･💋˙ ˖ ZOEY WRITES

the boy sighed in relief when sofia averted her glance from the crowd and focused her eyes on him instead. “mission accomplished,” he thought to himself as she appeared distracted by his maneuver and seemed no longer occupied by the absence of her boyfriend. his eyes softened at the sight of her gliding gracefully through his fingers. matias did not know a whole lot about the girl, but he knew that she loved to dance. daniel liked to brag about his girlfriend’s natural talent for the sport, often emphasizing how he liked to put her flexibility to use in the bedroom. matias cared less about his friend’s continuous bragging about his sex life, but he found sofia’s love for dancing to be rather intriguing. although he wasn’t much of a dancer himself, - back home, matias preferred to find himself a quiet spot at the carnaval and admire the dancing crowds from afar, - but coming from a background of samba and tropicália, an innate love for rhythm was something sofia and matias had in common. naturally, her love for dance only made her more attractive to the young man. a faint tinge of color flushed the girl’s cheeks when he complimented her and matias grinned widely at her response. “go big or go home. those are some famous words to live by.” he shrugged when she returned the compliment, his eyes glancing down at his outfit. “i try.” instead of his usual gym attire, matias was wearing his favorite pair of blue jeans and a white, freshly ironed t-shirt. he’d swapped his gym shoes for a pair of fresh nikes and he’d even accessorized with some bling: a gold chain, a matching ring and a watch. personally, he thought his fit was a bit of a lazy attempt compared to the dress she was pulling off, but it was a compliment he was willing to take. he cocked his eyebrow when she brought up his bruises again and laughed when she mentioned his ‘mojo’. this was a more talkative, dare I say sassier, side of the small brunette that he’d never seen before, and matias would be lying if he said he wasn’t amused by it. “like i said, i’ve had worse than a beating. i’ll gladly take another shot of tequila from you later, ‘though.” he winked as he turned to grab his glass of whiskey from their table. “besides, your boyfriend’s a sore loser. we’ve gotta let him win every once in a while.” he joked, ‘though the smile disappeared abruptly from his face when she went on to talk about her boyfriend, talking about how things had changed. he stared at her and couldn’t help but look over to her boyfriend, who was now standing less than five meters away from them. the blonde girl was now standing in front of him, his hands traveling up and down her hips. matias brought the glass of whiskey to his mouth. he swallowed deeply- one gulp, then another, and one more. he silently thanked the Lord when she changed the subject and nodded in agreement. “it’s a pretty good spot, huh? i gotta give it to jay, ‘though. he’s the one who gets us VIP treatment all the time. where is that man, anyway?” matias looks up to find jay and his girlfriend, but is distracted by sofia’s boyfriend again. him and the blonde seem awfully close to grinding now. “I’m guessing you must like drake, then.” matias asks as he turns back to face her, attempting to keep their conversation going without appearing too distracted. “you didn’t strike me as the ‘cute with a hood-ass playlist’ kind of girl.”

he grinned at the bow of her head. “tequila, hm? I like your style.” matias raised his brow as he reached for two frosted shot glasses. daniel had already disappeared out of sight, and matias decided that he would take it upon himself to make sure that the girl enjoyed herself regardless. he was the one that convinced her to tag along, after all. “allow me to pour you one.” it was obvious that the nightclub had made it their priority to cater to its VIP customers. the table was equipped with all the ingredients one may need. provided with lime, ice cubes, liquor, shot glasses and a range of cocktail ingredients, the booth looked nothing short of an alcoholic’s dream. “fuck it, I’ll have one too.” matias was not unaccustomed to the tequila ritual. he licked the side of his clenched fist and sprinkled salt on the wet spot while pushing one of two salt shakers in front of sofia. next, he poured a measure of two fingers in each shot glass. after he set the bottle of tequila down, he handed her one of the shots. he held up the strong liquor in his hand and smiled as he said, “cheers.” matias licked the salt off the back of his hand and shot the tequila down in one gulp, squeezing a slice of lemon into his mouth as a chaser. he grimaced as he placed the shot glass gently on the side of the table, somehow he’d never gotten used to the taste of tequila. he wiped his mouth as his eyes scanned the room, checking to see what the girl’s boyfriend was up to. when he looked over his shoulder, he watched in disgust as he found the young man gulping straight from a bottle of hennessy, his arm wrapped around a blonde girl’s shoulders. turning back to face sofia, he realized that he needed to think of some sort of distraction to ensure that she wouldn’t have to see the fuckery her boyfriend was getting himself into. “hey,” he started, “show me your dress.” he improvised as he took her hand and twirled her around two times, then pulling her to stand in his previous spot, - so that her body was turned away from her boyfriend -, in a fast, fluid movement. “I don’t mean no disrespect, but you look beautiful tonight. your boyfriend’s a lucky man.“

