She's Got Game Read online

  “So, Binky,” Alicia said, pointing to the stack of e-mails on the coffee table. “We received more than three hundred applications in all.”

  “Wow, that’s great!” Binky squealed.

  “Not as great as these empanadas,” Gaz said, shoveling one into his mouth.

  Alicia swatted him on the shoulder. “Focus, hungry man.” Then she turned to Binky. “After an exhaustive process, we’ve narrowed them down to twenty-five, and because you’re the one giving away this quince, we thought you should pick the winner.”

  Binky’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. Big responsibility.”

  “You can do it,” Jamie said. “Just picture yourself chilling with those girls at the Luz Invitational. Who would you like to see have the quince of her dreams?”

  Alicia handed her the stack of e-mails and they all sat quietly as she read through each one. The canal glistened behind her, and the little Venice-style footbridges absorbed the bright Miami light.

  “This girl wants to be a doctor and go to Harvard,” Binky said, sounding impressed.

  “That’s Carolina; she’s my pick,” Gaz said. “Choose her.”

  “No campaigning!” Carmen said, throwing a pillow at Gaz.

  “This girl wants to be an artist and dreams of having a Tina Modotti quince,” Binky said.

  “Michelle, my girl,” Jamie called out.

  “No campaigning!” Alicia and Carmen said, in unison.

  “There’s so many deserving girls,” Binky said quietly. “How can I choose just one?”

  She returned to the stack, and as she began reading the next entry, her eyes filled with tears. “This is the one,” she said.

  “Is it Zoe?” Carmen asked, forgetting her own rule. “She’s my favorite.”

  Binky nodded and read the application essay out loud.

  My name is Zoe Herrera and I’m fourteen years old. I live with my dad in Pembroke Pines. Every year since I was a baby, my mother bought a hundred-dollar savings bond toward my quinceañera. She passed away when I was ten years old. I’ve got ten savings bonds worth a thousand dollars so I wouldn’t need the full award. You can donate the rest to charity. My birthday is February 13th and my dream is to have a Valentine’s Day quince at the Roll Bounce skating rink here in Pembroke Pines. It’s the place where my parents met.

  Binky’s voice cracked as she read the letter. There was no doubt. Zoe Herrera would make a fine winner.

  Alicia handed her the phone. “You call her and give her the good news.”

  Binky shook her head. “No way; I want to be completely anonymous.”

  “It’s just a phone call,” Alicia said. “Pretend to be me.”

  Binky grinned and took the phone. “Okay. That works.” She dialed the number and, putting on a posh accent, said, “Good afternoon. May I speak to Zoe Herrera?” She put her hand over the phone and whispered, “They are going to get her.

  “Hello, darling,” Binky purred as she resumed speaking into the phone. “This is Alicia Cruz, presidente, jefe, chief, and general of Amigas Inc.”

  Carmen, Gaz, and Jamie could hardly contain their guffaws. Alicia, pretending to be miffed, protested, “Hey, I’m not that bad!”

  “I’m delighted to tell you that you are the winner of an all-expenses-paid quinceañera and a one-thousand-dollar college scholarship.” She held the phone away from her ear, and all of the others could hear Zoe Herrera screaming, “Ay, Dios mio! Ay, Dios mio!”

  Binky giggled. “I’d say she’s pleased,” she said in a whisper to the team. “Listen, darling,” she continued, resuming the posh accent, “my people will call your people.”

  She waited as Zoe asked a question and then said, “Your people is really your dad. We’ll call him.”

  She paused again and then spoke with no accent at all. “You’re so welcome. Congratulations, Zoe. I know your mother would be very proud.”

  TWO MONTHS LATER, all of the members of Amigas Inc. gathered on the balcony of the Roll Bounce skating rink. Gaz stood behind Alicia, his arms draped around her shoulders. Carmen put her arm around Jamie, who had her arm, in turn, around their honorary guest, Binky Mortimer.

  They watched the action in the rink below them. Zoe Herrera and her father were doing their father-daughter vals—on roller skates.

  “I love quinces,” Alicia said.

