Strange Parents by Julia Mercedes Castilla

Author:Julia Mercedes Castilla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 2009-12-08T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER IX

Is there a place to hide? Marisol asks herself as she walks beside the stern-looking woman with glasses who doesn’t say anything except for, “Follow me.”

“Miss Gama, this is Marisol. She recently arrived from Mexico and will need help with her English before she can attend regular classes. Keep me posted on her progress.”

The woman with the glasses turns around and leaves. Marisol stands at the entrance of a classroom that is abysmally different from the one in the village. There are many chairs with wide arms for writing, a big green board and lots of pictures and things hanging from the walls.

“Good morning, Marisol,” says Ms. Gama in Spanish. “You look scared. Come, sit over there. Don’t be afraid. No one is going to bite you. Tell me about yourself. When did you come to Forth Worth?”

Marisol tries to talk, but the words only go as far as her lips and won’t come out. She plays with the edge of one of the books on the arm table where she is sitting. “I …” She clears her throat.

“Here, have a sip of water. It’ll help to get your voice going.” Ms. Gama smiles and hands her a paper cup. Her petite figure reminds Marisol of Lita, only a lot younger.

“I came here a few weeks ago. My parents sent for me, but I lived …” Marisol shares the story of her life, barely taking time to breathe. She doesn’t understand why she’s telling everything to a complete stranger, but it feels good.

“I’m sorry you have had such a difficult time, but life will be better for you in the future. You’ll see. I’m glad you told me about your situation so I can work with you and your parents. Together we’ll do what is necessary in order to help you.”

“Thank you.” Marisol doesn’t think that her life will be easier, at least not for a long time, but she is pleased someone likes her, especially someone she will see every day.

New students come to join Marisol. She counts twelve by the time Ms. Gama closes the door and turns into a serious person.

“Let’s begin. We have a long way to go. Our priority is to learn English. We’ll be reviewing many subjects while learning the language. I hope that you can be in regular classes in a few months.”

How am I going to learn this difficult language in just a few months? There’s no way. Marisol thinks the idea is crazy. Everything seemed to be upside down. Her parents believe they love her when she has not lived with them since she was a child, and they think that she can turn some knob inside her so she loves them back and forgives them for leaving her behind.

Now, Ms. Gama believes she can learn to speak a language she can’t pronounce, plus who knows what else, and in only a few months. Maybe they know something she doesn’t. At least Eddy tells it as it is. He hates her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.