when matias arrived at the nightclub that evening, jay and his new girlfriend had already arrived. he greeted his friend and introduced himself to his new fling as he found himself a seat at their table. jay was the kind of guy that knew anyone and everyone, and he had been so kind to arrange VIP entrance for all of his friends that night, which came with the comfort of a private booth — including free drinks. matias immediately made use of the open bar and ordered himself two double whiskeys. he drank from the two glasses until his eyes watered and the strong drink burned the lining of his throat. “fuck,” he winced as he leaned back into the velvet sofa, allowing the alcoholic beverage to absorb into his bloodstream. about thirty minutes passed, and matias had grown bored of the mind-numbing conversation him and georgina, - one of his old flings -, were having when jay tapped him on the shoulder and notified him that daniel and sofia had walked into the spot. matias looked over his shoulder and nearly choked on his drink when he saw them emerging from the crowd. or should I say, when he saw her.  the boy couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering over sofia as they walked up to their table. up, down, up, down. the girl, who’s arm was hooked tightly into the crook of her boyfriend’s elbow, looked ravishingly beautiful in a dress that he’d never seen her wear before. the boy hated to be disrespectful but damn, he wondered why a girl like her put up with daniel’s bullshit. matias excused himself as he left georgina at their table and got up from his seat to greet the young couple. “what’s up, guys?” he greeted them as he pulled his gym parner into a tight embrace. “i’m glad you guys made it.” he gave sofia a warm smile as he gestured towards the various bottles of alcohol displayed on their table. “pick your poison, gatinha.”

matias looked from sofia to daniel and he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow at her response. her words seemed almost instinctive, as if she knew her boyfriend wouldn’t accept ‘yes’ for an answer. “you sure?” he asked her directly, but daniel awarded her no time to speak. “sofia doesn’t like nightclubs.” matias could feel his eyes burning on his skin. if looks could kill, he would be a dead man. he was sure daniel wasn’t fond of the idea of his girlfriend tagging along, but matias felt sorry about the way he continuously tried to hold sway over his girlfriend’s decisions. frankly, he thought she deserved better. when he met daniel’s glare, the young fighter could sense the desperation dripping from his friend’s pupils, silently begging him to cancel the invite. “i’m sure she can decide that for herself,” matias’ words pierced the air as daniel’s hands balled into fists, the vein in his neck popping out in frustration. the silence between them was almost uncomfortable as they stared at each other. matias, however, seemed unfazed by the boy’s threatening body language. “besides, I’m pretty sure jay is bringing his new girl around too. the more the merrier, right?” he added as he turned his eyes away from the hulk in the corner, shrugging his shoulders apathetically. unlike many others, he was seldom impressed by daniel’s intimidating tactics. if anything, he thought his efforts to appear hard made him look stupid. back home in alemão, stupid got you killed. matias got up from his chair and began to collect his belongings. he tossed everything into a black gym bag and threw it over his shoulder. he bent down to grab his hoodie and his water bottle, which he emptied over his clammy face. he stepped out of the ring and patted his friend on the shoulder. “thanks for the work-out, brother. i’ll see you tonight,” he greeted him before he turned to face sofia. he gave her a reassuring smile. “you should come.”

