Age:
High School
Reading Level: 1.8
Chapter One
"You can't be that stupid!" my brother, Hector, yells at me.
In an instant, my mom is there, yelling at him. "We do not use the word 'stupid' in our house."
My brother looks at the floor and then at me. He reaches out to hit my shoulder, then says, "Let me help you with that."
I stand there, not knowing exactly what had happened, but feeling it was a bad thing.
I look at my mother, who has balled up her hands into fists. My brother looks like he has been kicked, hard.
All I can say is, "It's cool, bro."
Together, my brother and I go into the kitchen. He explains that the peanut butter is in the cabinet and the jelly and bread are in the refrigerator.
"Why aren't they all in the same place?" I ask.
I see his chest rise and hear him breathe in and out.
I think, "He feels like me; he doesn't know the right answer."
Then he says, "I don't know, that's just where Mom puts them."
It makes me happy to hear Hector say he doesn't know. There are a bunch of things I don't know.
Chapter Two
Learning where the peanut butter, jelly, and bread are is no biggie.
There are things I really want to learn. But I just can't figure out how I am going to learn them.
I cannot ask my mom. There are just some things a boy does not ask his mom.
Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't be able to answer my questions.
I could ask my dad . . . but he won't be home for another three weeks. He's a truck driver for Swift and he's traveling for a while.
I could ask my sister . . . She always takes time to sit and talk to me. She is very good at explaining things I don't understand.
When I was little, she would make me sing a song for everything I did so I could remember how to do it.
I still sing the one to brush my teeth. It says, "I got my toothpaste, I got my brush, my teeth are clean, when I brush, I will have a happy smile."
Well, I'm not sure if those are all the words, but those are the words I remember and sing.
It's not what I should be singing as a freshman in high school, but it has always stuck in my head. And it reminds me of my sister.
I just don't know about asking her the questions I have. She's older and has been out of high school for a while.
I'm not sure that she will remember what it is like to be my age.
The one I should ask is Hector. He would know.
He's two or three years older than me. He'd remember what it's like.
I just don't know if I want to ask him. He gets so mad at me all the time for not knowing stuff.
I'll just wait. I don't need to do anything yet.
I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, sit in front of the tv, and veg.
I won't make anyone mad this way.
Chapter Three
It is time to go. We're going across the line to help set up for a party that will start later tonight. It is my tío's anniversary.
I don't like crossing the border. I hate waiting in line to get there and come back. But here we go.
I sit in the back seat listening to music. I get a text.
wau^2
I answer NMU.
wtho
cn't 2day
I get tired of listening to music. I play a game. I get tired of that, too.
I put my head back and stare at the car roof.
