La Vida de Miguel

Maria is kidnapped and taken to Mexico. Michael takes Mounzer and Bianca to go look for her, but they get in trouble when they are accused for another crime.

Characters

• Michael
• Maria
• Mounzer
• Bianca
• Rasul

Story

Michael sat alone on his couch, tossing a tennis ball against the wall while Enrique Iglesias’s “Hero” played in the background. All alone. There was no one next to him. He couldn’t feel worse. The loneliness he felt was eating away at him.

Noticing the knife next to him, Michael knew what he had to do. He could end all his pain with just the right cut. It would get rid of all the pain he was feeling. Picking up the knife, he placed his hand on the counter. In one swift move, he brought his knife down.

Picking up his newly sliced piece of cake, he began to think about how truly lonely he was. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Michael hopped on his feet and ran to the door, hoping it was Bianca. “Hey Michael.” Mounzer said.

Michael groaned and faceplanted onto the couch.

“Something wrong?” Mounzer asked.

Michael turned over. “Sorry. I was just hoping for Bianca.”

He turned off the music.

“I haven’t been single for years.” he said. “I’m so lonely. It’s tormenting. I feel like dying.”

Mounzer glared at Michael.

“Sorry.” Michael said. “I forgot you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

“I had one girlfriend.” Mounzer said.

“Kelly?” Michael asked. “She only went out with you once because you did her homework.”

“It still counts.” Mounzer rebutted.

There was another knock at the door. Michael excitedly jumped up and ran to the door. Maria walked into the room in a nice dress.

“Michael, I need that Nickelback album back.” Maria said frantically.

“Why are you dressed so nice?” Michael asked.

“It’s my one month anniversary with Rasul.” Maria said.

“Oh…” Michael said.

“You don’t sound very excited.” Maria said jokingly.

“Well, excuse me if I’m not ecstatic.” Michael said.

Maria stopped searching for a moment.

“You don’t have to be so negative about it.” Maria said.

“Sorry.” Michael said. “I just don’t like the idea of you going out to dinner with that douchebag.”

“That douchebag is my boyfriend.” Maria said. “And I didn’t ask if you approved of me going out with him. I’m not a child. I can date whoever I want.”

“Why would you want to date him?” Michael asked. “He tried to kill us in New York. How could you go out with that asshole?”

“He’s different now.” Maria said.

“That’s all an act.” Michael said. “How could you be so stupid to fall for that?”

“Did you just call me ‘’stupid’’?” Maria asked.

“I’m not calling you smart.” Michael said.

He grabbed an album from the counter and handed it to Maria furiously. “Here’s your stupid Nickelback album back. By the way, I listened to it and I was right. They sound like crap.”

Maria stomped on Michael’s foot, causing him to clench it, and stormed out the door.

Michael fell over onto the couch, taking a deep breath. “Mounzer, you can stop hiding now.”

Mounzer came out from behind the couch. “Sorry, I don’t like conflict.”

“I don’t blame you.” Michael said. “I would’ve hidden too.”

“Look, can I spend the night?” Mounzer asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Michael said. “You can take the couch.”

He started to head to his bedroom.

“Don’t worry, Michael.” Mounzer said. “She’ll come around.”

Michael smiled and walked to his room.

The next day, Michael woke up sweating. Sitting up, he heard a voice yelling for him. He hopped out of bed, put on his slippers, and walked into the living room. Mounzer was there, sitting on the couch.

“Michael!” Mounzer yelled. “You have to check out the news!”

“Did Lindsay Lohan go to jail again?” Michael asked.

“No, this is serious.” Mounzer said. “Listen.”

“Yesterday, a local bank was robbed late last night.” a reporter on the TV said. “The thief has been identified as Rasul, a notorious criminal known for his part in the attempted destruction of the Nintendo World building in New York City. Our security cameras show that Rasul had an accomplice drive the getaway car, but they remain unidentified.”

The security camera footage was shown, revealing a very familiar face in the driver’s seat.

Michael jumped up. “That’s Maria! What’s she doing there?!”

