Christmas Eve

Maria was at her house in the kitchen. She scooped a small amount of her mom's red salsa onto a spoon to test it. It had tiny chunks of dark red tomatoes, onions, parsley flakes, and seeds from the peppers (chiles). Her mom made the best, and Maria understood what it should have tasted like. Her mom preferred it to be sweet, a little salty, and a medium amount of spiciness. "This batch is definitely too salty," she told her mom.

"I thought so." Her mom tasted it again and puckered her face. "OK. I'll try to fix it."

"Incoming call from Hope Anderson," her viewer announced.

"Answer call."

A hologram of Hope appeared in front of her.

"Hi Hope!" She waved. "Merry Christmas!" She beamed, stood, and noticed that her leg fell asleep from sitting there talking to her mom. Pins and needles shot through her foot. She stomped it out.

"Hi! Merry Christmas! Where are you at?" Hope asked.

"I'm at my house, finally. My tour is on break and I'm on vacation. Yay!" She danced around in a circle. "I'm excited that I can spend the next two months at home."

"That's great!"

"I saw you and Jacob on the news. Are two still together?"

"Yes. We are. I really enjoy being with him. We'll have more time now that we're both off."

"Woah!" Hope stared behind Maria. "Your house is huge!"

Maria grinned.

"I don't like to brag, but it would be rude, not to give you a tour." Maria aimed the camera away from her, showing her tall ceilings, and skylights. "They are three stories high."

She ambled up to the second floor. "These are naturally stained mahogany stairs." She did not care what they were, but people always asked about those things.

She gestured at the first room on the right, "This is my room. Although..."

She entered it and her sister, Teresa, long, dark-brown curly-haired, and dark brown eyed, skinny teenager, laid on her stomach, propping herself up by her elbows to watch TV, wearing her Sunday best for church.

"Somebody is sleeping in my bed," she spun 360 degrees and dropped to the ground, acting out the scene from the Three Little Bears.

"Whatever! Poor, sad, superstar Maria who never gets what she wants." Teresa spoke without moving or breaking eye contact with the screen. "You're never here and you have the best TV."

"Yes. I do. It's a projector." It displayed the image across the entire wall."

Maria left her room and made her way to the one on the left.

"This is my parent's room. It's much bigger."

The larger room had a king-sized bed and dressers. The bed had black metal legs, holding it up and white comforter with sand-colored pillow covers that matched the walls.

She exited and aimed this camera into the last room.

"This is my sister's room, where she belongs!" She shouted the last part loudly.

The layout of Teresa's room was the same as Maria's, but it was much darker. The curtain was drawn, and the room was morose and gloomy. Her bedspread had skeletons and her walls had Dia de los Muertos paintings.

Maria aimed the camera back at herself.

"Your sister's room is very...," Hope said.

"Evil. It is the perfect aura for brewing a spell or two."

Hope laughed.

Maria went back into her room and said to her sister, "Teresa, please give me a minute. I would like some privacy."

She thought about it for a minute, waiting for Maria to retract her request. "Fine." She groaned and paused the TV. "Do not stop this," she stated slowly.

Teresa departed, and Maria closed the door behind her.

She examined Hope.

Her hair was longer and not in a ponytail, like usual.

"You look nice."

Hope blushed and said, "Thank You."

"You should keep it like that. I'm, certain you-know-who would think differently about you too."

"My mom did it, so I'd look nice today and unless she follows me around everywhere, it's not going to happen again."

"Well, take advantage of it. Did you tell him how you feel?"
"Nope. I tried to, but something kept getting in the way. Training, parents. Plus, I really don't believe now is the right time. We still need to qualify for the spot. At the beginning of the school year, I worried about keeping him motivated. The year started bad, but Cole has been good since..."

"You know best about this qualifying for the spot. If you believe this will get in the way, then wait."

"Which I still do. Although I'm more confident we'll win. Plus, his parents are getting a divorce."

"No way!" Maria exclaimed. Her mouth dropped.

"Yes. His dad moved out and said he does not want Cole to go to Mars."

"I knew it. I could tell he was up to no good."

"I asked Dr. B. and he said he will help with a lawyer, but nobody knows for certain."

"Tell his mom, that if there's anything I can do to call me."

"OK. I will."

"Also understand that every moment in the friend zone, the harder to get out of it. Now is the best time because you have no distractions. Remember that he chose you without question. That was enough to convince me. Follow your heart. Also, Skye will not be the only girl that likes Cole. He's a nice guy. If you don't tell him soon, somebody else will catch his eye, and feed his addiction."

"I had not thought about that. So, what should I say to him?"

"I've been wrong before, so you could always test the waters. It's Christmas. I see mistletoe in your house," she motioned behind Hope, "that makes it easier because it's tradition to kiss."

"Maria! Your grandparents are here." Her mom yelled.

She detected the familiar scent of sweet bread baking at the same time. "That smells so good," Maria stated, grinning. "Every Christmas Eve they make Rosca de Reyes, Three Kings Bread. It's good and you would love it. Maybe next year?" She instantly realized that was impossible. "Sorry. You won't be here."

She still wanted to go with her to Mars. Her conversation with her mom did not go like planned. There was a lot of screaming, mainly on her mom's part. 'YOU CAN NOT MOVE TO MARS! You are part of this family and you have your career. Not until you are eighteen. Then, you can do whatever you want.'

"I have to go, say hello to Cole."

"I will. Goodbye and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas and Good Luck." She was sad that she would lose her friendship, soon.

They will be millions of miles away, making calls like this impossible. They would have to trade messages on a ten-minute delay. She would try her best to keep in contact with her. She wanted Hope to tell him and if she were there, she would push her in the right direction.