Falling Too Fast by Malín Alegría Page B

restaurant jarred her senses. But then she smelled the food. “Starving,” Alexis replied. “I’ll have two slices of the Meat-Lovers’ Delight with everything on it.”
    Christian smiled. “I think I will, too.”
    Alexis couldn’t help but crack a smile. While he was ordering, Alexis sent a quick text to Santiago, so he wouldn’t worry.
    They grabbed their drinks and headed to an empty booth by the window. Christian stared at her expectantly. All of a sudden Alexis felt her nerves explode and her face start to sweat. I’m sitting in a booth with Christian Luna! She couldn’t think of a word to say.
    â€œThat was some great singing back there,” Christian finally said, leaning back in his plastic seat. Alexis did a double take. Was that a compliment or a joke? she wondered. He noticed her confused expression and started to turn bright red. “I mean, I thought it was cool. I never knew people actually did that sort of thing nowadays, you know?”
    She took a big gulp from her drink. “Yeah, it was pretty crazy.”
    Christian stared at her from across the table as if she were some fascinating new species he’d just discovered. Then he leaned across the table and asked: “So why did you do it? You hardly know me. We met once, at the college day, right? How did you know I’d come out of my house?”
    Just then the pizza arrived. Alexis reached for her slice and scarfed the piping-hot food down, burning the roof of her mouth. “I don’t really know why I did it,” she said between bites. “I just thought we should get to know each other. I’m a singer; you’re a singer.” She cringed at her words. They sounded lame, even to her ears.
    Christian smiled. “You could have just come up to me, you know?”
    â€œYeah, but I’m sure lots of girls like you.” Alexis blushed, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I wanted to do something memorable. There’s something about performing mariachi music that makes everything seem more vibrant and alive. When I heard you sing onstage, it made me want to sing back.” Alexis covered her mouth with her hands. She’d said too much. Now she definitely sounded like an insane person.
    Christian laughed in a friendly way. Alexis sighed with relief. “You are definitely something else,” he said, chewing on his slice. “I think maybe you’ve been watching too many old movies. But I know what you mean about mariachi music making you feel alive. When I’m onstage I’m like this totally different person.” He chuckled. “I like to wear all black, and pretend to be all deep, like some kind of rock star, but it’s just an act.”
    â€œI don’t think it’s all an act,” Alexis said softly. She thought back to Christian’s words. “I think mariachi shows us our potential. Who we can become if we believe in ourselves and work hard.”
    Christian tilted his head at her. “Is that the speech you gave to the amateurs who pretended to play behind you tonight?”
    She jerked back and shot him a hurt look.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he stammered, shaking his head. “Sometimes I don’t think before I speak. What your friends did tonight was sweet. And I think they did a good job acting out their parts to the music.”
    â€œThey may be amateurs, but they have heart. They’ve come a long way. You should have seen Santiago when he started. He didn’t know how to hold an accordion upright at first, and Karina didn’t even know what a harp was.” Alexis was a little surprised to find herself defending her group members so fiercely. “They wanted to help me do this, but they weren’t quite ready, so they offered to use the CD.”
    â€œI’m sorry I said anything about them. Really. I think it’s great that they’re learning music.” His cheeks reddened and