“Yes, sí.”
“I’m going to call someone now,” she said. “You can go back to your room.”
“Would you…maybe…so my classmates don’t think you don’t like me…let me wear the bracelet tomorrow?”
She stared. I lowered my eyes, but I could see her smile.
“You are getting smarter,” she said. “Okay, but now you’re just borrowing it until I feel you deserve it.”
“Thank you, Sophia.”
She got up, went to her jewelry box on the vanity table, and plucked it out. The way she looked at it, I thought she would change her mind, but she extended her hand, and I hurried to take it. She didn’t let go. She held on to it.
“You’d better behave,” she said.
“Sí. We will be friends.”
“Maybe,” she said, and let go.
“Gracias, Sophia.”
“Don’t speak Spanish whenever you can say the English words. That’s an order,” she told me.
“Yes, thank you.”
I flashed a smile and turned away.
“Be careful about what you tell anyone from now on,” she warned when I reached the door.
“Yes, I will be careful.”
She smirked at me, and I left her room, closing the door softly behind me.
Then I let out the trapped breath I was holding.
I can be Tía Isabela, I thought. I should have been happy about it, because I had the bracelet, but I couldn’t help being disappointed in myself as well. I could play with the devil, too. I comforted myself by repeating something I had read and heard my father say. Engañar al engañador no es una deshonra. To deceive the deceiver is not a dishonor. Liars deserve to be lied to, I thought, and returned to my room, far too excited even to imagine falling asleep.
Sophia was back to having breakfast in her room the following morning. Inez hurried to deliver it. Edward joined me at the table. He was nervous about returning to school, too nervous to notice my nervousness. He was going to wear a patch over his bad eye for a while, and he still had the evidence of abrasions on his face, especially his chin, so he anticipated having to tell his story repeatedly. I wished him luck, and he smiled and told me not to worry.
“After this bad time passes, I’ll make sure you’re happier here, Delia,” he said.
He does not know his own mother, I thought. She would not let this bad time pass so easily. Her threats still hovered over my head. Nevertheless, I thanked him. Jesse came for him, and they left before I did. I met Señor Garman at the Rolls and told him I had to remain in school an extra hour to make up for time missed. I could see he wasn’t happy about it, but he said nothing.
When I arrived, I saw the school was still electric with chatter about Ignacio and his friends. I could feel all eyes following me through the corridor, and as soon as I entered the classroom, my fellow students, especially Mata, whose father had been playing at the fiesta, looked surprised to see me return. Señorita Holt did her best to keep us concentrating on the work. She said nothing, nor did she ask me anything about the events. To keep anyone from suspecting anything, I worked very hard.
During the lunch hour, many students left the school building to buy a sandwich or a hamburger at one of the nearby fast-food restaurants. It was more fun than eating in a school cafeteria, and when they were away from the building, they could smoke. This would give me an excuse to leave the school as well. I tried to be as unnoticeable as possible leaving the building. Some students saw me, however, and threw questions at me, even sarcastic remarks. I pretended not to understand, and they grew bored and went their own way. When I felt I was no longer the center of anyone’s attention, I walked quickly in the opposite direction and waited for the next bus at the bus stop down the street.
I was close enough to the school to hear the bells ringing to alert the students that lunch hour was nearly over. The bus was taking forever, and I was afraid that Señorita Holt would immediately report that I was missing. Before the final bell rang, however, the bus appeared. Because of the hour, there were few passengers riding, but I went all the way to the rear of the bus and practically disappeared behind the next-to-last seat, hovering closely to the window and watching all the stops carefully. It took more than an hour to get to the stop Ignacio had described. I practically leaped across seats to get off.
It was another day of unusual heat. Temperatures were hovering a good ten to fifteen degrees above what was normal for this time of year. The walk I had to make seemed very long to me because of that. I tried moving as quickly as I could, terrified that Ignacio would leave before I had arrived. I wasn’t sure if he had realized how long the bus ride would take and how long the walking would be.
Suddenly, I was troubled by the possibility that he had given me the wrong directions and the wrong time deliberately, just so I would be unable to go with him. When I didn’t see the fence he had described, I began to panic. I broke into a run and then finally saw it ahead. Relieved that at least this much was true, I sl
owed and walked the remaining way to the opening he had described. I saw the small house behind the one on the street, too. I looked about to be sure no one was watching me, and then I slipped through the fence opening and walked quickly toward the house. Just before I reached it, Ignacio stepped out from the rear.
He did not look happy to see me.
“I was hoping you would not come,” he said. “I have never made such a journey, but I have heard many terrible stories, Delia. I have been told that this man, this coyote, will leave us if we do not keep up or either you or I get hurt. There are drug smugglers and bandits, and with this heat”—he looked up as if the high temperature was falling around us like rain drops—“it means we will have to travel nights, maybe as much as three days, depending on what we have to avoid and what route the coyote takes.”