matias couldn’t help but notice the girl’s desperate efforts to be acknowledged by her boyfriend, who seemed to be more interested in the cuts on his hands and less interested in her. it was nothing matias hadn’t seen before. the only time daniel had shown the girl, - what seemed to be -, genuine affection in front of him was the day matias and her had first met. looking back on that evening, he realized that it was merely daniel’s way of marking his territory. he was possessive that way. matias glared at his partner. “there’s all the difference in the world between fighting with gloves on and fighting with your fists. once your boyfriend stops being a pussy and decides that he wants a real fight, I’ll massacre that snotty punk.” of course, matias’ taunting words instantly caught daniel’s attention, who let out a dry, humorless laugh. “you got me fucked up if you think I won’t beat the shit out of you, matias. you’re lucky I don’t knock you the fuck out right now.” matias’ eyes searched sofia’s and he couldn’t stop his lips from curling up into a humorized smile. it was too easy to get a rise out of him. “you definitely threw me off my game there. I’m good, ‘though,” he assured her. “I’ve had worse than a beating.” growing up in alemão—a rough rio de janeiro neighborhood that was cut off from the rest of the city by economic and cultural barriers, matias was no stranger to a world of violence. across his hands, arms, legs, and body, he bore no fewer than eight scars. the marks on his body displayed the visual signs of his dark past. he never spoke about his life in the favelas, but the horrifying images of life surrounded by drugs, violence and blood still haunted his memory. the medic wiped the blood off his face and moved on to bandage his bruised hands. “we goin’ to that new joint tonight?” matias asked daniel, who nodded eagerly. the two friends had made it a weekly tradition to go out in town on friday nights. a boys’ night out, so to speak. daniel never brought sofia along. instead, he would spend his time at the club chatting up other women as if he was a single man. matias thought he looked foolish romancing girls that weren’t half as attractive as the woman he had waiting on him at home, but he’d never made it a thing to talk to him about it. daniel would either cut him off or beat him up for getting in his business, anyway. there was no point. his eyes shot back to sofia. “you kickin’ it with us tonight?”

“come on, matias. finish him. two more punches and he’s out.” matias leaned forward in his chair and spit out the blood that had seeped from the cuts in his jaw and into his mouth. his hair was sweaty and greasy, his lip was busted open and the skin around his rib cage colored a deep purple. fuck, he hated sparring daniel sometimes. he and daniel had been sparring partners for years and matias, who generally had no problem taking on the other boys at his gym, hated how quick the fucker was. “round five. finish it.“ the boy’s coach shouted after him as the sound of a bell announced the start of the final round, and he stepped back into the ring. he approached his opponent carefully and waited patiently for him to throw a punch. when daniel swung his arm towards his right jaw, matias lumbered in to strike him with a left jab. his opponent nearly lost his balance as he stumbled from left to right. “good work, matias. one more punch and it’s over.“ the referee gave them the green light and matias stepped in again. he feinted with his right and was ready to swing his final punch when he was distracted by the sound of a door opening. his eyes shot over to the entrance to find daniel’s girlfriend, sofia, walking in the door. her curls fell playfully down her shoulders like they always did, her smile soft and beautiful. for a split second, matias found himself distracted by her sudden appearance and before he knew it,  daniel punished him with a right cross that gave him a headache. his partner showed him no mercy as he continued to serve him punch for punch, until the referee announced that time was up. “fuck this shit. fuck.“ matias let out a grown as he took off his glove, throwing one of them frustratedly across the ring. “better luck next time, son.” his coach ordered him to sit down and get his lip patched up. the gym medic began to clean the bust in his lip and matias watched as his sparring partner walked up to greet his girlfriend. the boxer barely acknowledged her as she handed him his water bottle. he did not even bother to ask her how she was doing. matias pressed his lips together and cringed at the sight of it. “what’s up, sofia?“ he greeted the girl instead, trying to hold in his temper and appear unaffected by the fight. he smiled at her knowingly and joked, “did you and your boyfriend plan your entrance? a clever tactic, I’ll give you that.“

