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For this scene, I recommend listening to “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias. This song is playing in the scene.
East Row – Imperial Gardens
It is a quarter past 4 PM. The sun is still shining over bright birthday balloons floating between iron gates. Streamers flap gently in the wind, casting quicksilver shadows in the sunlight. The warm afternoon sun glazes the pavement in gold while the smell of grilled elote and cinnamon sugar churros wafts through the air. A family celebration is in full swing.
Ashley Lora is walking into the Imperial Gardens. It is her cousin Yvette’s 24th birthday. Picnic tables are lined with food trays—tamales, arroz con pollo, chips, and agua frescas. Kids run by with painted faces, tugging at each other during a game of tag. On the side, a Lotería game is underway, abuelos and tías shouting at their cards while waving dollar bills. Laughter bounces off apartment balconies. Lotería cards slap against plastic tables. The party is alive.
As she approaches her family, she can hear Enrique Iglesias's “Bailando" playing through the speakers in the center of the park.
Oooooh Bailaaannnnndooo, my favorite!
She sees her cousin and yells, “Eve! Happy Birthday, mami!”
Yvette turns and sees her. Her face lights up instantly. “Ashleyyy!”
She runs to Ashley and hugs her, almost tackling her, as they sway side to side together. “I missed you, prima! What’s up?! How are youuu?!” Yvette kisses her cheek annoyingly.
“Ewww, stop!”
“Come, we have to take a shot! Tío José brought Don Julio,” Yvette says.
She runs them to the table, where the rest of Ashley’s family is. She greets and kisses everyone on the cheek while Yvette prepares the shots. Yvette hands her the glass.
“Here! Vamos! Vamos!”
Ashley takes a lime off the table, grabs the shot glass from Yvette, and they swig the shot. Both of their faces wince, and Yvette begins snapping her fingers. Ashley bites into the lime.
Yvette grabs Ashley’s hand and pulls her away. She leads them to the area where some of their family are dancing. Yvette takes hold of Ashley’s other hand as they begin dancing, swaying their arms up and down with their hips moving to the rhythm of the music. Ashley—bright and smiling—is fully present in the joy.
As time winds down and the party hits its peak, Ashley’s tía, Yvette’s mom, Mary, raises her voice above the music: “Mija, go get the cake! It’s time!” Ashley flashes a grin and heads off toward her car to retrieve it.
Her smile softens. She steps beyond the gate, heels clicking like warning drums against the concrete. Outside, a group of thugs hang out on the stairs of a nearby apartment building. One of them, a slender Hispanic man, spots her.
“Sup, Ash! Why you ain’t call me yet?” he calls with a cocky grin.
Hell no. Ashley ignores him and heads toward her car. Uninvited, he breaks from the group and approaches. He reaches out to hug her. She shoves him off hard.
“Qué carajos, Ash? What’s wrong with you?”
“What we did was a mistake. And it’ll never happen again, Marco. I don’t think we should talk or interact anymore. Besides… where’s your little girlfriend at anyway?”
He smacks his lips and grabs her waist as she walks past him, birthday cake in hand. Ashley yanks free.
“Fuck you then, perra!” he snarls, and with a swift, angry motion, he smacks the birthday cake from her hand onto the ground.
NOOOOOOO! PIECE OF SHIT!
Without hesitation, Ashley throws a flush punch to his jaw, dropping him instantly. His crew erupts.
“OHHHH!” “Damn!”
Marco’s boys bang hard on the apartment door, shouting and laughing. Moments later, the door swings open, and a young woman—his girlfriend—storms out, clutching a kitchen knife. She spots Marco on the ground and screams his name before rushing at Ashley.
Without flinching, Ashley sets her feet and sidesteps as the girl swings wild. The blade misses. Ashley catches her wrist, twists hard, and knees her in the gut. The knife clatters to the ground. In two more swift motions—left jab, right hook—Ashley drops her, standing tall as the girl crumples.
The crowd is silent—until one of the thugs mutters, “Damn… she really did them foul, foo.”
The fight is over before it begins.
Ashley adjusts her shirt, glares at the crowd, slowly exhales, then picks up what’s left of the cake tray and walks back toward the party without a word. Every eye followed her, but no one said a word. Her heart thuds like it is still dodging knives—but her face doesn’t show it.
The music stalls. No one touches their food. Sugar and frosting trail down her shirt, but she walks like nothing happened. Her pulse still hammers beneath the surface.
She returns to her family, holding the ruined cake with a shrug. The laughter quiets as everyone sees the mess. Kids freeze from playing after she returns with frosting on her. She sighs and turns to Yvette:
“I'm sorry, Eve. It got dropped on the way over. But… I brought something better.”
Ashley pulls out two tickets to the Viperial Expo from her jacket pocket and holds them out. Yvette gasps and lights up.
“You serious?! I've wanted to go since I was, like, ten!”
Ashley grins. Yvette pulls her into a tight embrace that smells like vanilla perfume and shea butter. They hold the hug for a long moment, smiling through it. Yvette dabs her finger into some of the frosting on Ashley’s shirt and licks it off.
“Ahhh, las fresas? My favorite! Thank you again, Ash! You’re mi prima favorita!” she says, kissing Ashley on the cheek, this time with much more emphasis.
Ashley begins chuckling as her eyes begin to water.
The ruined cake is forgotten—the day is whole again.
Ready for the next chapter in Birth of the Warriors? Jump into Chapter 4: Fall of the Hour!