Next Morning

I walked with Marisol to class since Ruby was walking away from Jasmine.

"So are you going to the dance?" She asked me as we walked out of class.

"Im not sure yet."

"Oh come on! You have to! Ruby isn't going to ask you?" We turned the corner.

"He hasn't asked me yet." I looked down.

"Ayye, dont be sad mamas, he'll ask you out."

"Yeah maybe. If not its fine! We're going in a group anyways!"

"Thats the spirit! Hey, i gotta go, ill see you around." Marisol ran off. I saw Cesar and Monse and Ruby. Ruby held my hand as he looked around. Aww my babys scared. Wait, why is he scared?

"Speaking of paranormal, I think Jasmine might be the candyman." Now i know why he's scared. "Im starting to feel really paranoid. Its like every time I say her name a few times, she just appears." Jamal walks out of nowhere, making us gasp.

"Sorry. Did I scare you?" I nodded my head. "Theres a lot of that going around lately. Its like one second you're minding your own business and then bam!" He yelled, we jumped again. "Beady eyes and rosy cheeks staring right at you."

"I know what you mean." Ruby grabs Jamals arm. "Although I wouldn't really say Jasmine has beady eyes."

"Jasmine? Whos talking about Jasmine?"

"I am! Cause every time I say her name a few tomes, she just appears. Its like Jasmine, Jasmine, Jasmine!"

"Boo!" We all screamed, it was Jasmine. So that means Candyman is real then! Oh god. I held my hand over my chest, catching a breather. "I found you!" Jasmine walks up to Ruby, pushing me to the side.

"You did."

"Whats wrong? You look pale. Are you okay?" She took Ruby to the stairway and sat him down.

"No! Im not okay!" He sighs. I sat down with Jamal.

"Hey we'll catch you guys." Cesar and Monse left. Such love birds.

"Im not okay because i need something. Uh, flaming hot cheetos with chili, champy and extra lime from Rails link truck." I sat back. Raul is retired tho. But he did make the best snacks.

"Well thats too bad cause Raul is-"

"Awesome!" Ruby cuts Jamal off.

"Hey, you know what? Ask papi, and you shall receive." Jamal was started to breathe in and out.

"Thank you. That would be amazing." Jasmine took a puff of her inhaler and ran. I sat next to Ruby, taking her spot.

"You know, that would be amazing. Because Raul is retired." I told him.

"Exactly. Which means, maybe I wont be seeing some of her for quite some time." He gasps. "I mean... im gonna miss her and think nice thoughts about her while shes gone." Right.

Rubys House

School ended and we headed to Rubys. Monse couldnt come because she was meeting up with Julia.

"No, im Not cool with this. Why cant the money stay with you?" Ruby yelled at Jamal, who brought the bag of money.

"Because its your turn!"

"Since when are we taking turns?" I asked.

"Im just the bag man." Cesar said as Ruby looks at him.

"Wheres Monse?"

"Shes not coming." I said as I sat up from my chair.

"If she not here to vote, how are we supposed to make any decisions?" I pulled out my phone and pressed play.

"I designate Val as my proxy." I knew this was going to happen and I had some time with Monse to do this.

"Ill allow it." Jamal sucks his teeth.

"Okay. So lets get started. Anybody got any ideas?" Jamal raises his hand.

"Right here. I think we draw up the fake business plan for an owl cafe. Owl Pacinos Cappuccinos. Get investors to front is the startup money, then using that money, make our business look even more legitimate and attract even more investors-" i grabbed my phone and pressed play.

"Jamal, its a bad idea." Like sorry J, thats a bad idea yet.

"How do I debate with her if shes not even here?" I shrugged. Why is this so hard! I just wanna take a nap!

"Theres no debate. Its a bad idea." Abueltia said from the living room. "And a Ponzi scheme."

"We know." Jamal told her.

"Actually, it sounds like you dont. What you need is a cash business so you can take your old bills, which you cant use, and turn them into new bills, which you can." There! Thats our answer!

"Well, everyone in favor of using Abueltias cash business to turn our old bills into new bills say aye!"

"Aye!" We all said and raised our hands.

"No. No. I mean..." she thought about it. "Yes, it could work." We all gathered around the living room, sitting on the couch. "Maybe. But its going to take some time. And... i get a little something on top of my 20% share of the money, right?"

"What? How can you even make this about money? We're family!" Ruby tells her.

"And you should never do business with family." I nodded, true. "Which is why i shouldnt even be thinking about helping you."

"Well, 20% is out of the question. We're already splitting the money four ways."

"Four ways?" She sounded confused. "Insult upon insult. You want to cut me out. And you!" She points at Jamal. "Theres pendejos, besides Valeria, didn't believe on you. They called you pathetic." Ruby turned to Jamal, raising his hands.

"I never said that."

"But he thought it. And thats worse." There was a knock on the door. "Get that!" She tells Ruby. Ruby groans and walks up to the door and revealed Jasmine, panting. What are we gonna do with the money now! Ruby then slams the door in Jasmines face. There goes his 'charity'.

