FICTION
Where's Mom?
BY MAYRA
School is out and it's time for the bully to pick on kids younger than him. Finally, what all kids have been waiting for, he gets caught by the principal.
The big bad bully (aka Chris) walks home after he is punished with detention. Out of nowhere, a dog comes out barking loudly. The kid he bullied that day helps him get the so-called scary dog away from him. Just because he's a bully he doesn’t thank the kid.
After almost being attacked, Chris decides to just go home and relax with his twin brother and little sister. There's something different about this kid. He doesn't pick on his brother and sister, only on kids he doesn't really know, because his brother and sister are family. He can't do anything to them because his dad will get very mad. Chris knows not to get him mad or else.
When he gets home, he finds his mother is not there. So instead of looking for her, he goes and asks his sister where she is. After a while, he gets over it and goes to his room.
Chris goes into his room thinking about where his mother could be, because his sister wouldn't tell him unless he gave her money. A few minutes later, he goes down to the kitchen to get something to eat.
When he gets to the kitchen, he's not hungry anymore. He has too much energy to eat, so he decides to go hang out at his tree house with his twin brother, Carlos.
When they get to the tree house, they sit down and just start talking about girls and movies. Their friend, John, gets there and invites them to go listen to his dad's band practice in the attic of his home. They go to get rid of some energy.
While listening to the band, they start laughing at the lady who is singing. They keep disrupting her, so she asks them to leave.
Since they got kicked out of the attic, they decide to go to the nearby park to just hang out. There are too many kids for them to do anything. So instead of staying there and causing trouble, they leave and go for a walk. They can't get into trouble doing that.
While they're taking their walk, Chris spots the barking dog that chased him on his way home from school. The dog begins chasing him. Instead of being calm, he runs and yells, "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. THE MAN-EATING DOG IS AFTER US!!!!!" So they run to Chris and Carlos's house.
When they get home, they see their dad getting ready to go play basketball with the guys. Chris asks him where his mother is. His dad tells him that she just came in through the back door because she didn't want anyone to hear her come in.
Chris asks his mom where she was because he needed her to sign his detention slip. She told him even though she didn't want him to know that she went to an interview for a new job since she just finished her studies at UC Santa Cruz. Chris never even knew she went to the interview because she wanted it to be a surprise. Chris was proud that his mom graduated from UCSC even though he had a hard time picturing her in college at such an old age.
Mayra is a participant in the Barrios Unidos/UC Santa Cruz Links program. She is thirteen years old.
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Fiction
Where’s Mom?