Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco by Judith Robbins Rose Page A

opportunity?”
    Nag-O-Matic
.
    I stared at the concrete wall in front of us. “I get ‘educational opportunities’ at school. The Amiga program is supposed to be
fun
.”
    “You had fun at the television station. You spent half an hour on the weather computer.”
    “But that last educational opportunity was
boring
. What kid likes Shakespeare?”
    “How many times can I apologize for that?”
    “Angélica’s Amiga lets her pick where they go.”
    Her eyebrows came together in the middle. “You want me to be like
other
people?”
    My stomach twisted. “Sometimes. When you make me do weird stuff.”
    One of her eyebrows went up.
    “Like
Shakespeare
,” I added.
    “Some people like
Othello
. It’s romantic.”
    “It’s stupid. The choking part was good, but real people don’t talk like that.”
    She sighed. “Your world is too small.”
    I wasn’t really mad at Miss. I’d told myself I was, but it was another lie. I was mad at Mamá. If she’d been home, I wouldn’t need some
gringa
who tried to turn me into someone I wasn’t. I wouldn’t even talk to Mamá the last time she called. But she still hadn’t agreed to come back.
    Miss hurried me to the back door of a massive stone building and pushed the buzzer. She gave the man her name. Her
names
. All of them.
    He led us down a corridor.
    “This doesn’t look like a theater,” I told him.
    “We’re backstage. I’m taking you to the green room.”
    “Everything is green? Like the Emerald City?” I thought of the “film classic” that Ethan had made me watch.
    The man grinned. “The place performers wait is called the green room, no matter what color it is.”
    I let out an angry huff. One more person who smiled because I didn’t know stuff. But then he opened a door, and I forgot to be annoyed.
    Fairies filled the room. Kids smaller than me wearing wings, and ladies dressed like flowers. One man wore a tight costume the color of his skin, like he was naked. Except for a big leaf.
    A woman turned. “Kate! I do not see you for a long time!”
    On her golden head sat a glittering crown. Sparkles covered her skin. The fairy queen floated across the room to us. Smiling, she gave Miss little air-kisses, one on each cheek.
    Miss pulled away from the fairy’s clingy skirt, which left bits of glitter on her black velvet pants. “Nadine Robert, meet Jacinta.”
    The fairy took my hands.
“Enchantée!”
    “Where are you from?” I breathed. Miss smirked. I should’ve said,
How do you do?
    The fairy smiled. “I am from France.”
    “Nadine attended the Paris Opera School,” said Miss.
    “Opera?” Even the word sounded boring.
    Nadine Robert smiled again. “Do not worry. We have no opera tonight. Just the ballet.
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
. By William Shakespeare.”
    “Shakespeare?”
Horrified, I turned to Miss.
    She grabbed my shoulders and steered me away. “Uh — Nadine, can we drop by after the show?”
    How could she?
I’d been learning Miss’s words, so I knew what to call it.
Betrayal
. But if I was going to spend the afternoon pouting, this was a good place to do it. Red velvet seats near the stage, and floors that weren’t sticky. A chandelier hung from the ceiling.
    And there were
three
balconies
. I pointed at the seats floating in the air. “Miss, we should sit there next time.”
    She smirked. “Next time?”
    My face got hot.
I won’t have a good time, no matter what
.
    Miss said, “I usually do sit up there. I can’t afford these seats. The youth center got them for us.”
    Oh
.
    “That’s why I’d like to be Rosa’s mentor, too. We could all get free tickets.”
    I folded my arms again. To help me remember
not
to have a good time.
    The lights dimmed. In the darkness, music started. I hung on to the armrests, my fingernails digging into the plush velvet. But the music reached out and swept me away. I’ve never seen the ocean, but it’d be like this. Waves of music flowed through me and into me.
    I tried —