waiting at the host booth for them He was dressed in a sharp black tuxedo and looked like he’d walked off the set from the kind of movies her grandma liked to watch Isa felt severely underdressed in her shorts and T-shirt Aunt Violeta Isa said You sure we belong here Aunt Violeta waved her niece away like she was being ridiculous Don’t be silly she replied They have to dress fancy We don’t The host took them through the restaurant to a small table in the back corner They passed waiters in bright-red suitcoats and people enjoying their meals and quiet conversation Isa could say hands down it was the fanciest place she’d ever been to They’re putting us in the back because we look like tourists Marta whispered That’s so we don’t make the place look bad Isa shrugged Okay The three of them took their seat at the table and smiled at one another Isa found she was almost afraid to touch anything for fear of messing it up Isn’t this great Aunt Violeta squealed and clapped A STARLET’S SHADOW
her hands lightly to try and contain her excitement A whole week with my two favorite nieces Isa raised her eyebrows She wondered what her cousins Luz and Renata would think if they heard their aunt say that Considering they still lived in Chile she guessed it didn’t make much difference And they’re probably her favorite nieces when she goes down to visit them Isa thought Don’t turn your head but I think that’s the guy from the Werewolf Journals show Marta said Aunt Violeta turned making it completely obvious that she was stargazing That guy their aunt asked Marta looked like she might melt in her seat just so she could dribble and hide under the table in embarrassment Oh Martalina Aunt Violeta said He can’t hear me Really I can’t believe real actors and famous people eat here Isa exclaimed I guess I hadn’t noticed Aunt Violeta replied She glanced briefly over her shoulder Sitting at a nearby table was a man in his early twenties with slicked blond hair and teeth that looked impossibly clean He HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA
was talking to a woman who wore her dark hair wrapped up into a bun on top of her head It’s him Isa had never seen a famous person in real life before Two tables over a real celebrity was eating some sort of pasta After calming down the three of them ordered their food and something to drink Isa thought everything on the menu was kind of expensive and pointed it out to her aunt Aunt Violeta just shook her head and told her to order whatever she wanted You only live once Isabella her aunt said And I don’t see you often enough It was true Ever since Aunt Violeta had moved from Des Moines Iowa to Los Angeles a few years ago the best they could do was talk to each other from time to time through video chat Having never visited their aunt on the West Coast both Isa and Marta had jumped at the chance to go This was the first time Isa and Marta had gotten to stay with Aunt Violeta and it was for a whole week while their parents were on a business trip Compared to the flat farmland and small city they were used to back home Los Angeles was a bit over whelming It was big had incredible scenery including the ocean and traffic 11 A STARLET’S SHADOW
