Fifteen Candles Read Online Free Page B

the Miami Herald , and Alicia’s mom, Marisol, was reading the National Law Journal . They both put down their papers when they saw their daughter.
    â€œSo, ready for your second day at City Hall?” Enrique asked.
    â€œI’m loving it, Papi ,” Alicia said. “The Office of Film and Cultural Affairs said they have enough paperwork to keep me busy all summer long, and I really like the other high school intern. As a matter of fact, I’m helping her with a special project.”
    â€œOh, really?” Mrs. Cruz said, raising an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
    â€œI’m helping her plan her quince ,” Alicia said, nabbing a piece of her mom’s toast. “I’m thinking if it’s a hit, then me and my friends could even make it a business—a quinceañera -planning business.”
    Her parents exchanged glances. Alicia knew why. This wasn’t the first business that she had started and, in short order, abandoned. In sixth grade, she had started a dog-walking service and worked her way up to walking five dogs every day, after school. Two weeks later, she’d quit, once it had become clear that the logistical nightmare of walking five dogs at once was nothing compared to the smell bomb of cleaning up five dogs’ poop.
    In eighth grade, Alicia and Carmen had started a babysitting business. But two weeks and twenty-four explosive diapers later, they’d come to the same conclusion—babysitting, like dog walking, involved a whole lot of poop for not a lot of cash.
    Last summer they’d spent some time working on a vintage scarf business; they were going to sell the scarves, with Jamie’s help, on eBay. But after a month of scouring all of Miami’s best vintage shops and finding a really cool lamp for Alicia’s room and a great dressmaker’s dummy for Carmen’s designs, they’d decided not to go into the vintage scarf business after all.
    But all that was in the past. Alicia was convinced that the idea of a quince -planning business was, hands down, the best business plan that she had ever had.
    Her mother smiled gently. “You know, you have a tendency to take on a lot, Lici,” she said. “This internship in the mayor’s office will look so good on your college application. I would hate to see anything jeopardize it.”
    â€œYou know what quinces are like in Miami,” Alicia said. “If my business is so successful that I have to give up my internship to run it, then I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
    Alicia’s mom rolled her eyes. It was just like Alicia to go from zero to sixty when dreaming up new ideas. “Oh, yes, because every Ivy League college in the country is going to turn down a mayoral intern in favor of a girl who runs a party-planning business. Those party-planners always make dean’s list and are an asset to every intellectual community.”
    Alicia couldn’t believe what her mother was saying. She had always been an A student, except for math, and her mom knew just how hard Alicia had worked to eke out a B in honors calculus. But her mom was clearly in rare form today, and when Mrs. Cruz was like that, arguing with her was nothing more than a colossal waste of time. “You will give one hundred and ten percent to this internship and you will thank your lucky stars that your father was able to create such a wonderful opportunity for you at the eleventh hour,” Mrs. Cruz added. “Help your friend out if you must, but you will not waste your entire summer planning parties.”
    â€œA quinceañera is more than a party, Mami ,” Alicia said. “It’s a sacred ritual. It’s a way to connect to our community and our heritage.”
    Her mom considered this, and when she spoke, her voice was slightly less severe. “It’s a sacred ritual for some people,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s a way for some people