5. Surface Pressure

Once everyone had sat down the screen continued on from where it had been paused. It had shown the cracks forming and tiles falling down to the level Mirabel was. She lent down and picked up one of the tiles.

MIRABEL- "Ow! Casita?"

"Mirabel, you had been telling the truth?" Abuela asked.

"Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to do?" Mirabel answered as if it had been the obvious thing to do.

"Oh…" Pepa could be heard.

"What?" Mirabel asked as she looked at her Tía.

"I thought you were just doing it for attention… because you were jealous." Pepa quietly admitted.

Bruno watched as his sobrina threw her head, rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"I would never ruin Antonio's night!" She said, obviously annoyed with the constant accusation.

They watched as Pepa turned around and her head fell with shame and regret. Abuela's seemed to do the same. The screen then played again

oOoOoOoOo

It cut back to Antonio's new room where all of the townspeople and the rest of the family partied.

PEPA- "¡Muevelo!"

FÉLIX- "Come on Abuela."

MIRABEL- "The house is in danger! The house is in danger!"

"Way to be subtle." Camilo said.

"Well, what would you have done?" Mirabel threw back.

"Gone to Abuela and talked to her quietly?" He threw out the bait.

"Yeah right Camilo. You totally would have done the same thing." Dolores joined in.

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Enough." Félix raised his voice, causing his two eldest to fall silent.

"Would not." Camilo muttered.

Before anyone could hit play Mirabel heard an almost inaudible, "Would too." from Dolores.

Bruno laughed quietly drawing Mirabel's attention.

"Nothing, nothing." He tried to shrug it off. Mirabel kept staring. "Pepa and I used to do the very same thing growing up." He whispered before turning his attention to the playing screen.

MIRABEL- "The tiles were falling and there were cracks everywhere. And the candle almost went out."

ABUELA- "Show me."

MIRABEL- "What? No that's… the cracks were there. They were everywhere… The house was in trouble, the candle was… Abuela, I promise-"

ABUELA- "That's enough. There is nothing wrong with La Casa Madrigal. The magic is strong, and so are the drinks. Please, music! ¡A bailar! ¡A bailar!"

AGUSTÍN- "Psst."

After Agustín began to play and the rest of the band joined him everyone returned to their partying. But Julieta had exited the room and looked down at her youngest looking utterly lost at the bottom of the staircase.

oOoOoOoOo

Once again the screen cut away to Julieta and Mirabel in the kitchen.

MIRABEL- "If it was all in my head how did I cut my hand? I would never ruin Antonio's night! Is that really what you think?"

JULIETA- "What I think is that today was hard for you."

Bruno could see Mirabel place her head in her hands out of frustration and let out a large sigh.

MIRABEL- "That's not… I was looking out for the family. And I may not be as strong as Luisa, or effortlessly perfect like señorita perfecta Isabela but… whatever."

The screen paused.

"Mirabel. How long have you been doing that?" Luisa asked

"I don't know. Since I didn't get a gift I guess. And if it wasn't me then it was Abuela…" She trailed off at the end realising what she had said. "Not to mention literally everyone else." She finished.

"What do you mean Mira?" Dolores asked.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find anyone in this town who doesn't want to know me for me? Who only cares about you guys. Not to mention if they do want to talk about me it's about why I didn't get a gift and how useless that made me."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. What?" Bruno said.

"Who said that mi amour?" Her papá spoke up.

"Everyone? I get called names all the time. Not that I care anymore, but still."

"Names? I'm not mad… I just wanna know." Camilo said as he stood up.

"Guys it's fine. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Mirabel. That's a big deal." Isabela said.

"Look you guys, it's happened for as long as I can remember. It's not that bad. I've grown to live with it." Mirabel explained watching as Bruno slightly flinched beside her as she said that.

"Why didn't you tell us Mira?" Her mamá asked.

"I did. When it started at least. But you were all too busy and kinda just told me that they'll stop eventually."

"I don't remember that." Pepa said, obviously scanning through her brain for any recollection.

Then the screen flashed once more.

"Mami?" A small voice drew everyone's eyes to the screen.

"What's wrong mi amour?" Everyone saw a younger Julieta on-screen with Mirabel who looked like she couldn't be older than five and a half. Bruises covered her body, Julieta instantly scanned her daughter's figure.