  “Sometimes I think about the time when I’ll be too old to be a quince guest,” Carmen said. “It’s going to be sad, like being too old to play with dolls.”

  “I think we have a ways to go before we’re too old to come to quinces,” Binky said.

  Watching Zoe and her father skate arm in arm, Jamie said, “Look at how happy Zoe is. You did good, B.”

  Binky smiled. “I provided the check, but you chicas did all of the hard work. The way I see it, we all did good.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to meet her?” Alicia asked.

  Binky shook her head. “I like being the anonymous donor,” she said. “I just wanted to see her in her dress, dancing the father-daughter vals. Now that I’ve seen it, I’ve got to go. Tino’s got a big game tonight.”

  She hugged each of the members of Amigas Inc. Then she left through the back door, without Zoe Herrera’s ever knowing that her fairy godmother had been there—at her ball. It was a strange but wonderful world in which Amigas Inc. existed. A world where four fifteen-year-olds could run the hottest quince planning business in town. A world where a fairy godmother could wear skinny jeans and patent-leather pumps and be too young to drive. And a world where a girl could skate her way into being fifteen, both literally and figuratively. Only in Miami, chicas. Only in Miami.

  When I first came up with the idea for the Amigas series, I thought about the many Latina women who, like Alicia, Jamie, and Carmen, had started out as entrepreneurial teenagers. Who, through hard work, imagination, and dedication, were able to take their passions and talents and become role models and successful adults. For me, Jennifer Lopez is such a woman. She has incredible drive and an amazing work ethic, qualities she shares with the girls in Amigas. They, too, needed an equal amount of determination to turn their quince-party-planning business into a huge success.

  So, to get a better sense of this connection, I sat down with Jennifer, and we talked about quinces and what it was like for her as a Latina girl growing up in New York City. Here are some more of her answers.…

  —J. Startz

  1. Jamie takes center stage in She’s Got Game. Like you, Jamie is a young woman who grew up in the Bronx. What do you remember as being the most fun about growing up in the Bronx? Were there any challenges?

  Growing up in the Bronx was a great experience for me. Like many neighborhoods in New York, the Bronx has a great sense of family, community, and arts as well. I used to dance at various centers in the neighborhood. I fondly remember that when it came time to name my first album, I chose On the 6, because that was the subway train I would take into Manhattan from the Bronx.

  2. For someone so young, Jamie seems to be her own person and to have a really strong sense of self. Do you recognize any of yourself in Jamie? If so, in what ways are you similar? In what ways are you different?

  Jamie and I are both motivated and focused. We also have a huge passion for shoes! (Jamie’s love for sneakers is much like my love for shoes and boots.) I think Jamie’s tough exterior can sometimes be misunderstood, and I can relate to that.

  3. Jamie goes through a few changes in her style in this book, and some of her choices (wrongly or rightly) are influenced by the people with whom she is socializing. From where did you draw your fashion inspiration? Looking back, did you make any big fashion faux pas as a young woman?

  I love to play with fashion, mixing up styles. But the most important thing is to wear what makes you feel good, not what is trendy. I also love flipping through magazines for inspiration, like most girls! I think we all have some fashion no-no’s, and I bet mine are out there somewhere.

  4. Jamie reacts very stro
ngly to Dash’s stepmom’s snobbery and judgmental nature. As a public figure who has had to learn how to navigate the tricky waters of celebrity, what advice would you give to young women who are worried or concerned about being judged and living up to other people’s standards?

  Thankfully, I had a lot of love and support from my family, which gave me confidence at a young age. I would advise young girls this way—hold your head high, and always believe in yourself.

  5. Jamie starts out in the story prejudging Binky. Have you ever had any girlfriends that have surprised you—the same way that Jamie sort of didn’t expect to like Binky and then wound up embracing her as a friend?

  Most of my girlfriends I’ve known for a long time, but every now and then you meet people you may be unsure about at first. The key is to not judge anyone right off the bat, because you never know; Jamie definitely learns that lesson with Binky.

  6. What strengths have you drawn from your family and your Latina heritage that have helped you to accomplish what you’ve wanted to do?

