Chapter 2
Monday came all too soon. I stood in my closet trying to decide what to wear. It was hotter than Hades outside and I’d like to wear shorts. I went to see what Dawn was going to wear.
“I can’t figure out what to wear.” I entered her room, still frustrated. “How about you?”
“Mini skirt, baby-doll T-shirt and sandals.”
“Do you think I could get away with shorts?”
“I don’t know what rules they have about the length of shorts. You know how it is.”
She was right. Every school had dress codes and none of them matched. It’d be embarrassing to have issues on day one. I went back to my room and pulled out jeans, a T-shirt, and sandals. I’d survive the heat somehow.
Mom drove us to the school and walked us into the office to pick up our schedules and hand in transcripts. After the admission forms were signed, we made our way to our first classes. The halls were packed with people. There weren’t any lockers here either. We had to carry our books all day. I thought that was weird. It was also a two-story school. That’d take some getting used to.
I entered my first class, Economics, and paused when I walked in. I was a little early to the class and looked up to find the teacher staring back at me. “Hi, my name is Kayla Johnson. I'm new. Can I sit anywhere?”
Mr. Martinez was a young teacher that at least acted like he was expecting me. “It’s nice to meet you, Kayla. Yes, please take a seat anywhere, and welcome.”
“Thank you.” I looked around for a seat. Thankfully there was hardly anyone there. I chose a place in the front since it was always safe. Nobody turned around and asked questions I didn’t have the answers to and I didn’t get distracted. I slid into a seat, set down my backpack and pulled out my book and some paper.
As I set up my desk, the Camaro-driving, mystery man entered. I tried not to look startled, but I failed miserably as he grinned at me and winked when he walked by. My heart sped up just from the simple acknowledgment.
What was it about him that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe? As he passed my desk, I glanced over my shoulder to see where he went. He headed all the way to the back of the room and sat down. More people started to file in, talking and laughing. I heard one of them speak to him.
“Hey, Vato! Where’d you go after we left the pub last night?”
“Dude, I went home. It’s a school night.”
They started laughing. Obviously this wasn’t the reason he went home or maybe he didn’t really even go home. Some girls came in and joined them. There must have been ten of them in the back of the class talking and being loud. The bell rang and everyone took a seat.
“I hope you had a good weekend,” Mr. Martinez said, waving for silence. “We have a new student today. Her name is Kayla Johnson. Kayla, where are you from and what brings you to Nogales?”
Seriously? He wants me to talk out loud on the first day? Did he really want to set me up for failure? Immediately my face burned hot and I knew it must be red as fire from embarrassment.
My voice shook and it was soft as I answered. "I'm from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and my dad was transferred here.”
“Oh really? What does your dad do?” Mr. Martinez asked.
Can’t we talk about this later? “He works for Philips-Dunaway Mining.”
“Very good. Welcome. Okay, everyone. Let’s get to work.” Mr. Martinez began his lecture and I felt grateful that people stopped staring at me.
The rest of the day was more of the same. Humiliating introductions in every class. Nobody was very nice or even tried to talk to me. This was going to be a lonely year. I found Dawn in the courtyard at the end of the day. We walked out together to find Mom’s car.
“How’d it go?” I asked Dawn.
“I guess it was fine. Nobody even spoke to me except for the teachers.”
“Me too. It’s like a secret little cult around here.” I felt a little annoyed that the day was equally bad for both of us.
“I know. I can’t help but feel like some of them were talking about me when they were speaking Spanish.”
“I felt that way a couple of times too. I guess it’s because we don’t understand.”
“I guess.” Dawn shrugged.
As we walked through the courtyard, I noticed the Camaro man. I’d figured out his name was Javier. He had three classes with me and always showed up with a crowd. I felt like he stared at me, but then again I felt like people were staring at me all day long. I heard a whistle come from that direction. I didn’t look, but Dawn did. They were all laughing.
“What’s that all about?” Dawn asked, annoyed.
“Who knows? That group was together all day.”
“Really? Do you have classes with the Camaro-driving stud?”
“Three, and his name is Javier. The group he’s with is pretty close and together all the time.”
“Did you talk to him?” Dawn bumped her shoulder into mine.
“No way. It was humiliating enough having to introduce myself in every class today. That meant he heard the same story three times.”
Dawn giggled. “I had to do the same thing. Ugh. I'm glad that's over. Maybe tomorrow I can just blend.”
We saw Mom parked at the curb and got in the SUV. She turned to look at us in the back seat. “How was the first day, girls?”
We both mumbled that it was fine. Mom turned back around without a word, but I saw her looking in the mirror at us with concern. We didn’t speak anymore and I was glad when we finally arrived at the house. Dawn and I went to our rooms quietly and did homework until being called for dinner.
“How was school today, girls?” Dad asked at dinner.
We were both quiet for a moment. I continued to look down at my plate and push food around before I decided to be the one to answer. “It was fine, I guess.”
Dad looked at us for a long moment before speaking. “Fine, you guess. That doesn’t sound like a very positive answer.”
Dawn took it from there. “Dad, everyone speaks Spanish. Half the time I think they're talking about me and nobody even spoke to me all day.”
“Did you talk to anyone and make the first move?”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, we aren’t in kindergarten anymore. They don’t want to be friends with anyone outside their current circles.”
“I understand your grade level, Kayla, thank you.”
Great, I made him mad with my sarcasm. “I'm sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Dad stared at me without speaking for a moment. “I wouldn’t give any merit to those who speak Spanish. It’s not the official language of this country and if they are going to get anywhere in this world they’d better learn some English.”
Mom broke the tense silence. “Well, tomorrow is a new day. People will come around. You just need to give them time."