Mac Rides (For the first time and then a couple times after)
Parts: 1, 2, 3
Javier sat by the fire, strumming his guitar mindlessly, watching the glowing embers of the flames fly up into the night sky, then vanish into darkness. Around him sat some of the other gang members, all listening to his calming music. Javier sighed as a small smile crossed his face. He began to sing, and beckoned his friends to join in on the song to try and make the night more lively.
“Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta y no llores. Porque cantando se alegran! Cielito lindo, los corazones-”
“You speak Spanish?” He hear someone ask from beside him, interrupting his song. He looked next to him, only to see Mac, who had seemingly appeared there out of thin air, sitting on the ground beside the fire.
“You... You didn’t pick that up by now?” John asked, “You’ve been with us for what? Two weeks now?”
“Yessir.” Mac confirmed.
“And... You didn’t know I spoke Spanish?” Javier asked the young girl.
“I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed, sir.”
“I can tell,” Javier judged her. He went back to his guitar and began to strum, when he was interrupted by the young girl yet again.
“You play an instrument too?” She asked excitedly, “We’re practically twins!”
Javier looked her up and down, judging her harshly. Here, sitting before him, was some scrawny blonde teenager, who looked as if she hadn’t bathed in days, comparing herself to him. “Please, tell me how you and I are twins.”
“Well, I play an instrument, and I can speak in another language!”
Arthur laughed a bit. “Really now?” He asked, tilting his head and looking at the teen.
“Yep!” Mac cheered as her face lit up. She was about to go into further detail, when she was cut off by someone approaching the fire.
“Oh I seriously doubt that.” Micah cut in as he sat down on the fold-up chair, “You don’t know shit. You’re useless, you goddamn leech.”
Arthur began to protest. “She’s not useless, Micah, she’s-”
“We all know Dutch only keeps her around because she’s so stupid it makes him laugh. She can’t hunt, can’t kill, probably can’t even read!” Micah sneered, “How could she know how to play an instrument and speak another language if she doesn’t know how to do basic chores?”
“You can’t say that Micah! She’s just a-” Javier protested, but was cut off by Mac herself.
“No, no... He’s right...” She muttered, looking at the ground, “I can’t do anything... I lied about the language and the instrument.”
“C’mon kid, that ain’t true!” Arthur reassured her, “You do plenty!”
“I don’t do anything useful,” Mac sighed dramatically, before standing up, “I think I’m gonna turn in...” She mumbled as she began to walk away.
“You’re a real peace of shit, Micah. She’s just a kid,” John hissed at the man as he turned back to his cigarette.
“What? I thought you hated her just as much as I do?” Micah taunted, “You know, if we had it my way, she would be kicked out of the gang in a second,” he snapped his fingers as a smirk appeared on his face. He leaned back in the chair with a chuckle. “Not only is she a waste of space, she’s also a liar. She lied right to your faces about-”
Micah was cutoff by the unfamiliar sound of a violin by the girls’ wagons. The men all slowly turned their heads to face the direction in which the sound was coming from. “Naw...” Micah whispered to himself. He and the other men got up from their spots by the fire and walked to where the ladies would sleep.
There, standing in between Arthur’s and the girls’ wagons, stood none other than Mac, dancing and jumping around while playing a song on a violin. The girls laughed as they began to clap along to the beat of the fast-passed music, and were soon joined by the other members of camp who had not yet fallen asleep.
“Well shit!” Arthur laughed as he put his hand on the top of his head, “She can sure play the fiddle!” He looked over at Micah, who looked to be in shock. Arthur laughed again and began to join in with the clapping and dancing.
Mac spun around and danced with some of the other gang members, laughing and enjoying herself without hardly missing a beat. The pase of the song suddenly kicked up, and she moved her bow across the strings effortlessly in time with it. She continued to jump around, finally landing in front of Micah as her song came to a pause. She leaned in towards him, and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Suce ma putain de bite, Micah Bell.”
She turned back around and began to play the song again, turning back to the members of the gang and letting them enjoy her music.
“Was... was that Spanish?” Micah asked Javier.
“Nope.”
“Oh, good,” Micah sighed in relief, assured knowing that the girl was simply speaking gibberish.
“It was French.”
Micah turned back to him, his eyes wide with shock and his face red with anger. “How the hell does she know French?!” He yelled, enraged by being shown up by a child.
“Don’t know.” Javier answered, “I guess she isn’t as useless as you thought.” He looked at him with a smug grin, before joining in on the small party.
