Free Crossing the Line by Malín Alegría

the grill. It disintegrated into powdered ash when she tried to pick it up.
    Fabi turned to Milo and couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his shocked expression. “Don’t they teach you boys how to light a grill in Arizona?”
    He shook his head in frustration. “I had no idea what I was getting into when I promised to cater. What was I thinking? This was a big mistake. Look what I did to the meat. I ruined everything.”
    Fabi hurried into the house, finding the kitchen and an apron that she tied around her waist. Back outside she smiled at Milo. “Why don’t you fix up your music and leave the food to me,” she told him. Then she quickly assessed the ingredients she had to work with — and decided it was a good thing she could send Georgia Rae to the store for more food.
    By the time the guests arrived, Fabi was ready. She tried to watch casually while her schoolmates checked out the food she’d made. Seeing the satisfaction in their eyes as they tried her specialties — carne asada, fresh salsa, and guacamole — made her smile. Not too bad, she thought, for throwing it together at the last minute. She also made some veggie shish kebabs, which were the hit of the evening.
    Milo was bumping to his beats on the turntables. His fingertips expertly mixed Mexican, pop, and rap dance rhythms like a chef stirring together different spices. Everyone seemed to be having a good time eating, dancing, and drinking. Fabi tried to stay away from the drinkers. She didn’t like being out of control and especially didn’t trust a lot of the guys to keep their hands to themselves. But after much cajoling from her classmates, she gave in to a wine cooler slushy that someone brought her — it was gross, but she drank some of it, trying to loosen up and have fun like everyone else. After all, Georgia Rae was driving.
    They partied into the night, watching the moon rise over the ash and oak trees in the backyard. Guests streamed in and out of the house through a glass sliding door. Milo was jumping around his DJ station making faces at her. Fabi couldn’t stop laughing. She felt kind of light-headed and kept bumping into people as she danced. She had to find the bathroom.
    â€œOh, sorry,” Fabi said, accidentally colliding with a group of girls dancing together in a circle.
    â€œWatch it, gorda ,” Melodee spat, pushing her back.
    This town is just too small . Fabi sighed and continued to make her way toward the house and the bathroom as if she hadn’t heard that comment. Would she ever escape people like Melodee Stanton?
    Fabi pushed through the crowd into the hallway. She hoped it led to a bathroom. There were a bunch of closed doors — some locked. At the very end she found the restroom. Upon opening it, hot air pressed at her. It was so stuffy that she had to open a window. Standing on top of the toilet, Fabi poked her head out to breathe in a breath of fresh air. But what she inhaled instead was marijuana smoke. She jerked back, coughing. Fabi was about to close the window when she heard a voice drifting up along with all the smoke.
    â€œBro, it was so easy. They practically give you their money …. Sure, I roughed them up a bit …. You have to, nothing really bad, just having a little fun …. Nah, there’s nothing to worry about. They won’t tell the cops. They don’t want to get deported, that’s the best part. They’re like walking ATMs, man. Walking ATMs.”
    Fabi felt like she’d been smacked sober. She’d recognize Dex’s bragging voice anywhere. It took all of her strength to keep from peeking back out the window. Who was he talking to? Who else was in on this? He was definitely talking about illegal immigrants. Was Dex responsible for what happened to Chuy?
    Someone banged loudly on the door. Fabi jumped, afraid that she’d been caught spying. But there was nowhere to hide. The door banged