The reporter continued, “The police are tracking the two, who seem to be heading towards the border to Mexico.”

Mounzer looked worriedly at Michael. Michael bit his lip.

“No,” he finally said. “She deserves it. We’re not going after them.”

“Michael, you know that’s not the right thing to do.” Mounzer said. “After all you’ve been through, you can’t let her get away because of one stupid argument.”

“Fine.” Michael said. “We’ll go.”

“Let’s do it.” Mounzer said.

“We need to stop somewhere first.” Michael said.

Later, Michael drove up to a house with Mounzer in the passenger seat.

“Wait here.” Michael said.

“Where are we?” Mounzer asked.

“Just wait here.” Michael said.

He got out of the car and walked up to the house. He knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer, so he knocked again. He looked inside the window and saw something moving. He looked around and jogged to the back of the house.

Mounzer noticed this, got out of the car, and followed him.

Michael found an open window and started to crawl in. Mounzer found him and grabbed his leg.

“What are you doing?” Mounzer asked.

“Mounzer, look, it’s not what you think.” Michael said.

“Just tell me what we’re doing here.” Mounzer said.

Michael continued to climb in the house, leaving Mounzer without an answer. Mounzer climbed in after him. Bianca walked into the room.

“Michael, get out of my house!” Bianca yelled.

“Bianca’s house?” Mounzer asked. “What are we doing here?”

“I didn’t answer the door for a reason.” Bianca said.

“Bianca, I need you.” Michael said.

“I’m not getting back together with you!” Bianca said.

“That’s not what I mean.” Michael said. “Maria drove a getaway car to Mexico. I want your help to get her back.”

“Why would I want to help her?” Bianca asked. “The only reason I broke up with you is because you are obviously more into her.”

“Mounzer, can you wait in the car?” Michael asked. “I’ll be right there.”

“Alright…” Mounzer said unsurely. He walked out of the house.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell Mounzer this, but I’m not going to save Maria from the cops.” Michael said. “I’m going to turn her in to the cops.”

“Why?” Bianca asked.

“Because I want to prove that you are the only girl I really care about.” Michael said. “Please give me another chance.”

Bianca thought for a moment. “Fine. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”

Michael smiled and walked outside to Mounzer in the car.

“Why are you so interested in getting Bianca back?” Mounzer asked.

“You know why.” Michael said. “I’m lonely. I just want to feel loved for once.”

Bianca climbed into the car.

“So, what are we going to do when we get there?” Mounzer asked.

“Easy.” Michael said. “We’re going to swim across the Rio Grande.”

“You didn’t say anything about swimming.” Bianca said.

“It’s the only way across.” Michael said.

“Okay, fine.” Bianca said.

Michael started to drive.

A few hours later, the car arrived by a forested area. Everyone climbed out of the car.

“The Rio Grande should be on the other side of this forest.” Mounzer said.

The three began to walk through the forest.

Later, the three reached the Rio Grande River. To Michael’s surprise, there were a few Mexicans wading their way to the United States.

“Sweet.” Michael said. “We don’t even need to swim.”

He jumped in the water and started wading across. Mounzer followed behind him, and Bianca behind him. After a while, they reached the other side of the river.

“Awesome. We’re in Mexico.” Michael said. “Now we just need to find Maria and Rasul.”

“The closest city should be Matamoros.” Mounzer said. “Just a few miles in that direction.”

“What would I do without you, Mounzer?” Michael asked jokingly.

Later, the three walked into a restaurant in Matamoros, Mexico.

“We need to find more information on Maria.” Michael said.

“I got it.” Bianca said.

She walked up to two men in the restaurant.

“Disculpe, ¿usted sabe algo sobre la chica llamada María que robó un banco en Estados Unidos?” Bianca asked.

“Sí,” one of the men said. “lo último que oí fue vista por los espectadores en la Ciudad de México.”

“Gracias.” Bianca said.

She walked back to the two. “Let’s get out of here. Maria’s in Mexico City.”

“You speak Spanish?” Michael asked.

