"No, asshole. I don't speak Spanish." Amanda yelled at the man buying a movie ticket from her.
"Well, shit. you gots to be the first Mexican I 'ver met that don't speak Mexican." The elder man shot back in a hillbilly accent.
"Welcome to the 21st Century. Enjoy you're movie". She replied condescendingly with a big ass smile.
Truth was she didn't know if she was Mexican or not, but 23 And Me said there was a 87.9% chance she was indigenous. The other percentage told her unknown.
Amanda Hernandez was your average 17 year old, from a small Christian state. She had dark brown hair, green eyes, and was 5'5. She worked a summer job at the local movie theater. Saving up for her big move to California. Just one more week and I'm out of this hell hole. She told herself. Growing up in the foster care system was atrocious. She bounced from small town to smaller town. Never being able to make friends. She studied as much as she could, so she wouldn't be placed a year behind from moving cities so often. No time for friends between studying and working, but also because the world made fun of her raggedy clothes and holes in her shoes. She didn't spend her money on these things as she knew one day she'd need it to leave and start a new life. She didn't attend dances, social events, or even her own prom. Zero fu*ks given, she just wanted to stay focused. In one week, she'd be moving into her dorm and going to college.
She dreamed of a life in California. All she wanted was to be weird with the weirdos in Hollywood. She was tired of the Christian families and the Christian ways. She honestly believed there was more power in the moon than any book about saints and angels. She didn't believe in demonds and things that go bump in the night. She had her fair share of fu*ked up foster families and orphanges that nothing could be worse. She lived in places that nightmares were made of. She was in a horrible house, until an amazing social worker came into her life at 15.
Maria Hernandez showed her there was so much more to life. That she could do anything. Maria took her in and gave her a last name. Maria taught her all about plants and nature and what it felt like to be loved. Shortly after Amandas 16th birthday Maria had run into some trouble on a hike. She was rushed to a hospital but it was too late. Doctors told Amanda it was an animal attack. Amanda was on her own and became emancipated. She told herself she was going to be a doctor and help people. She knew Maria would be proud, as Maria's goal was to help as many people as she could. Amanda wanted to pay it forward. Maria had left Amanda all her belongings and an odd gift for her 18th birthday. Amanda was instructed to call her laywer two days before her 18th birthday. Amanda was sure it was a car. Amanda begged for a car, but Maria had always joked about never needing a car once she turned 18.
The night grew cold and Amanda was finally off work. She headed home on foot, as cars drove past her. She walked in the moonlight excited for her new life, her new adventure. She promised herself, she was going to make friends.
She reached home and changed into pjs, but she wasn't sleepy. So she marched into Maria's room and started to bring out the boxes that had been packed up. She wanted to take them all with her, but didn't know how. It wasn't that many as Maria had only lived there for 3 years. She thought she'd go through them and see if there's anything she could donate. As she opened the second box with sweaters, she had an idea of making a quilt. That way she could take them all. They still smelled like her. She picked up the last one in the box and hugged it. At the bottom of the box were some old photos. Holy shit Maria was hot! Amanda thought as she looked through the pictures. Maria was surrounded by good looking men with muscles for days. She pulled out another picture that said Bayside Pack Princess. Maybe she was in a pageant. Amanda guessed. She knew Maria had been in a sorority as she often talked about her sisterhood. She thought maybe these girls were her sisters. She tried to find some type of contacts when she had died, but they didn't retrieve a phone from the attack and all Amanda knew was her lawyer from the adoption, neighbors, and co-workers. Maria always said her sisters were her family. She saw the different names on the sweaters and wished she could have met them to hear the old stories. She found a photo that said "Call me!!! ybs Cindy" with a number to it. It's been over 20 years, but Amanda would try the number in the morning before her last shift at work. She didn't know what ybs was, but the two looked soo happy in this photo with their 1990 hair cuts.
The next morning Amanda piled as many sweaters as she could into her backpack and back into one box that she could carry with her. She stacked the photos on the counter. She'd need to buy an album for them. She already uploaded them to her G-drive, but just couldn't throw them away. She called the number on the back of the photo and a young girl answered the phone.
"Pack residence, who are you calling for?" the girl said.
"Pack residence? , oh umm I'm looking for a person named Cindy but would have had this number in the 90s?" Amanda said.
"Luna, someone on the phone asking about 90s!" the girl yelled out. Another person picked up the phone, and said "Thanks Ren! Hello?" while the girl hung up.
"Hi, sorry. Is this Cindy? My name is Amanda Hernandez. And..." Amanda was cut off before she could finish.
"Did you say Cindy?" Asked the lady.
"oh, uh, yah. Are you Cindy?"
"Who is this again?"
"Amanda Hernandez"
"Hernandez as in Maria? Are you her little girl?"
"Yes, that's why I'm calling"
"Oh My Goddess. Sugar we've been waiting for you to come visit us. I haven't heard those names in years darlin is it time?"
"Oh, you're not Cindy but you knew Maria?"
"Of course I know them, and I'm married to her brother. Is Maria there, we've been missing her so much. It's been years since she reached out."
Brother? Amanda thought. Fu*k this is going to be harder than I thought.
"Oh, I'm sorry to tell you Maria passed."
There was silence on the phone until the lady asked "What? When? How?" you could hear the emotions run through her and then she yelled "Mark!" and began to cry. Amanda heard a man quick grab the phone and ask "Who is this?"
"Amanda Hernandez" Amanda replied.
"You're Maria's pup I mean..kid... Where's Maria? What happened?" Mark questioned.
"I'm sorry to tell you, about a year and three months ago she passed away from an accident while hiking. Doctor's think it was a wild wolf attack as her blood was tainted and the bite marks on her body."
"Over a year ago and no one told me!" Mark yelled into the phone.
"I'm sorry Sir. I didn't have a contact number for you."
"Where are you? I'm coming to you!"
"Springdale, Utah. Sir." Amanda said extremely scared.
"I'll be there tomorrow and you can show me where it happened."
Before Amanda could say anything or even give out her address Mark hung up. Amanda was in shock. What just happened?
Amanda's phone just went off and she quickly picked up.
"Hello?"
Amanda honey, this is Nancy, Mark's wife. What's your address? Also, I'll go ahead and tell Cindy and the rest of the family."
"Family?" Amanda questioned.
"Oh yes, honey. We've got quite a big family. We were all looking forward in meeting you in a couple years. Maria said she wanted to bond with you first. But had we known you were alone, we would have taken you in a heartbeat."
Feeling very awkward as she is now emancipated, Amanda replies: "Here's my address. I've got to get going as I have one more stop before I start work. Sorry I dont have any blankets or pillows or even a couch or bed here, but you are welcome to stay."
They ended the conversation as Amanda raced to the quilting shop to have the blanket made and shipped to her dorm.