  Latin people are very warm and family-oriented. I have a lot of women in my family between my sisters and cousins—we’re like older amigas! My family has so many wonderful qualities that have helped guide me along the way. My passion and work ethic definitely come from my parents.

  FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Alicia Cruz did not start her quinceañera planning business to be popular. As the wealthy and beautiful daughter of one of Miami’s most prominent power couples, she’d never lacked for friends. But ever since Alicia, along with her best friends—Carmen Ramirez-Ruben, Jamie Sosa, and Gaz Colón (who was now Alicia’s boyfriend as well)—had formed Amigas Incorporated and in the process planned more than twenty of the hottest Sweet Fifteen parties in the greater Miami area, her profile at Coral Gables High School had never been higher.

  Every afternoon, when the four friends sat at their table in the school cafeteria—second from the right, near the sliding doors, with floor-to-ceiling views of the school’s lush, tropical campus—they were flooded with visits from C. G. High students hoping to get a little free quince advice.

  On this particular Thursday, Alicia, Carmen, and Jamie had just sat down to eat a lunch supplied by Maribelle Puentes, the Cruz family cook and Alicia’s de facto grandmother. Maribelle had recently started dating Tomas, a Peruvian-Japanese chef from the trendy restaurant Nobu Miami, and in honor of him had added sushi-making to her repertoire of already impressive culinary skills.

  Alicia handed both of her friends a small tin bento box, professionally packed in an insulated bag.

  “Maribelle wanted you guys to try some, too,” Alicia explained, opening her lunchbox to reveal twelve perfect, restaurant-quality Japanese sushi rolls. “I’m in heaven,” she sighed. “Yellowtail scallion rolls.”

  “Spicy shrimp tempura hand rolls, my favorite,” Jamie said, tucking in to her sushi.

  Carmen, who’d already popped a bite of tuna tataki into her mouth, pointed to her face and offered a thumbs-up. “Chicas,” she sighed contentedly when she finished chewing, “I truly don’t think our lives could get any better than this—sunny weather, yummy food, and hot boyfriends. How cool is it that?”

  She wasn’t lying. Her hot boyfriend was Domingo Quintero, a senior at Hialeah High and a waiter at Bongos, the group’s favorite restaurant, famous for its frequent celebrity sightings and delicious virgin mojitos. Not only was he super good-looking, he also happened to be supernice.

  Earlier that year, Jamie had started dating Dash Mortimer, a golf star who happened to be heir to a considerable fortune. Dash was not your typical Latin guy, which had caused some issues when he first showed interest in hotheaded Jamie. His late mom had been a Venezuelan beauty queen, and his father traced his family’s lineage back to the Mayflower. Amigas Inc. had been hired to plan a quince for Binky, Dash’s socialite sister, which was how he had met Jamie. They both fell hard. A fierce salsa dancer, Dash moved with the confidence of a gifted athlete, and had been the only guy to break down the tough-girl exterior Jamie had rocked since she’d moved to Miami from the Bronx.

  “Speaking of boyfriends, I wish Gaz was here,” Alicia said with a sigh.

  Alicia and Gaz—an aspiring musician, a founding member of Amigas Inc., and formerly one of Alicia’s best friends—had been officially dating now for about a year. “You know how obsessed he is with sushi,” she added, “not to mention Maribelle’s cooking. My bet is that he’s still in the music room, working on some new songs.”

  Unfortunately, talk about boyfriends was going to have to be put on hold, because it appeared someone needed their help. The someone was a classmate of theirs, a boy named Nesto.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, coming to stand at the head of their table. “I just have a quick question. This girl I really like, Tia, asked me to be her chambelán de honor at her quinceañera.”

  “That sounds great,” Jamie said, causing both Alicia and Carmen to smile. Since Jamie had started dating Dash, she had become more comfortable showing her softer side—a welcome change for her two best friends, who in the past had often found themselves apologizing to their clients for their friend’s extreme bluntness and occasionally acid tongue.

  “Congrats,” Carmen mumbled, since he’d caught her in midchew.

  “Thanks. I can’t wait,” he said. “It’s not an Amigas Inc. joint, but it should be a good party all the same.”