“Yeah.” Bianca said. “Helpful, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say.” Michael said.

They walked outside and Michael called a taxi. Mounzer got in the passenger seat and Michael and Bianca got in the back. By the time they got to Mexico City, the two were making out.

“Do they always do this?” the taxi cab driver asked in broken English.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Mounzer said.

Suddenly, police cars drove up behind them. The cab driver hit the brakes and the cops surrounded them, holding up guns.

The cab driver and Mounzer held their arms in the air, with Bianca and Michael barely realizing what was going on.

Eventually, the three of them climbed out of the car.

“The three of you are under arrest.” the police captain shouted.

“We haven’t even found Maria yet.” Mounzer said.

“What did we do?” Michael asked.

“You know what you did.” the police captain said. “You three were just on a crime spree.”

Michael laughed. “There’s no way I’m going to Mexican prison for something I didn’t do.”

A cop came to put handcuffs on Michael, but Michael hit him in the face and took his grenade. He threw it towards the cops and grabbed Mounzer and Bianca, dragging them into the taxi. Michael floored it. The cops had run away and the grenade went off right when the taxi drove away.

“Now we’re being framed for a crime we didn’t do.” Mounzer said. “Just our luck.”

“Forget about it.” Michael said. “We need to find Maria.”

“They’re probably hiding out somewhere.” Bianca said. “We need to search in the lower parts of the city.”

“We should split up.” Michael said.

“We can’t split up now.” Mounzer said. “There are cops on our trail. What if one of us gets arrested?”

“We need to cover the whole city.” Michael said. “Hopefully, they’ll catch the real guys before they find us.”

Michael hit the brakes and the three of them piled out.

“Okay, fine.” Mounzer said. “We’ll split up, but we need to choose a meeting place.”

“We can meet at the Independence Monument.” Michael said.

“Sounds good.” Mounzer said.

The three ran off in separate directions. Michael ran into a marketplace. He noticed Mexican police and tried to remain inconspicuous. Suddenly, he spotted Rasul and Maria in the distance.

“Don’t talk to anyone.” Rasul said. “We’ll be out of here in no time. If you call for help, you’ll be dead in seconds.”

He walked away. Maria looked around for help, but didn’t say anything in fear.

“Maria.” Michael whispered.

Maria turned around. “Michael! Thank God!”

She hugged him. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m not here to get you away from the cops.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Maria said. “He had a gun. He forced me to drive. I didn’t know he was going to rob the place. I’m serious. You have to believe me.”

Michael looked into Maria’s helpless eyes. “You’re telling the truth.”

Maria nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of this.” Michael said. “Follow me.”

The two started sneaking away.

“Where’s the money?” Michael asked.

“Rasul found an abandoned warehouse.” Maria said. “We were hiding there.”

Suddenly, a gun was poked into Michael’s back. He stopped walking. He turned around to see Rasul’s face.

“Going somewhere?” Rasul asked.

“Ummm…” Michael started to say.

“What did she tell you?” Rasul demanded.

“Nothing, I swear.” Michael said.

Rasul grabbed Maria. “Follow us and there will be a bullet in her head.”

He dragged Maria away as Michael just stood there, helplessly watching as Maria got away again. When they were out of sight, Michael ran towards the Independence Monument.

An hour later, Michael found Mounzer and Bianca at the monument.

“Guys, I found Maria.” Michael said. “She didn’t choose to drive the getaway car. Rasul held her at gunpoint. She didn’t know he was robbing the bank.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Mounzer said.

Bianca looked a little less enthusiastic.

“Where is she?” Mounzer asked.

“Rasul got away with her, but I know where he’s hiding.” Michael explained.

“Great, let’s…” Mounzer said.

Suddenly, a bunch of cops pulled out their guns and ran towards the three of them. Michael noticed this.

“Run!” Michael yelled.

The three ran away from the cops. The cops shot, but Michael slid under a car to dodge the bullets. Mounzer and Bianca climbed over it.

“How are we going to get away from them?” Bianca asked.

Michael noticed a fireworks stand.

“I got an idea.” he said.