"A bunch of kids from town were being mean." The small Mirabel said with tears in her eyes. Before Julieta could say anything Abuela called out to her daughter.

"One moment Mamá." Julieta called back. She stood up and grabbed an arepa to give to her daughter.

"Julieta! Come here! Now!" Abuela called out for her daughter again.

"Here mi vida. Eat."

"Julieta!"

"Just stay away from them for a while. Some kids-" She got interrupted as Abuela walked into the room.

"Julieta. I have called you how many times? Come, we need to go to town." Abuela pushed Julieta out of the kitchen with a basket full of her cooking, leaving Mirabel standing there alone, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Once again the screen flashed, this time to Pepa, out in a field.

"Tía Pepa?" Mirabel walked up to her aunt.

"Yes, Mirabel. Make it quick, I have to finish my chores."

"Well… there are some kids in the town who are saying some mean things to me."

"Oh, Mira. Is that it?" Pepa asked. "They are just joking I'm sure. Just ignore them." She said as she walked off.

Once again the screen flashed. This time Augstín and Félix were in town doing their best to watch over their children as they used their own gifts. Mirabel walked up to her dad as she gripped his pant leg.

"Oh, Mira. You scared me, amour." He said, smiling down at his daughter.

"Sorry, Papi."

"That's okay. What's going on?"

"Um… Some of the kids are being mean." She said quietly.

"What? What are they saying?"

"They are saying that I'm useless and that I didn't get a gift cause I'm not special enough and…" Tears began to flood her eyes, cutting her off.

"Ay… mi vida. Where are they? I'll go talk to them." He said.

"Really?" Mirabel looked up at her dad with a look of hope in her eyes.

"Of course. No one talks to my little girl like that."

"¡Gracias Papi!" She smiled, grateful that someone would finally talk to the kids.

"Woah! Go Luisa! Mr. Augstín, look! Luisa picked up a boulder!"

"What! Luisa no! Put that down right now!" He rushed off to Luisa to ensure that she didn't drop the large rock on top of herself.

Mirabel once again was left standing alone. Before Isabela walked over to Mirabel. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"People are being mean." She answered.

"That sucks. You should tell Papi. I'm sure he'll help." She said as she walked towards one of the other children calling her over. That did not help Mirabel. Instead she hugged herself doing her very best to push back the tears building up.

"Hey, what's wrong Mirabel?" Félix crouched down to Mirabel's level.

"They're all being mean!" Mirabel yelled to her Tío. "They're being mean and they won't stop!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Woah, hey, hey, hey. It's okay. Shhh. Deep breaths." He told her trying to calm her down. "You wanna know what I always tell your Tía whenever people are mean to her?" He asked.

"People are mean to Tía Pepa?" She questioned quietly.

"Sometimes." Félix nodded. "You know what I tell her? That it doesn't matter what they say. Because sooner or later they always stop."

"But they've been doing this ever since I didn't get a door! Since I didn't get a gift!" She said.

"I know. But I'm sure that soon enough they'll get tired of making fun of you and leave you alone. Okay?"

"Okay…" She kicked at the dirt under her.

"Good."

The screen flashed again

"You need to ignore them." Dolores said.

Again it flashed.

"Who cares what they think? I think you're awesome so it doesn't matter." Camilo smirked before running off.

Again.

"What happened? Say that again."

"Luisa, can you help me?" A townsperson yelled out.

"Give me a second."

"What happened?" She repeated, looking at her sister.

"Luisa!"

Again. Flash.

"Well maybe if you weren't trying so hard they wouldn't say that." Isabela turned, creating another flower.

For the final time the screen flashed but this time back to the original paused screen.

No one spoke for a while.

"Mirabel…" Isabela started. "I am so sorry."

"We all are." Pepa placed her hand on Isabela's shoulder.

"It's fine you guys. Like I said I just kinda grew used to it. It doesn't matter."

"How did we let this happen?" Agustín asked no one in particular.

"It's not like you guys caused it." Bruno spoke up trying his best to comfort the family.

"What do you mean Bruno?" Abuela asked.

"Well, uh, umm." Before Bruno could figure out a way to explain the screen flashed.