“a voluntary position?“ rocio repeats his words incredulously and sounds almost impressed. “director gordon must be fond of you. he doesn’t just allow anyone and everyone on his premises. especially not after what those lowlifes did to our set. pathetic.“ of course, rocio knew all about the three youngsters who had broken into the academy and vandalized the theater room over the weekend. her father’s eyes had turned red with anger whilst he read about a young criminal named derek on monday morning. rocio, however, was less talk and more business. she wasn’t too concerned with the chitter-chatter her classmates kept themselves busy with over lunch breaks. instead, she’d heard that one of the boys had been caught and convicted of vandalism and the young dancer simply assumed that was that. little did she know that the individual in front of her was the famous lowlife responsible for the crime. oh, how naive she could be. rocio lets out a humorless chuckle when the friendly stranger decides to nickname her ‘nutcracker’. “cute,” she giggles as she catches herself doubting whether he even knows the origins of the nutcracker’s story. “the nutcracker is a beautiful play, actually. very romantic. you should check it out sometime.” she grabs her water bottle and crawls off the floor. “I should probably take your advice and go ice my shit now.” she imitates his words. “see you around, janitor,” she adds with a small smile as she starts to hobble away from him. it doesn’t take long, however, for the stubborn young lady to stop dead in her track. she’s walking the wrong way. realizing that she has no option but to accept her defeat, she turns around to face the janitor once more. “that way...” she mumbles sheepishly as she limps past him again. “would you mind..?” she gestures towards the, seemingly endless, hallway in front of her, asking him for physical support. 

“that OLD HAG used to dance for the new york city ballet. besides, she is my only chance of getting a solid paycheck after this. if she does not sign my graduation papers I won’t even get in at the fucking local theater.“ oof, she did not find that funny. rocio begins to remove the pointe shoe off her injured foot and fights the urge to throw it across the corridor when she slides it off. a sprained ankle could keep her out of practice for five days and ruin her chance at a solo performance in the final showcase. by the looks of things, she would be out for at least ten. “ay, mierda.” the girl bangs her head against the doorpost behind her and sighs frustratedly, her hand resting on the sprained ankle that was swelling up quite rapidly. her toes were busted and bruised. for a split second, she feels like crying. if she screws up and loses her solo performance she will never graduate at the top of her class. if she does not graduate at the top of her class, she will never get to dance for national productions. losing that solo felt like losing everything, but the janitor wouldn’t understand. “i’ll be fine,” she replies eventually. her eyes slide from his shoes all the way up to his face. she watches him as he leans nonchalantly against the broom handle. the boy had something effortless about him. careless, almost. if rocio’s parents had not taught her better, she would think that his ability to come across so casual was almost... attractive. “I didn’t know the school was hiring?” she eyes him with a curious look, almost as if she doesn’t quite trust him. her eyes slide down the broom and stop at what seems to be a food stain, just beside his right foot. a small, almost triumphant, smile curls the corners of her lips as she points at it. “you missed a spot.” 

“FOCUS, mrs. duarte.” rocio’s choreographer yells, clapping her hands to the rhythm of the classical interlude that echoed through the rehearsal studio. sometimes rocio felt like, instead of joining a ballet academy, she had joined the marines. every morning the young dancer was up at dawn to begin work with the personal trainer her parents had arranged to hire for her. after ninety minutes of intense stretching, she was exhausted but was given only fifteen minutes to rest before starting her dance classes with mrs dios, who had once danced with the new york city ballet. she was fifty-seven years old and tough as nails. consequently, when rocio did a jump on the sixth count instead of the seventh, the strict teacher immediately stopped the music. “forgive me, it won’t happen again.” rocio promises, knowing damn well that it would happen again if the new janitor would not stop staring at her. rocio was unaware how long he had been standing outside the classroom for, but she had not been able to focus on the choreography since. in reality, rocio was the one staring at him, she was just too proud to admit it. her teacher gives her a quizzical look. “do it again: five, six, seven, eight!” mrs. dios presses play and rocio begins to dance. she twirls and jumps into the air again but instead of landing gracefully on the ball of her foot like she normally would, her ankle twists painfully to the left. “oh, shoot!“ rocio exclaims as she collapses to the floor and reaches for her foot. she grimaces, massaging the sprained ankle. her ballet teacher stopped the music again, signing at her to get off the floor. “miss duarte, take five.” rocio nodded as she climbed back up, too embarrassed to look her or any of her classmates in the eye. she grabs her water bottle and stumbles out the door. when she steps into the hallway, the new janitor is still there. rocio glares at him as she sits down against the doorway and begins to massage her foot. “thank you for that,” she says in a sarcastic tone as to blame him for the injury.