Crossing the Line by Malín Alegría Page A

it?”
    â€œBut where did you get it? I thought they fired you from Burger King.”
    â€œNo one fired me. I quit that place,” Santiago said. He grabbed a Coke from the refrigerator and downed it without pausing for air. No one said a word. Their minds were racing with speculations.
    â€œAnd that’s just the beginning, Mom,” he continued. “I got this new job. It’s going to pay me a lot of money, you’ll see. You won’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’m going to take care of you now.” Santiago smiled, puffing out his chest. A country melody chirped from his phone. Santiago said he had to go. He helped himself to a pan dulce and took off, leaving the group in a stunned state of silence.
    Abuelita Alpha sniffed loudly, breaking the uncomfortable stillness.
    Fabi’s aunt Consuelo turned on her quickly. “Don’t you dare!”
    â€œDid I say anything?” Abuelita Alpha retorted. Her eyes were growing large. “But if he’s hanging out with those Salinas boys now, nothing good will come out of it, you hear me?”
    Consuelo stood up. “I can’t listen to this.” She grabbed her purse and stormed out the door.
    â€œThe truth burns. Burns like the holy cross,” Abuelita Alpha mumbled to herself as she sipped the cup of coffee in front of her. “That child is a bad seed. I always thought so.”
    â€œMamá!” Magda cried, shocked.
    â€œDon’t tell me you weren’t thinking it! Por el árbol se conoce el fruto .”
    â€œYa basta!” Leo called out. Enough! “Santiago is a good kid. Sure, he gets in trouble, but who didn’t at his age? He didn’t rob Chuy. And I don’t want to hear any more gossip about this unless you have proof. We all know how gossip spreads like wildfire here.”
    Abuelita Alpha huffed loudly in disapproval, crossing her arms and legs, but Fabi sighed with relief. She hated to think her cousin could do such a thing, and she hated everyone talking about him behind his back like this.
    Just then Fabi’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. It was a text from Santiago saying to meet him behind the restaurant. Leonardo and Magda had gone into the kitchen to discuss the incident in private. Quiet murmurs started again from the table. Fabi mumbled some excuse about watering the cactus, not that anyone noticed, and slid out of the room.
    The screen door slammed loudly behind her. It was a cloudy night and she didn’t even have the stars to help orient her. She turned on the light switch. The dull yellow glow from the bulb over-head created shadows that jumped out from the corners, trash cans, and random junk her dad dumped back there. An owl hooted from behind the shed. It reminded her of the stories she heard as a kid of La Lechuza , the witch who could turn into an owl, predicting death. Of course, Fabi didn’t believe in those scary bedtime tales. But the soft hooting still made her kind of nervous.
    Then a figure jumped out from the shadows and grabbed her.
    â€œAghhhhhhh!” Fabi cried, jumping.
    Santiago started to laugh and then he said in a scary old lady voice, “ La Lechuza is coming to get you.”
    â€œNot. Funny.” Fabi punched his shoulder. She didn’t want to admit he really scared her, and was thinking of the exact same scary story.
    Santiago laughed harder, practically doubled over in hysterics. “You should see your face. I thought you were going to wet your pants.”
    Fabiola couldn’t believe him, pulling pranks after what had just happened. “What do you want, Santiago? Why did you call me out here?”
    Santiago wiped his eyes and finally regained control. “It’s not a big deal. I just need you to hold something for me. You got the key for the shed, right?”
    A warning light flashed in Fabi’s mind. “Why? Why do you want the key? Why not just ask my dad?”
    â€œWhoa,”