"Look at the freak!" A young kid said to an approximately ten-year-old Bruno.

"He's such a loser!" Another joined in.

"Weirdo."

"Your family should just throw you out."

"It's not like your gift is helping anyone."

"It would be better if you just disappeared."

Everyone watched the screen. As it flashed back to the original again

"Hey look…" Bruno said with a half-smile on his face. "Maybe he had future vision too." Bruno smiled awkwardly to try and alleviate the tension. Mirabel quietly chuckled at the self-deprecating joke.

"Sorry… but that was kinda funny." She shrugged as the family stared disapprovingly.

"Family weirdos have to stick together right?" Bruno held up his fist to Mirabel. She smiled as they fist-bumped.

"Look it's not that bad you guys. We've just grown used to it." Mirabel said as Bruno nodded.

"Fine. But next time anyone says anything to either of you I'll know." Dolores said. "And I will be telling everyone."

"The army Madrigal will be released." Camilo said, waving his hands to add extra dramatics.

Bruno and Mirabel looked at each other before shrugging.

"I don't think there's anything we can do to stop this Tío." She said.

"I don't think so." He nodded.

"For the record, I was not nearly as perfect as you made me seem to be." Isabela said before walking back to her seat.

JULIETA- "I wish you would see yourself the way I do. You are perfect, just like this. You are just as special as anyone else in this family"

MIRABEL- "Mhm. You just healed my hand with an arepa con queso."

JULIETA- "I healed your hand with my love for my daughter."

JULIETA- "With her wonderful brain!"

MIRABEL- "Ugh."

JULIETA- "And big heart."

MIRABEL- "Stop."

JULIETA- "Cool glasses."

MIRABEL- "Mamá. I know what I saw."

JULIETA- "Mira, my brother Bruno lost his way in this family. I don't want the same for you. Get some sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow."

oOoOoOoOo

The screen cut to Mirabel laying in her bed as the sounds of Casita kept her awake. She finally stood up and walked across Casita's roof towards the window where the candle stood.

ABUELA- "Ay, Pedro. I need you."

Mirabel pressed herself as close as she could to the wall hoping not to be caught by Abuela.

"You were there when I was saying all of that Mirabel?" Abuela asked with a light blush spread across her face. "Why didn't you say anything? You know spying is wrong." She said sternly.

"Abuela, if you knew I was there you would have gotten so mad at me. That was the last thing I think either of us needed." Mirabel explained.

ABUELA- "Cracks in our Casita? Oh, if our family knew how vulnerable we truly are. If our miracle is dying… We cannot lose our home again. Why is this happening? Open my eyes. If the answer is here, help me find it. Help me protect our family. Help me save our miracle."

"Mamá…" Pepa said.

"Why didn't you just talk to us Mamá?" Julieta asked.

"I just wanted to try and act like everything was perfect. That nothing was wrong. Because I didn't know what to do or how to fix it." Abuela admitted.

"Oh, Mamá."

"Wow… Our family has really bad communication problems." Camilo said.

MIRABEL- "I will save the miracle."

oOoOoOoOo

Mirabel got changed before stopping at her door.

MIRABEL- "Wait. How do I save a miracle? I figure out what's happening to the miracle."

Casita bounced in response to Mirabel's statement.

MIRABEL- "Oh I have no idea. But, there is one person in this family who hears everything about everything. So if there is anyone who knows what's wrong with the magic, it's her."

"Oh, Oh. You're talking about Dolores! Right?" Antonio pointed out.

"Yep."

oOoOoOoOo

MIRABEL- "Dolores, hey! You know out of all my older cousins you're my favorite cousin so I feel like I can talk to you about anything,"

"Oh, I didn't get to say it then but… ouch." Camilo said.

"She knows what to say to get what she wants." Dolores said smiling.

"I mean, Mira, we shared a room for the first five years of our lives. I mean, save for the few months you didn't exist and once I moved out. But still. I'm hurt."

MIRABEL- "ergo you can talk to me about anything. Like the problem with the magic last night that no one seemed to worry about. maybe you heard about that, maybe I should know about."

FÉLIX- "Camilo. Stop pretending you're Dolores so you can have seconds."

"Really Camilo?" Pepa shook her head, disapproving of her son's actions.

