Chapter 3
I woke the next morning thinking about what my mom said. It was indeed a new day. I went back into battle with renewed hope. If today didn’t go better, I’d request online school. Dawn and I readied ourselves and Diego brought the SUV around to take us to school.
Diego was an older man, probably close to retirement. He looked weathered from years of being in the sun and always wore a large brimmed straw hat with his jeans and T-shirt, very mild mannered. I really liked his calm presence.
As we rode to school, I started a conversation with him. Maybe, he’d give us insight into the culture here. “Diego, have you always lived here?”
“Sí, I went to the same high school you go to.”
“Did you like it?”
“Sí. I made many friends that I still have today.”
I thought about that for a minute. What would it have been like to grow up with the same people all of the way through school? I couldn’t even imagine it since we’d moved every two to three years of my life. Just when I’d start feeling settled and a part of my surroundings, we’d be off again to my dad’s next assignment. I looked out the window, silent for the rest of the drive to school.
Dawn and I got out at the curb in front of the school. “Thanks, Diego. Will you pick us up in the same spot?” I asked, before closing the door behind us.
“Sí, I will be here.”
I nodded and closed the door as Dawn and I turned to walk back through the gates of doom and gloom. I seriously hoped today would be better.
~ ~ ~
Classes went the same way they did the day before. For the most part, people sat in the same places class after class, and I just tried to be invisible. I looked forward to my interior design class and entered the room with a little less dread than I had with all of the previous classes of the day.
“Good morning, class.” Mrs. Smith said, in an effort to quiet the room and get the lesson started. “We're going to start an office design project.” She explained and I felt excited for the first time since entering this school. “I'll give you drafting paper and interior specifications in order to complete this project. You'll work in pairs that I will assign.”
Fantastic, I thought, no longer excited. Nobody is going to want to work with me. It'll be fine. I’m a good, independent worker. As I completed my silent pep talk, Mrs. Smith announced our partners.
“All right everyone, find your partner and use the rest of class to get going on this project. Friday after next is your deadline.”
I looked around. My partner’s name was Veronica. Just then I saw a Hispanic girl with long black curly hair and several gold bracelets walk over to me.
“Kayla?”
“Hi. Yes, I'm Kayla. Are you Veronica?”
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” She slid into the seat next to me.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I replied.
She seemed nice, kind of quiet and timid. She took the sheet of instructions that Mrs. Smith gave us and we began looking at the assignment. We brainstormed some ideas and we decided I’d take the prints home tonight to work on the initial design. Then, I’d give them to her tomorrow to add her pieces. After hashing out how we’d accomplish this assignment, there was still some time left in the class so we sat and talked.
“So, you're from Harrisburg?” Veronica asked, genuinely interested.
I nodded, smiling.
“What’s it like there?”
“Well, greener and cooler. Have you ever been back East?”
“No, I hope to someday though. I’d like to go to New York City.”
“It’s cool.” I replied with excitement. “You'll like it.” We were quiet for a minute not knowing what else to say. “What do people do here for fun?” I blurted out in hopes of trying to figure out this new place that seemed so foreign.
Veronica sighed. “Well, we go to the pub a lot on the weekends.”
“What’s the pub?” I asked, frowning a little bit.
“It’s a dance club over the line.”
“Over the line meaning Mexico?”
Veronica nodded her head and laughed. “Yes, Mexico. Have you crossed yet?”
“No. I wouldn’t know what to do if I did.” I giggled a little nervously as I said this.
“You can come with us if you want on Friday night.”
I thought for a brief second before answering, “Are you sure it'll be okay with your friends?”
“Yeah, the more the merrier.” Veronica’s smile was bright and genuine as she said this.
“Would it be lame if I asked to bring my sister? She's a junior here and we kind of stick together since we don’t know anyone.” I was no longer smiling when I asked, hoping she wouldn’t make fun of me or un-invite me because I wanted to bring my sister along.
“Sure, no problem. We meet up at McDonald’s and then walk over. Do you know where that is? Right in the center of town before the border crossing.”