He stopped by the stand and grabbed a match. He lit all the fireworks and firecrackers and ran away. As the cops ran by, the whole stand exploded in their face, making them lose the trail of the three. The three hopped in a taxi and it drove away.

“It’s weird.” Mounzer said. “Fireworks are mainly in China, not Mexico.”

“We need you to drive us to this warehouse.” Michael said, showing the taxi driver on a map.

“Sí.” the taxi cab driver said.

The taxi started to move.

“It’s relieving to know Maria isn’t a criminal.” Mounzer said.

“Mmmhmm.” Bianca said.

Michael exchanged a worried look with Bianca, worrying what might come.

Once arriving at the warehouse, the three piled out of the warehouse and the taxi drove away.

“Are you guys ready?” Michael asked.

Mounzer and Bianca nodded. The three snuck in quietly. It was a large empty warehouse. Michael, Mounzer, and Bianca hid behind the bars supporting the warehouse. Michael peeked around and saw Rasul, Maria, and a large silver briefcase at the other side of the warehouse. It looked as if they were about to leave to run further away. Michael crept up behind Rasul and slammed him in the back. Maria screamed.

Rasul wrapped his legs around Michael and took him to the ground. The two began to punch each other until Rasul landed one hard blow into Michael’s left cheek. Rasul stood up, grabbed Michael by the shirt and threw him across the floor. Rasul picked up his gun and aimed it at Michael.

“Oh, what a valiant effort.” Rasul said. “You would’ve thought you wouldn’t have been stupid enough to come in here without a weapon.”

He cocked the gun.

“Any last words?” he asked.

Michael struggled to stand up. “Just one.”

He whipped out a gun and aimed it at Rasul.

“Freeze.”

“How… how did you…” Rasul began to say.

“Picked it up at the market.” Michael said. “Give us the money.”

“No.” Rasul said.

Mounzer pulled out a gun and aimed it at Rasul. “Yes. Now!”

“Mounzer, when did you get a gun?” Michael asked.

“When we split up, I also visited a marketplace.” Mounzer explained. “I picked one up there.”

“Now you’re outnumbered.” Michael said.

Rasul pointed his gun at Maria. “You wouldn’t let me shoot her, would you?”

Michael looked nervous.

Maria suddenly pulled out a gun on Rasul.

“I stole it from the back of your car.” Maria said to Rasul. “There’s no way out now, Rasul.”

Bianca pulled out a gun and aimed it at Maria.

“Bianca, what are you doing?” Michael asked.

“I came here to take Maria to the police.” Bianca said. “That’s what I intend to do. If you’re over her, then prove it.”

“You don’t have to do this, Bianca.” Michael said.

“Apparently I do.” Bianca said.

Michael pointed his gun at Bianca.

“Your breasts may be impressive,” Michael said. “but your heart is ice cold.”

“Really?” Bianca asked. “Because you were the one who originally came to turn Maria into the police.”

“What?” Mounzer asked. “Is that true?”

“Yes…” Michael said sadly.

Mounzer and Maria pointed their guns at Michael.

“Harsh.” Michael said.

“Well, you were kind of an asshole.” Mounzer said.

“Look, I know I was a jerk.” Michael said. “But when I found out that she didn’t do it, I came to save her. That counts for something, right?”

Mounzer and Maria shrugged and pointed their guns back at Rasul. Rasul pulled out a second gun and pointed at Michael, still having his first gun pointed at Maria.

“What are you going to do now?” Rasul asked.

Michael dropped his pistol and picked up a machine gun, still pointing it at Bianca to make sure she didn’t hurt Maria.

Suddenly, Moose walked up and pointed his gun at Rasul.

“Moose?” Michael asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know.” Moose said, shrugging.

Suddenly, a swarm of cops ran in and pointed their guns at everyone. The six of them turned around and aimed their guns at the cops in defense.

“Everyone, drop your weapons!” the police captain shouted.

“We can’t do that.” Michael said. “Rasul has the money. We need to take him down first.”