"You should know better Camilo." Abuela added.

"Sorry." He said.

CAMILO- "Worth a shot. Ah. Ow!"

Once everyone else was gone Dolores started speaking.

DOLORES- "The only one worried about the magic is you, and the rats talking in the walls. Oh, and Luisa. I heard her eye twitching all night. Hmm."

"Tattle-tale." Luisa smirked.

LUISA- "There we go."

ABUELA- "Everyone, to the table! Let's go, let's go."

Mirabel rushed to sit next to Luisa. Squeezing past her Tía causing her to thunder.

MIRABEL- "Oop, thank you. Luisa."

ABUELA- "Family. We are all thankful for Antonio's wonderful new… gift."

ANTONIO- "I told them to warm up your seat."

ABUELA- "Thank you Toñito. I am sure today we will find out how to put your blessings to good use."

MIRABEL- "Luisa, Dolores told me that you're totally freaking out. Any chance you may know something about last night with the magic? You do!"

ABUELA- "Mirabel. If you can't pay attention I will help you."

MIRABEL- "Oh, actually…"

ABUELA- "Casita."

MIRABEL- "Oh, uh, woah!"

ABUELA- "As I was saying. We must never take our miracle for granted so today we will work twice as hard."

MIRABEL- "Mhm, I will help Luisa."

ABUELA- "Stop. First, an announcement."

"Listen to the tone change." Bruno pointed out the difference in the way Abuela spoke to Mirabel compared to the rest of the family.

ABUELA- "I have spoken to the Guzmán's about Mariano's proposal to Isabela. Dolores, do we have a date?

DOLORES- "Tonight. He wants five babies."

ABUELA- "Wonderful. Such a fine young man with our perfect Isabela, who will bring a new generation of magical blessings and make both of our families stronger. Okay, our community is counting on us. La familia Madrigal."

"Speaking of… What happened to you and Mariano?" Camilo asked. "I mean, I know Dolores and Mariano are now together but how did that happen?" He asked.

"You'll find out later." Mirabel said.

"But, I want to know now." He pushed.

"Well, you see it basically-" Isabela was cut off.

"Shhhh. Isa." Mirabel silenced her oldest sister.

"But he-" She tried to reason.

"Spoilers."

MADRIGALS- "La familia Madrigal!"

MIRABEL- "La familia Madrigal. Luisa, hey! What? Ugh. Oops, sorry."

ISABELA- "What is your problem?"

MIRABEL- "Hey, Luisa! Hold up!"

"Wow… I was really horrible to you." Isabela said.

"Yep."

"Wow. Way to make me try and feel better."

oOoOoOoOo

SEÑORA OZMA- "Luisa, can you reroute the river?"

LUISA- "Will do."

TOWNSPERSON 3- "Luisa, the donkeys got out again."

LUISA- "On it."

MIRABEL- "Luisa, woah! Wait a second! Ugh."

"Mirabel. You didn't get hurt when you fell did you?" Her Papá asked.

"Nope… not that I remember."

MIRABEL- "You gotta tell me about the magic. What's going on? What are you hiding?"

LUISA- "Nothing, just got a lot of chores so maybe you should just go home."

TOWNSPERSON 4 - "Luisa, my house is leaning to the- Oh."

MIRABEL- "Dolores said your eye was twitching and it never twitches. Something's making you nervous."

LUISA- "Hey, move. You're gonna make me drop a donkey."

MIRABEL- "Luisa will you just… just tell me what it is!"

LUISA- "There's nothing to tell."

MIRABEL- "You're obviously worried about something. Luisa, if you know what's hurting the magic and it get worse 'cause you won't tell me what's wrong-"

LUISA- "Nothing's wrong!"

"I think something's wrong." Camilo said.

"You think? I don't know about that." Bruno said sarcastically.

LUISA- "Wow uh… sorry that uh… that snuck out there. What I meant was uh why would anything be wrong? I'm totally fine. The magic is fine. Luisa's fine. I'm totally not nervous."

MIRABEL- "Your eye is doing the thing…"

Luisa:

I'm the strong one

I'm not nervous

I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is

"Another song? Awesome!" Antonio said excitedly.

