The Sweetest Girl

Nikol walked barefoot across the dry dirt holding a clay blue jar. The mornings were always hot, but this one had been particularly sweltering. Every one in her tent was parched and it was her turn to retrieve the water.

The blistering sun gleamed on her bronzed back, covered only by a thin bra and an old, dirty tank-top as she trudged past the other tents toward the water pump.

She had been living in refugee camps along South America's west coast for almost three years, but had become accustomed to the indigent lifestyle long before that.

Her whole life she has lived on the streets, in camps, shelters. She told herself that God had just started her at the very bottom so everyone could watch her as she worked her way up. It was her own way of keeping her head up.

When she came to the water spot she stopped to tie her hair back. Her dark hair stuck to her back as she set the jar down and reached up the pull it up messily. She appreciated her thick hair on cold days, but on days such as this she almost detested it.

She gave three hard pumps, stuck the jar under the spout and twisted the pipe open. Less than cold water cascaded down into the jar as she took a long breath and waited.

Nikol convinced herself it was getting better. She currently had a job doing field work for 50 cents an hour and a certain arrangement that assured her she had no chance of getting deported again. Sure, it wasn't much; but at least it was something.

She had money coming in and a definite place to live, which was more than could be said for more than half the refugees currently residing in her camp.

The water stopped and she looked down at the full jar. The sun bounced off her smooth face and reflected into the water. She looked down at herself and sighed heavily.

How long does she have to wait?

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Tom Kaulitz layed across his plush couch lazily. "Bill." He yelled out while stretching his behind his head. "Bill! Erhielten Sie mir meine Skittles?" He'd been waiting for those Skittles all damn day and Bill was just barely coming back from wherever the hell he was. "Biiiiiilllll!" His yell sluggishly turned into a yawn.

"Ja, ja. Ich erhielt sie." Bill bounced into the hotel room, throwing a box of skittles at Tom's head, which he barely caught. Tom gave Bill a death glare as he continued. "Ich erhielt etwas für jeder. Schauen Sie, ich erhielt Gustav dieses. Oh und ich erhielt Georg dieses und dieses. Und Blick, David wird dieses LIEBEN." He said happily. He couldn't wait to see if everyone liked the little gifts he'd gotten them while he was at the store.

(Yeah, yeah. I got you them. I got something for everyone. Look, I got Gustav this. Oh, and I got Georg this and this. And look, David is going to LOVE this.)

He held up some random T-shirt with writing on it. Bill looked around excitedly. "So, wo ist jeder?['i]"

(So, where is everyone?)

Tom shrugged and popped a green Skittle in his mouth. "Ich weiß nicht. Aber David ist im anderen Raum, der mit jemand am Telefon spricht." Bill looked at him disgustedly as he watched him continue to talk while throwing handfuls of Skittles into his mouth. "Er scheint, wichtig zu sein."

(I don't know. But David is in the other room talking to someone on the phone. It seems to be important.)

Bill smiled and jumped up, determined to get their producer to love his new present. "David!! Schauen Sie, was---" He bounded into the room but was quickly shushed by the other managers and executives there.

"Ja, ja. Ich weiß… Ja, weiß ich dass ihre Werbung ist nicht gut im Augenblick… Ist das notwendig? Nein… Nein! Das ist vollständig nicht annehmbar… Aber… Ja, verstehe ich… Ok... Ja… Ja, danke. Tschüss." David's face fell as he set down the phone.

(I know... Yes, I know their publicity is not good right now... Is that necessary? No... No! That is completely unacceptable... But... Yes, I understand... Ok. Yes... Yes, thank you. Bye.)

"What?" Bill asked looking from person to person. "Was geschah?"

David sighed and dropped onto the bed. He ran his hand over his scruffy face before quietly explaining. "Bill, der war ein Hauptleiter von den Aufzeichnungen. Anscheinend ist Ihre Werbung durch den Fußboden gefallen. Wir müssen Sie erhalten ganz beachtet und er möchte auch die Ventilatorunterseite erweitern. Aller Sie werden ein Nächstenliebeerscheinen in einer Woche durchführen."

(Bill, that was an executive from the records. Apparently, your publicity has fallen through the floor. We need to get you all noticed and he would also like to broaden the fan base. You all are going to perform a charity show in a week.)

"Eine Woche?!" Bill exclaimed jumping up and down, obviously more overjoyed than anyone else happened to be. "Wann? Wo?"

(One week?! When? Where?)

David rolled his eyes and huffed. He knew how much the boys loved playing, no matter what, but sometimes they just didn't understand how much work everybody else had to put in behind them so they stayed in good territory. "Folgender Donnerstag."

(Next Thursday.)

Bill gave a squeal and hopped around. "Oooh, I'm so excited!"

"Ja," David laughed. "Es ist am besten, wenn Sie anfangen, Spanischen zu erlernen."

(Better start learning Spanish.)

Bill stopped short of hugging him and gave him an inquiring look. "Was?"

"Das Konzert.. It's in Brazil."

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Under the thunderous sky, the humid air filled the tent as Nikol cleaned off her small cot. The hottest part of the day had passed and now everyone waited for the frigid night. She guessed they had about three hours left until the dark would envelope them again.

Another day lost, or gained? She wondered when it would be that they finally got out.

She spread out the thin blanket and stood up, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She still needed to go pick up some food, and if she waited much longer there wouldn't be any left.

