No Second Chances by Malín Alegría

referee began to count out next to him.
    â€œNo!” Santiago cried, trying to squirm free. He was grateful for the olive oil he’d put on his arms and legs earlier. It made his skin greasy and gave him an extra inch of wiggle room. But his cousin dug down on his ribs with his elbows. The piercing pressure made his eyes bulge and his stomach want to hurl. Santiago felt tears sting his eyes. He could not let it end like this.
    Then Chubs released a small chuckle. It was so soft, Santiago almost missed it. Was his cousin taunting him? He wondered as he slowly moved his fingers again over a tender spot along his cousin’s torso. Chubs stiffened up. He gasped for breath, curling away from Santiago’s fingertips, and laughed out loud. Santiago’s eyes grew with understanding as he flexed his fingers and attacked him with tickle power.
    â€œStop! I give up!” Chubs cried, rolling into a ball.
    The crowd jumped out of their seats. They were cheering at the top of their lungs. Santiago jumped onto his cousin, straddling him between his legs. Chubs shook under Santiago’s weight. He tried to block Santiago’s fingertips from reaching his ticklish spots. But his efforts were in vain. Santiago had a firm grip and he was not going to let go.
    Santiago motioned to the referee to come over with the flick of his head. The balding man in the striped shirt stared at the scene. Never in all his years had he seen a Lucha Libre match won by tickling. The man glanced over his shoulder at Juan “El Payaso” Diamante. Santiago followed the referee’s gaze. El Payaso was roaring with laughter and slapping his cowboy hat on his knee. Maria Elena sat next to him, her arms and legs crossed in a defiant manner and an angry scowl on her pretty face.Santiago couldn’t help but throw her a kiss. She flinched as if stung with a dart and ran to the closest exit. This seemed to amuse El Payaso and he laughed even louder.
    The referee counted down. Chubs squirmed like a worm in the sunlight and Santiago held firm and tickled him some more. Suddenly, the bell clanged, the match was over, and he had won. The crowd was on fire. They were calling his name: “Puma! Puma!”
    Santiago rushed over to his corner of the ring. Fabi and Milo cheered excitedly for him. He extended his hand out to Fabi. She blushed and passed the pitcher of Leafy Valley Mojo to him. He raised it over his head and the audience cheered even louder. Santiago had won the hearts of his new clients.

S antiago raised the volume to the Spanish pop song on his truck radio as they unloaded to set up the smoothie stand the next day. He was feeling great and shook his hips as he sang the chorus. Alexis joined him, waving bundled leafy greens in the air like pom-poms. Fabi couldn’t stop laughing as she arranged the table. She was relieved Santiago had won the wrestling match. Now, they each waited in anticipation for the crowds of thirsty customers to appear. Grandpa Frank had stayed home,complaining of a bad back this morning. It was up to them to make this stand a success.
    Alexis began to decorate the tables with curling branches and flowers she’d collected from the ranch while everyone else was loading the truck. She’d found a plastic floral tablecloth in the garage, and she spread it over the mixing station. Santiago liked it. It made the stand pop with color and the cloth hung down to the floor, creating an excellent hiding place for the food scraps.
    Santiago glanced over at Fabi. She was busy arranging bunches of carrots in a wicker basket. “Well, at least this time Grandpa won’t eat all the vegetables before the customers get here,” she teased.
    Suddenly, she cursed loudly. Santiago did a double take because he wasn’t used to hearing her talk like that.
    â€œWhat’s the problem?” Santiago asked, not wanting anything to ruin his good day. They had a lot to do this morning. He had even wokenup