“Yes, I think I remember seeing it. What time do we meet you?”
“Be there at ten and I'll watch for you. Put my number in your phone in case you can’t find us.”
I pulled out my cell and added Veronica to my contacts list and shared my information with her too.
The bell rang and we walked out. It was lunchtime so I went right to the cafeteria. I sent Dawn a text to see if she wanted to eat with me.
Hey, where are you? Do you want to eat with me?
Out in the courtyard already.
After I stopped and got nachos, I went out and found my sister. She was sitting on the only grass the school has, eating a sandwich she’d packed for herself.
“Hey, girl. How’s it going today?” I plopped down beside her.
“Fine. At least a couple of people spoke to me today.” Dawn shrugged, still looking sad.
“This girl in my interior design class invited us to the pub on Friday night. Do you want to go?”
“The pub? Where is it and what is it?”
“It’s a dance club in Mexico.”
“You want to cross into Mexico?” Dawn asked, with doubt in her voice.
“Sure, why not? It sounds like that's where everyone hangs out.”
Dawn took another bite of her sandwich before saying, “Okay, I'm in.”
“Really? Yay!” Happy, I leaned over to give her a hug.
Dawn laughed and pushed me away. “Okay, okay, but you need to sell this to Mom and Dad. You know how protective they can be. Especially Dad.”
“I know.” I nodded, a little concerned. I’d need to pitch this just right to them.
While we finished lunch, we talked and laughed about our day so far. I saw Javier across the courtyard hanging out with his friends too. Still in jeans, he at least had on a short sleeved T-shirt today. He intrigued me. It was hard not to stare so I tried to steal glances a little at a time. I wondered what he was like away from all of his friends.
The rest of the day was more of the same. I kept to myself and people left me alone. When the end of the day finally came, Dawn and I walked out together. Diego was right where he said he’d be, and we got into the SUV and said hello.
“Hi, Diego. How was your day?” I asked, as cheerfully as possible.
“Muy bien, y tu? How was your day?”
I liked how Diego gave us a little exposure to the language. “It was good.”
He pulled away from school as we sat silent for a couple of minutes.
I took a deep breath. “Diego, do you know what the pub is?”
He glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. “Sí, all of the kids hang out there and dance.”
“Is it far?” I continued to probe.
“No, you can walk to it easily, but you shouldn’t go alone. You don’t know your way around yet.”
“We’re going with a girl I met at school.”
“Who did you meet at school?”
“Veronica Fuentes.”
“Veronica Fuentes invited you to the pub?” Diego asked, with a little surprise in his voice.
“Yeah. Do you know her?”
“No, I know who her family is though. They are very influential with many political ties.”
I wasn’t sure if Diego’s comment was good or bad but decided that it couldn’t be too bad to be influential or in politics.
~ ~ ~
Dinner felt a little happier than the night before. I told my parents about my interior design project and asked my dad some questions about what he liked and didn’t like in office space.
After several minutes of small talk, I turned to my mom and asked, “Mom, can we have our passports?” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
She didn’t answer immediately. “What do you need them for?”
“We got invited to a dance club just over the border on Friday night.”
“Who invited you?” She took another bite.
“Veronica. She's in my interior design class. Diego says she comes from a good family.” That wasn’t exactly what he said, but good sounded better than influential.
A little worried, my mom looked at my dad as she set down her fork. “What do you think, Gerald? Is it safe for them to be over there at night?”
“I think they're mature and trustworthy girls, Cheryl. As long as they're with a group, it should be fine.” Dad answered with a calm and relaxed tone. “That is assuming you are with your own kind.”
“I don’t know what that means.” I stated, fearing he meant to stick with all white kids.
Mom quickly changed the subject before he could answer. “Okay, but I don’t want you to take off on your own in Mexico. I want you to stick together and look out for each other.” She glanced at me and then at Dawn, concern still showing on her face.
“Deal,” I said, happy that she was going to give in. “Thank you. It’s going to be fun. I can’t wait.”