Entre las lineas

"Between the Lines"

Chapter 1: Bienvenido de nuevo

A/N: Hey people! It's been a while since I've written, but I'm back! FYI, all of the chapter titles will be in Spanish and I'll translate them at the beginning of each chapter. The title of this chapter means welcome back. I will also be incorporating a few characters from the play "In the Heights", since it takes place where my OC lives. If the characters talk in Spanish, I'll put it in Italics and translate it at the end of each chapter. Her thinking will also be in Italics, not to confuse you or anything. Thanks and Enjoy!

The warm sunlight of the early morning enveloped the small apartment and woke its inhabitant. Birds chirped outside, coffee shops and bakeries opened their doors for business, and the world slowly started to wake up and, in a drowsy state, started to function as it did every morning.

But one young lab tech refused to accept this reality that it was time to wake up, and decided to cover her head with her pillow instead. She groaned softly under the pillow and turned her head away from the window, hoping to fall asleep for just ten more minutes before she would force herself to get up and get ready for work. More specifically, her first day of work in New York City.

Even though the birds outside were loud, and breathing under the pillow was uncomfortable, Penelope was in such a state of peace that she could feel herself slowly sinking into her mattress and slowly drifting off to sleep. That is, until her alarm went off. Her Blaring alarm flashing the number 6:30 at her told her it was officially time to get up.

She groaned again, much louder this time, slammed her right hand on the snooze button of her alarm, and used both arms to force herself up into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and threw both the pillow once on top of her head and the covers aside, and then she turned to the edge of her bed, stretching both her legs and arms at the same time before finally getting up and heading towards her kitchen.

The coffee pot was already done, having been set on a timer the night before so it would be ready when she got up. Penelope poured her first cup of coffee of the day and walked over to the living area, sitting on the couch and turning on the news quickly. There wasn't anything that stood out to her, it was mostly about the Mets game last night and a new healthcare plan being proposed, so she turned it off after a few minutes. Leaving her now empty coffee cup on the coffee table between the couch and the TV, she left to get ready for work. Must be a slow day, she thought to herself.

After a quick shower, taming her very curly hair and applying some light makeup, she got dressed in black slacks and a deep purple blouse, both brand new, that complimented her dark hair and dark eyes. She went around her apartment cleaning up after herself before she left: making her bed, putting towels away, emptying the dishwasher, etc. She tended to be a slob more often than not, so she tried to clean up at least once a week, in case she had unexpected guests. She didn't think there'd be anyone today, she just didn't want to come home to a messy apartment tonight.

Penelope checked her cell phone quickly: 7:52 AM. Her shift didn't start until 9, but she expected to watch the news a bit longer, and she didn't want to be late to her first day of work. She decided to leave anyways; maybe she could grab breakfast on her way in. Slipping on a pair of black heels, she stuffed her newspaper in her work bag, locked up and made her way over to the elevator.

The elevator was empty when she got on, and oddly stayed that way until she got off on the bottom floor. A young couple was leaving as she got off, and a mother was coming back, having dropped her son off at school. She had only lived in this building for six days, but she had gotten to know some of her neighbors, mostly the ones around her age or on her floor. The mother was her next door neighbor, and the couple lived down the hall from her.

Penelope stepped outside and headed down 160th street, the street her apartment was located on. She knew this neighborhood was sketchy when she moved here, but Washington Heights was full of culture, and people just like her. She lived in Puerto Rico when she was a kid and Washington Heights when she was a teenager, and being Latina, she sometimes felt out of place in uptown Manhattan, but she always felt like she belonged here, because this was her home. And it felt really good to be home to her.

She walked into a local bodega one block away for another cup of coffee. Sonny, the owner's cousin, was restocking candy and Usnavi, the owner of the bodega, was sorting the cash register. Both waved to her, and she waved back as Sonny went to get more candy and Usnavi closed the cash register.

"Hola, Usnavi," Penelope greeted. "Un café pequeno por favor."

"Muy pronto," Usnavi replied, already pouring her coffee.

This was just another reason Penelope loved Washington Heights. Although her, Usnavi, Sonny and almost everyone else who lived in the barrio spoke fluent English, they all found it easier to speak Spanish because it was their native tongue. It made her feel even more at home, like she was still in Puerto Rico.

"Here's your coffee, P." Usnavi handed her the coffee.

"Gracias." Penelope handed him a $5 dollar bill. "Keep the change."

"Thanks!" They waved to each other once more as she left.

She hurried to the subway at 155th street and down the stairs to the turnstiles. Penelope slid her pass card through, pushed through the turnstile, and grabbed the train currently stopped at the station, which was the C train. She checked her cell phone once again: 8:02. Satisfied with her timing, she sat down, pulled out the New York Times, and got comfortable for the ride uptown.

A/N: Please review, I wanna know what you guys think of the character before I go any further. Here are the Spanish translations for this chapter:

Hola: hello

Un café pequeno por favor: small coffee please

Muy Pronto: yes, very quickly

Barrio: neighborhood

Gracias: thank you