. From my vantage I caught him giving Malik a pointed look before facing his ex square in the eye and saying, "You're right, I was."

Oh my word, the fake-dating has gone public! This can't go well, lol.

Meanwhile, I'm curious about you all! Where are you from?