All of the cops, Michael, Maria, Mounzer, and Moose turned their guns back on Rasul. Rasul finally dropped his gun and put his hands up.

“Fine.” he said. “I give up.”

The other five dropped their guns as the cops, with their guns still up, ran and grabbed Rasul. Rasul put his hands behind his back and he was handcuffed.

As the cops dragged him out, Rasul yelled, “I’m not done yet. I’ll get out eventually and when I do, I’ll get you all!”

Some of the remaining cops surrounded Michael, Mounzer, and Bianca.

“Sorry, guys, but you’re under arrest too.” one of the cops said.

“Wait!” a voice yelled.

Everyone turned to see another one of the cops. “They’re innocent. We found the real criminals.”

The cop dragged Duncan and Heather into the warehouse. Everyone gasped.

“No way!” Mounzer yelled. “Duncan and Heather?”

Michael and Bianca walked up to Duncan and Heather.

“Really, guys?” Michael asked. “We look nothing like them.”

“I know, right?” Bianca asked.

“You guys are free to go.” the cop said.

He dragged Duncan and Heather out as Heather yelled at Duncan about something. The other cops followed.

“Guys, can I talk to Maria alone?” Michael asked.

Mounzer and Moose left. Bianca started to leave, but turned to Michael.

“It’s obvious you love her more.” Bianca whispered. “I’m sorry.”

She left.

Michael turned to Maria.

“You were right.” Maria said. “He didn’t love me. I was ‘’so’’ stupid.”

“Maria…” Michael said.

“No, it’s true.” Maria said. “How could I let him get to me like that? He always told me that he loved me, but he was just playing me. And I fell for it.”

“Look, it’s not your fault.” Michael said. “To be completely honest, I had no idea that Rasul wasn’t into you.”

“Of course you did.” Maria said. “You warned me, but I just trick myself into these type of things. I just wish for once, there would be a guy that actually loved me. It’s ridiculous to say that someone would love me.”

“Don’t say that!” Michael yelled.

He took a deep breath.

“Look, I’ve never been good with saying how I feel, but I need to tell you this now. Maria, I’ve known you since third grade. You’re the best friend I ever had and today when I thought you might get hurt, or worse, I didn’t know what I’d do without you. When I told you not to go with Rasul, it’s not because of my judgment, it’s because I was jealous. I wasn’t looking out for you; I was looking out for myself. I’ve been searching for love in all the wrong places this entire time. I’ve been chasing after girls for years when you were here right in front of me. The truth is, I’ve dated a lot of other girls, but Maria, you are the only girl I have ever loved.”

“Oh, Michael.” Maria said, breathless.

And the two kissed passionately.

Michael and Maria's first kiss by Bruno

One month later…

Michael drove up to Maria’s house. He got out of the car, fixed his hair, and grabbed a bouquet of flowers. He walked up to the door and knocked. Maria answered the door.

“Happy one-month anniversary!” Michael said, with a smile on his face. He handed the flowers to Maria.

“Awww… these are so nice.” Maria said. “Come in.”

Michael walked into Maria’s house and closed the door behind him.

“So, what are we doing today?” Maria asked.

“I was thinking we could go see a movie or something.” Michael said.

“Oh my gosh, yes!” Maria yelled. “I’ve been dying to see the new Twilight movie.”

“No way!” Michael yelled. “I didn’t win you over just so I could watch you fawn over sexy vampires and werewolves without shirts. But don’t worry. You can stare at Kermit the Frog all you like.”

Maria chuckled.

“But guess what?” Michael asked.

“What’s up?” Maria asked.

“It turns out I got a reward for stopping Rasul.” Michael explained. “So I bought you a little present.”

Maria gasped. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did.” Michael said. “Follow me.”

He walked over to the front window of the house and moved the curtain. “Look.”

Maria walked over and looked out the window where she saw Mounzer driving up in a silver Enzo Ferrari. Her mouth dropped.

“Best one-month anniversary ever.” Maria said.

“I would hope so.” Michael said. "Your last one wasn't that great."

The two leaned forward and shared another kiss.