Fifteen Candles by Veronica Chambers

after Alicia, looking fabulous in a red sundress with a bubble skirt.
    â€œHola, loca,” she said, giving Alicia a besito on the cheek.
    She sat down at the table and took a sketch pad out of her World Food Program bag.
    â€œI’m so excited about designing my first quince dress,” Carmen said. She took out an ad for DiaNoches, a fancy boutique in Coral Gables that specialized in quince dresses. The owner of DiaNoches also happened to be Simone Baldonado’s mom. “Have you seen this?” Carmen asked.
    â€œNope, but it’s good research, right?” Alicia said, flipping through the pages.
    â€œHardly,” Carmen scoffed. “It’s one poufy dress after another. These girls don’t look like quinces , they look like plastic wedding-cake toppers!”
    Alicia laughed. “Look at this one! I feel like the hosts of that show What Not to Wear . These girls are serious fashion victims, in need of help that only we can provide.”
    Jamie arrived and took a seat next to Carmen.
    â€œSo, what’s up?” Jamie said to Alicia. Then she added, “Nice outfit.”
    â€œThanks,” Alicia said, with a small smile. She knew what Jamie was doing. She was trying to make amends, but she was never actually going to apologize. That was typical Jamie.
    When Gaz slid into the booth, Alicia let out a breath. He had a way of easing tension—spoken or unspoken. A moment later, a waiter came. He took their drink orders, then asked if they were ready to order food.
    â€œWe should probably wait for our client to arrive,” Alicia told him.
    Jamie couldn’t resist the opportunity to get in a dig. “Client?” she said. “Oh, is that what you call a fourteen-year-old girl who wants a quince ?”
    Alicia was steamed. “Duh. That’s what a quince business is—helping fourteen-year-old girls plan parties of legendary proportions. And yes,” she added to her friends, “we can call her a client, because we are doing this! With parents on board, Amigas Incorporated is now open for business.”
    â€œYeah, and what’s up with dissing the fourteen-year-olds?” Carmen asked.
    Because she was so tall, so mature-looking, and such a fantastic seamstress, it was easy for them to forget that Carmen had skipped the second grade. And even though they had all just finished the tenth grade, she was only fourteen, a year younger than Alicia and Jamie. Gaz, on the other hand, was sixteen. His English hadn’t been that great when his family came to the U.S., and his mother had decided to let him repeat a grade so he could catch up.
    â€œOkay, try this on for size,” Gaz said to Jamie. “ Cállate . Be really nice to Alicia or you quit the club. We’re all still friends, we can all chill, but if you don’t respect her vision, then you oughtta bounce. She’s working really hard to pull this all together.”
    Jamie looked as if she were about to make a comment about Alicia’s “vision,” but a stern glare from Gaz stopped her in her tracks.
    â€œAre you in or out?” Gaz said.
    â€œI’m in,” Jamie said. “You guys know how I am. I’m quick to speak my mind, but I’m always down for my peeps.”
    â€œApology accepted,” Alicia said with a wink. She didn’t want to fight anymore and knew that the implied apology was all she was going to get.
    Just then, Sarita arrived. She was dressed in a zebra-print halter top, black shorts, and black gladiator sandals.
    â€œHey, y’all, sorry I’m late,” she said, taking the seat next to Alicia. After introductions had been made, she went on: “My mom is so psyched that we’re going to get some help in the quince planning. But she wants to know how much this is all going to cost. We’ve got a five-thousand-dollar budget, but we hadn’t thought we’d be paying a party-planner, too. So I want to make sure