""What?" We all sat there, stunned of what he did.

"Okay, you know all that work youre doing to get right with the universe? Well, that just undid it." Jamal told him as we nodded.

"No." Ruby lied. "That was just one misstep. Thats not how karma works."

"Actually, i think that's exactly how karma works." Cesar tells him.

"No! One good deed undoes one bad one. One for one."

"Nope, sorry papi."

"if that were true, you could literally go out and murder a baby seal." I frowned. A what now? "And then as ling as you recycled your compost, youd be good. Judging from what I just saw, you're like three dead baby seals in the red." Why baby seals!?

"More like cinco." Abueltia adds.

"You gotta apologize." I told him.

"Listen to the girlfriend." Jamal points at me. Ruby goes to Jasmines to apologize, while me, Jamal, and Cesar hid in Abueltias car. She got inside. "Abueltia!" She screams and pulls out a weapon, pointing at us. We backed up in the seats. Where did she get that from?!

"Get out!" She screamed.

"Abueltia." Jamal was surprise but shocked. "Listen to me. Im begging you. We cant do this without you! We need you!"

"Like tacos need Tuesday!" Cesar said.

"Like los Dinos need Selena!" I added.

"Like Batman needs Robin." Jamal nods.

"Does Batman really need Robin?" She asked. Well, if you put that way. No. She scoffs. "All im hearing is how much you need me. The real question is why do I need you?" I saw Willy pulling up. That was cue.

"Sorry guys, but dinner is waiting for me at home." I scooted out of the car and ran back home. Willy saw me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. We had dinner, chicken and beans, made by the lovely Jacky. We went to our daily places, i did my homework, listening to music. I heard a knock on my window. I opened my blinds and saw Ruby. "Hey, que paso?"

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"Come on in." He jumped into my room. I closed my door, just incase Willy comes in. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Im mad." We sat down on my bed.

"At who?"

"The universe. I know it doesnt make sense, but i felt like if maybe the universe would stop making me feel so mad about Olivia." I looked down. Olivia. God i miss her.

"What if I told you that you are the universe?" Ruby started to tear up.

"I know Jasmine said I have more control than you think, but it doesnt feel that way." He sobs. "I just wanna go back to before all this happened. I keep replaying everything in my head. She wanted to cancel the quince. What if i hadn't forced her to have it?"

"Amor, you did nothing wrong. This isn't on you." I grabbed his hand. My heart was breaking for him.

"What if I hadnt pulled her on the dance floor? Or what if I hadnt swung her around when I saw Latrelle? Maybe the bullet would have only gone through her and just kill me." I started to cry. I never knew this is what Ruby would think.

"You did nothing wrong." I touched his cheek.

"I should've dropped to the floor, or ducked down!"

"Ruby, you didn't do anything wrong!"

"You keep saying that. But-"

"Stop blaming yourself. There is nothing that you could have or you should have done. Nothing. And you know why? Ay mi Ruby, cause for all the reasons that you're trying to make right to the universe. The universe keeps going." We looked at each other. "Its fate. God works in mysterious ways. You cant change anything. I know how you feel, you think you should've done this or that, but it happened. No matter how much you want that person back, you just have to keep on living. Bad things happen to good people all the time. For no reason."

"Thank you." I nodded my head.

"Come on." I hugged him. We laid in bed for hours, it got dark.

"Did you say that to yourself when your dad died?" He asked me.

"All the time." I sniffed. "I was so mad at everything, but i knew that wasn't going to solve anything. So what I did was move on, because that what I thought he would want me to do." We sat up. "Olivia would be proud of you Ruby."

"Really?"

"100%." I kissed him. He jumped out of my window and headed home. I felt so bad for him. He doesn't deserve this. I stayed in bed, looking at old photos until I heard arguing from outside.

"Get out of here Celia!" Willy yells out. I open the door to see her on the drive way.

"Give me what I want and I leave." She said in a cold tone. Willy saw me.

"Get back inside, i got this." He pushed me back.

"No, let her stay. Valeria, give me the money." I shook my head. Money? What money? Does she know about the Rollerworld money?

"She's not gonna give you anything. Just go!" Celia walks up the Willy. "You got nothing here."

"Your father left money-"

"He didnt." I said. "You're drunk, nothing new, nothing changed. My dad, He hated you, why would he leave anything for you?" There was this look in her eyes. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to her. I yelped as she started to hurt me. "Let me go!"

"Dont you dare talk to me like that!"

"We told you, he left us nothing. Now get out! You're nothing to me!" I felt a hard slap going across my face. I fell back. I held my eye, Willy ran to me.

"Willy, Im calling the cops." Jacky said as she ran out of the house. Celia quickly got out of the yard and drove off. Willy helped me up and took me inside. I had an icepack over my eye. "Why was she here?"

"She thinks we have money, that my dad left money for her." I shook my head. I thought she was gone. I really did. Why does this happen to me? Bad things happen to good people, right.