From the other side of the room, a small frown appeared on Julieta's face. So… not only had she failed her youngest child but her middle child as well. She could feel her heart breaking. How could she let this happen? How could she let her babies be hurt so badly? Why didn't she do anything?

Mirabel:

(Speaking)

Okay?

Luisa:

I move mountains

I move churches

And I glow 'cause I know what my worth is

Mirabel:

(Speaking)

Of course, I mean- hey, where are you going?

Luisa:

I don't ask how hard the work is

Got a rough, indestructible surface

Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten 'em

I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanded, but

Under the surface

I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus

Under the surface

Was Hercules ever like "Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus"?

Under the surface

I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service

Mirabel could see Luisa silently panic as her song continued. She could see the rest of the family's worry. And she knew exactly how Luisa was feeling, with being put in this situation herself just over fifteen minutes ago.

A flaw or a crack

The straw in the stack

That breaks the camel's back

What breaks the camel's back?

It's pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that'll never stop, whoa

Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-uh-uh

Give it to your sister, your sister's older

Give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder

Who am I if I can't run with the ball?

If I fall to

Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, whoa

Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa-uh-uh

Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger

See if she can hang on a little longer

Who am I if I can't carry it all?

If I falter

Under the surface

I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us

Under the surface

The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is

Under the surface

I think about my purpose

Can I somehow preserve this?

Line up the dominoes

A light wind blows

You try to stop it tumbling

But on and on it goes

But wait

If I could shake the crushing weight

Of expectations would that free some room up for joy?

Or relaxation? Or simple pleasure?

Instead we measure this growing pressure

Keeps growing, keep going

'Cause all we know is

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, woah

Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, woah-oh-oh

Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt and

See if she can handle every family burden

Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks

No mistakes, just

Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, woah

Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, woah-oh-oh

Give it to your sister and never wonder

If the same pressure would've pulled you under

Who am I if I don't have what it takes?

No cracks, no breaks

No mistakes

No pressure

Luisa looked like she was prepared to crawl into a hole and hide there for a while.

"Luisa. Why didn't you tell us how you were feeling?" Her Mamá asked.

"With our family's track record of communication thus far, can you really be surprised, Julie?" Bruno asked.

"I guess not." Pepa shrugged at her brother's comment.

"But still." Julieta added.

"We really need to work on that." Isabela said.

"You think?" Camilo, Mirabel and Bruno all said together.

MIRABEL- "I think you're carrying way too much."

LUISA- "Maybe I overdo it."

MIRABEL- "Yep."

LUISA- "Um… there is something you should know. Last night, when you saw the cracks, I felt… weak."

"What?" Everyone turned to look at Luisa.

MIRABEL- "Wha- what, what uh what?"

TOWNSPERSON 3- "Luisa! The donkeys!"

LUISA- "On it!"

MIRABEL- "Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean? What do you think is hurting the magic?"

LUISA- "Don't know. But I heard the grownups once, before Tío Bruno left, he had some terrible vision about it."

MIRABEL- "Tío Bruno? What was in his vision?"

LUISA- "No one knows. They never found it."

"Then how did you know it was terrible?" Bruno said to Luisa, a smirk plastered on his face.

"That was just what I heard when all the adults talked about it. But were they wrong?"

"Guess not."

LUISA- "But if something's wrong with the magic, start with Bruno's tower, find that vision."

MIRABEL- "Wait. How do you find a vision? What am I even looking for?"

LUISA- "If you find it, you'll know. But be careful. That place is off-limits for a reason."

"Way to narrow it down for me, Luisa." Mirabel said.

"You are so welcome."

oOoOoOoOo

It then cut to the inside of Casita where Abuela and Isabela could be seen

ABUELA- "Such a perfect match."

ISABELA- "So perfect."

ABUELA- "So good for the encanto."

"Wait a second." Camilo said. "Isabela and Mariano's engagement ruined the magic didn't it?" He asked, looking back and forth from Mirabel to Isabela.

"What? No. Why would you even think that?" Isabela turned to her primo.

"Well you guys won't tell me anything so I have to guess. Plus for some reason, your engagement keeps being brought up."

"Well, It wasn't my engagement. It was-"

"Isa! Spoilers!"

"Ugh. The two of you working together are the worst! Go back to hating each other. It was easier to get info out of you."