Read Online Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole - Free Book Online

I prick up our ears.
    “Last year on spring break my mom came to visit us from Oregon. After their divorce, she and my dad still get along. We went to Kingdom COMEedy, a teen street drag show with my drag queen brother Joaquin. Our mom dressed him up and he performed as ‘Tatiana Titi.’”
    Soli and I burst out laughing.
    “Tatiana Titi and her gag partner, Temper Tantrum, dressed to kill. They wore outrageously colorful feathered outfits and tall, thick wigs. They performed the funniest comedy act you’ve ever seen. The crowds were in stitches, until Tatiana Titi changed her tacky clothes and transformed into Joy, an elegant girl.” She looks away from us, then down to the floor. “The audience became dead silent when Joy sang a love song whose lyrics she wrote.” She pauses a moment, then goes on. “She got the biggest standing ovation. Then, out of nowhere, Reina appears from the back of the stage. She hugged her so hard and told the audience she wanted Tatiana Titi to be on her next Drag Me Down TV show!”
    “Yeah, Bitches!” Soli and I honk. That’s our favorite program, the only one we never miss.
    La Gringa clears her voice. “Joy started doing serious underground drag shows when she was twelve. That’s how she made her money.” She throws out a sweet smile then looks down at her long skinny fingers with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. “I’m so relieved she’s got a chance for a better life now.”
    I put my hand on her shoulder. “Yeah. I hope she wins. We’ll be rooting for her.”
    A deep silence fills the room. Suddenly, Soli and I realize Joy was leading a really hard life and now has her first chance for a future.
    Rynn abruptly changes the subject. “What high school will you be transferring to?”
    “I’m quitting school forever.” I take a hot slurp of café-con-leche ; it goes down smooth. “And you?”
    “After my parents divorced, I told my dad if he didn’t transfer me to Delphi High, I’d go live with my mom in Oregon.”
    We talk more about her dating life till Soli spins the focus back on me. “I can’t believe what Fart Face did to you.” She takes a few slurps of café-con-leche , then bites into a churro, and the sugar crystals shower the floor . Neruda licks the floor clean.
    “That’s so horrific.” Rynn’s a great support, which is amazing.
    “If teachers at your school had found texts like mine, wouldn’t they have kicked you out, too?”
    “No way. Our principal is trans. Your instructor’s behavior, then expelling you, would never be permitted in my school. In fact, I think it’s against the law. That’s a cause for hiring a pro bono attorney. That teacher and principal need to be fired.”
    She’s right. But then I’d need to tattle on my mother. She’d get in serious trouble for throwing a minor out of the house. When loving parents who make one wrong move are involved, it’s hard to know what to do.
    “I can’t snitch on my mom. I need to walk away and forget about it,” I tell her. “Your school sounds incredible.”
    “It’s an expensive private school for intellectually gifted and non-ignorant genius kids.” She goofs off and throws me a suave smile. “Like moi. ”
    Soli says, “Shyly’s wicked-smart. A straight-A student. I make A’s and B’s, but her grades never waver. Wish she could afford to sue their ugly asses first, then go to Delphi. If I were wealthy, I’d pay for her tuition there.”
    Rynn’s expression turns droopy. “If I had money to use as I wanted, I’d help you out, too.”
    I really like this girl. She’s a person with a heart. I want to open up to her, but feel a little shy about it.
    Rynn wipes her line-of-a-lip with a napkin. “Delphi is a great school. It’s because you were at a Cuban private school that you were treated that way. Conservative teachers suck so bad.”
    She clears her voice. “My parents are the best, though. They’re totally open-minded. My uncle is an ignorant Republican, like