She stepped out of the small, five cot tent and into the still bright day. A long line of people stretched out from the hut that provided foods for the many inhabitants of the camp.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a rustle in the tent across from her. She squinted over at a tall man wearing a camp leader uniform gesturing for her to come over before disappearing behind the tent again.

She glanced down at the long line and looked back at the tent warily. If she didn't get food now, there likely wouldn't be any left later and she would miss her meals for a week. But, if she didn't see whatever it was that he wanted, it could mean trouble for later. She groaned internally before walking over to the tent.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as she strode in.

"Nikol?" The large man asked.

Blinking, she looked around. "Sí..." The tent was significantly larger than the rest and her eyes hungrily looked around before settling on a pair of very familiar blue ones sitting behind a desk.

Unconsciously she scowled. "Sabes Inglés?" He asked.

She nodded and bit her tounge. He ducked his head to the white man behind the table and gestured for her to sit down across from him. She sat down but gazed up longingly at the man, praying for him not to leave.

No, no. She should have said she didn't know English.

Her eyes begged him not to leave her alone with the other man as a disgusting taste filled her mouth. Anything would be better than that.

"Ok, I'll be outside."

Vomit threatened to come up her throat as she struggled to keep a strong face. The biting excelled to her lip. Her chocolate eyes stared daggers as the blue-eyed man smirked across from her.

"Nikol," He drawled. "You don't look happy."

She wasn't. This was the last place she wanted to be; staring a necessary mistake right in the face. "What do you want?" Her Spanish accent echoed in the tent.

The edge of his mouth twitched. "I'm sure you remember our little arrangement." His statement sounded more like a question and she wondered if he had meant it as such.

Slowly, she nodded remembering. Flashes of her on her knees ran through her head. The image of him unbuttoning his pants made her stomach lurch. She shook her head, trying to get his nasty cackle away from her memory.

"Well, I try to be a man of my word, and I regret that I could not help the situation." His eyes fell to the floor, unable to meet hers.

"What?" She hissed. She felt the bile working its way up her throat.

His eyes flickered around the room as he struggled to find the words. "You're being deported."

"What? What?!" She slammed her hand on the desk. "No! No, no, no. You can't do this! We had a deal!"

His cold eyes almost looked sorry as he watched her scream. Almost, but not quite. "I told you. There was nothing I could do." A hint of a sneer tugged at his upper lip.

"Why, you..." She threatening inched toward him.

"Ramón!" He yelled.

She jumped for him right as the other man ran in and grabbed a hold of her. "No, no! Ay, dios mio you can't do this!" She kicked and scratched at his arms, not noticing the tears slipping from her eyes. "You can't! No podemos volver. No podemos volver a ese lugar. Ellos nos matarán!"

"Cálmate, señorita. Tranquilo." He whispered in her ear as he carried her out of the tent.

He continued to scramble against him, sobbing. "No, no, no."

He set her down on the dry ground outside the tent. She brought her legs up to her chin and broke down. He watched as she hugged herself and rocked back and forth while she kept on sobbing. His sad eyes looked down at her.

He'd seen her when she first came into this camp. He had watched her make a life for her and her family, watched her make something of out nothing. Everyday she held her head up high and did whatever was necessary to protect them.

Now, he saw this strong woman that he had admired crying her eyes out; and all he muttered were two words, "Lo siento."

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Nikol sat there weeping. This could not happen. She had worked too hard, and far too long.

The air began to bitter as the sun set. The wind nipped at her wet cheeks when she looked up. The clouds were painted a reddish-orange with gold outlines along the horizon as copper ribbons danced across the sky. A sliver of dusty honey opened just enough for the sun to peek out one last time before retiring.

Another tear fell as she wondered how a god who made something so beautiful could possibly antagonize her this way. He knew how hard she worked, he knew how much she deserved a better life than this.

A rumble sounded above her, where the darkest clouds lay.

She wasn't one for self pity, she'd survived worse before, but this time it wasn't just about her. This not only effected her, but Adelia and Alejandro as well. How could someone torture children this way?

Wasn't the life they already had hard enough?

How could he do this to her? How.

A knot stuck in her throat as she questioned this in her mind. She knew she was strong, but this was an extreme test. And there was no way they were ever going back there again.

Polka-dots sprinkled the ground around her as a light drizzle fell.

She sniffed back another sob and wiped her cheeks. They had to leave. She hated to leave this safe haven they had learned to call home, but they had to. If she stayed, she would be deported. If she was deported...

None of them would be able to survive.

She felt sick. What if she couldn't find a job? If they couldn't find a home? She shuttered and shook the thoughts out of her head.

A steady rain fell as she stood up. They would have to leave, and soon. She rubbed her arms trying to reassure herself. Their best bet was east since they'd already been everywhere on the west coast, but they had to get out of the country.

She knew someone that had fled to the United States years ago, of course she hadn't heard from her since then. But she also knew there were more job opportunities there.

Thunder echoed across the red sky as she slowly walked back to the tent. Shame saturated her body when she thought about moving them again. She told them that last time was the last time.

But really, what other choice did she have?

The hot rain drenched her body as she trudged through the camp weighing the options. Most people were already in their own tents by this time, and because of the rain it looked deserted.

Nikol was the only one roaming around, the fresh rain mixing with her salt-water tears as the sun finally set.