CHAPTER 2

Ugh, I’m so tired. Should I stay in bed or go eat. Might as well eat. As I hop out of bed, Alexa comes in glowing as brightly as the sun. “Buenos días, adormilado! ¡Date prisa y vístete (Good morning, you sleepyhead. Hurry up and get dressed)!” she says.

“But what about breakfast?” I say rubbing my eyes with a voice of sleep.

“You’ll eat soon enough. Now hurry up.”. And with that, she turns to leave. I ended up wearing a red crop top with polka dots on it. I head downstairs to run smack into my dad. It's been almost a week since my outburst. But that’s come and gone.

“¡Hola papá!(Hi dad)” I say.

"¿Por qué hola, Gabi? Estás segura de que no tienes prisa hoy, ¿verdad?(Why hello, Gabi. You’re sure in a rush today aren't you.)”

“Yep. I’ll be back soon, Papa.”. Alexa helped me with my Spanish and now I’m %100 fluent. I head out the door where Alexa is waiting for me.

“What took you so long slowpoke,” she says. Oh. Forgot to mention. I taught Alexa English and now she is perfectly fluent in it. To add to that, Nellie is back.

“I don't know. Maybe it’s because I woke up literally 9 minutes ago.” I say.

She replies with, “Geez. It was just a simple question. But anyway, let’s go!” We walked and walked and walked.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“How much longer until we actually get there?” I ask.

“Not much further. In fact. We're here!”. I look up and see a giant tree fortress. It’s as big as a house. “No one knows about this place. I built it myself. Took me two whole years.” Alexa says. The fact that she’s showing me this is incredible. “I can tell by your face that you appreciate it. And you’re welcome. Now. Come on. Let’s go!”. We run all the way up to the door. Once we’re inside, I feel like I'm in an actual home. The wallpaper is nice. There’s a marble floor. Stairs! “To the dining room!” she says. We enter a room with a long table with a whole bunch of food on it. “Don’t just stand there gaping,” Alexa says. “Eat up! I didn’t go nagging Nellie for nothing.”.

“Well, what are we waiting for. Let’s chow down!”. This is the most I’ve ever eaten. Soon I’ll be fatter than Garfield.“We better get goin’.” says Alexa.

“Yeah.” I say. “We better.”

Maybe we can actually be friends, I think. I smile at the thought.

“¡Papi! ¡Estamos en casa(Daddy! We’re home!)!” yells Alexa. No one answers. “Papa?!” she says again. Still no answer. “Papa!” she says again, this time screaming. That’s when we notice, broken glass all over the place. We gasp in horror.

“Nellie! Where's Nellie?!” I say. Wouldn’t she be here at a time of a crisi- BOOM! A loud noise interrupts my thoughts. We rush all over the mansion trying to find the location of the noise.

“Why’d we have to go and have a mansion?” Alexa says. I couldn’t help but make a face. She could at least be grateful she had a home. I’ve always wanted a bigger house instead of living in a small apartment. But that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is finding Papi.

“Papi!” me and Alexa say in unison. He was lying in a puddle of blood on the floor.

“Girls! Get out of here now!” he shrieks. “Silence,” says the intruder. “ This is a warning. Don’t get in Mr. Chavez Martìnez’s way again. You stole his woman, so don’t push it or he’ll steal your life.”. He raised his gun and shot Dad.

“NO!” yelled Alexa.