  “So, how can we help?” Alicia asked, getting right to the point.

  “I really like this girl,” Nesto said. “But I’ve got about fifty dollars to get her a quince present. All my boys say you’ve got to drop at least a C-note for something nice.”

  “Not true,” Jamie said.

  “Not at all,” Alicia agreed, finishing up her last piece of sushi.

  “Well, I went to the Gap.…” Nesto said.

  “Not the Gap!” cried Carmen.

  “Why not?” asked Nesto, perplexed.

  “Never the Gap for a quince!” Jamie piped in. “That’s where you go to buy your back-to-school clothes, not the special something for the girl of your dreams. You know what would be perfect?”

  Nesto shrugged. “I don’t. That’s why I came to you guys.”

  “A charm bracelet,” Alicia said.

  “Silver,” Carmen added.

  Jamie took out a card and said, “Go to Key and Ree. Ask for Josefina. She’ll help you pick out something nice.”

  “And there’s a ten percent discount for Amigas Inc. clients,” Alicia added. “Tell her we sent you.”

  Nesto was all smiles as he glanced down at the card and then back at them. “You guys are the best.”

  “Glad we could help,” Alicia said.

  But there was no rest for the weary. As soon as Nesto walked away, a girl named Liya ran up to their table.

  “Hey, I know I’m not one of your clients, but I could really use some advice,” she said.

  Alicia looked at her watch. “We’ve got a few more minutes. What’s up?”

  “I’m having a Nancy Drew quince,” Liya said.

  The girls exchanged curious and amused glances.

  “Yeah, I’m really excited. We’re doing a whole murder-mystery game thing. And I need to figure out some favors for one hundred people. And needless to say, I’m on a budget, or I would have totally hired you guys.”

  “Hmm, a Nancy Drew–themed favor,” Alicia said. “That’s a tough one.”

  She took out her phone and started searching for some options. Thirty seconds later, she had an answer.

  “This Web site has a free Nancy Drew bookmark you can download,” Alicia said.

  “Then go and get them printed and laminated,” Jamie added.

  “Don’t forget to put a picture of you in your quince dress on the back,” Carmen suggested.

  “If you have the loot, you could punch a hole in the top and tie a ribbon and add a little chain with your initials,” Jamie said.

  Once the amigas started giving quince advice, even pr
o bono, it was hard for them to stop.

  “Perfect!” Liya said, her eyes lighting up. “I’ll order them tonight. I would never have thought of this. You rock!”

  “We aim to please,” Alicia said.

  “You know, the potential for our business really is limitless,” Jamie said when they were once again blissfully alone. “We could make some sort of discount-coupon book for all the great deals we get around town.”

  “I’m already getting a commercial discount at the fabric store,” Carmen said.

  Jamie held up her thumb and index finger and said, “We’re this close to having a quince empire.”

  As the friends laughed, the bell rang. Grabbing her books, Alicia said, “And I’m this close to failing organic chemistry. I love being the queen of quince, but it’s a full-time job.”

  “Ay, don’t mention the word fail,” Carmen said. “I wanted to go to the library to research traditional Mexican costumes for dress ideas. But I’ve got to use my study hall to write a draft of my American history paper. See you chicas later.”

  Carmen gave her girls a quick hug and took off down the south hallway. Like many historic buildings in South Florida, C. G. High was a one-story art deco building with big windows, white walls, and large open spaces. The halls were lined with brightly lit display cases. Some were filled with trophies won by the school’s varsity football team, the Cavaliers. Others featured writing and artwork from the senior literary magazine, Catharsis, or solicitations for donations for school supplies for C. G.’s sister school in the Dominican Republic.

  “I’m going to life drawing, so I’ll walk you to the science class,” Jamie said to Alicia.

  As the girls made their way down the hall they were greeted by other students.

  “Nice party last weekend,” a girl with red hair called out.

  “Thanks,” Alicia and Jamie said in unison.

  “Yo, Gaz said he’d burn me a CD of those tracks he played at Katerina’s quince,” a boy in a C. G. letter jacket called out. “Tell him it’s for Gary.”