Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Salvador Vidón, known as Sal, is a new student at Culeco Academy of the Arts, a prestigious magnet school in Miami with stringent admission criteria. On noticing another student struggling to open his locker, Sal offers to help. The student, Yasmany, promptly insults Sal, deriding his khaki cargo pants and vest designed for his magic tricks as safari wear. Yasmany also labels Sal a “white boy,” an irony considering students teased Sal in his Connecticut school for being “too brown.”

Sal attempts to avoid confrontation, but the situation turns nasty when Yasmany slaps Sal’s diabetes bag to the ground. The bag contains his glucose monitor, insulin, and emergency Skittles—and when it lands, it sounds like something has broken. Surrounded by an audience, Sal’s showmanship instincts kick in.

Sal accuses Yasmany of not wanting help opening his locker because he keeps dead chickens inside. As a confused Yasmany becomes the subject of Sal’s ridiculous monologue, laughter ensues. Blood oozes out of the locker’s gaps. Sal takes charge, throwing the locker open—a raw grocery store chicken plops onto the floor. In the ensuing chaos, Yasmany vehemently denies that it’s his.