The Red Umbrella

In less than a month, crossing the Nebraska plains in the yellow school bus and going to school in Grand Island had become a familiar routine. Every morning, I’d sit with Jennifer in the fifth row of the bus and Frankie would head to the back with his friends. Most of the students had gone out of their way to be nice and help me if I didn’t understand something. Most … but not all. There were a few who were not happy with the attention I sometimes got.

“Did Alex Murphy just say hi to you?” Jennifer asked, waiting by her locker.

I giggled. “Uh-huh.”

Jennifer bounced up and down. “You see. Even the cute varsity football players know who you are. You are so lucky. Next year, when we get to date, you’re going to have your pick of guys.”

“Ooh, this sounds like an interesting conversation. Does someone here have a crush?” Betty stepped from behind the library door, which was just a few feet from Jennifer’s locker.

“Why don’t you go and take your Betty-ites with you.” Jennifer pointed to the trio of girls who always followed Betty wherever she went.

“Jenny, dear, when are you going to learn that no one listens to you?” Betty cocked her head and flashed me a smile. “So, you really think that just because a boy says hello to you, he actually may like you?”

I stayed quiet. I wanted to have a smart comeback, but by the time I thought of something in English, most conversations had usually moved on.

“Look, girls, she’s blushing. Isn’t that cute?” Betty glanced around as the trio started giggling.

The first bell rang, letting everyone know that classes would start in two minutes.

“Don’t be such a jerk, Betty. Just leave us alone.” Jennifer slammed her locker door.

It had taken me a while to think of something to say, but I couldn’t be a doormat. “Jealous?” I asked, flicking my hair back as we walked past Betty on our way to homeroom.

“Of what? A little tamale like you?” Betty called out. “You’re just a pet project for the people around here. Something to do while they wait for the corn to grow!” The hallway started emptying out as students went to their classes. “You’re nothing special, Cubanita, probably never were!”

“Ignore her,” Jennifer whispered as she pulled me down the hall. “She’s trying to get to you.”

But Betty’s words had cut me to the bone. Was I just something to break up the monotony of every day?

*  *  *  *  *

The rest of the morning, I could barely concentrate in class. All my insecurities felt exposed. As I walked through the cafeteria doors, the typical sound of a hundred chattering voices greeted me. I made my way to my usual table on the left side of the room. I could see that Jennifer was already there and my other friends, Rita and Susan, sat across from her.

“Hey, Lucía. How’d you do on Mr. Jennings’s deadly science test? Wasn’t the essay question nearly impossible to answer?” Susan asked.

I nodded and opened up my brown lunch bag. Mrs. Baxter had given me the usual peanut butter and jelly sandwich, potato chips, and apple. I twisted off the lid to my thermos filled with iced tea. It was a far cry from what I used to eat in Cuba, but like lots of things in America, I had grown used to it and now actually liked it. I was thinking about this and the morning’s events when Jennifer gave me a little nudge.

“Are you still thinking about Betty and her gang?” she asked.

“Me? No,” I lied.

“Good, because those girls are just mean, nasty idiots,” Susan said.

“Hope I’m not the nasty idiot you’re talking about, Suzy-Q,” Eddie said, stopping at our table for a minute.

“I said those girls. Are you a girl?” Susan asked.

“No, definitely not the last time I checked.” Eddie smiled, making his eyes twinkle a bit. “But since I am sometimes referred to as an idiot by you lovely ladies, I wanted to make sure.”

“You may be an idiot, Eddie, but you’re the idiot we actually like,” Rita teased.

“Ha! Good one, Rita-roo. Catch you all later,” Eddie said as he joined his own pack of friends at a table near the window.

Rita took a bite of the meatloaf that lay on her tray. “That Eddie, he’s one funny guy. You know, I think he has little bit of a crush on you, Lucía.”

I shook my head.

“No, really. You see how he’s always teasing all of us. Goofing around with our names. He doesn’t do that with you.” Rita looked at Susan and Jennifer for support.

“That is true.” Susan nodded.

“No, we’re all just friends. He knows that. I wouldn’t be interested, anyway.” I looked over as Betty and her crew walked into the cafeteria and took their seats at the front table.

“Speaking of the real nasties, there they are,” Jennifer said.

Rita leaned forward and whispered, “You know, I heard that Betty had her eye on Alex Murphy and he gave her the brush-off. Didn’t even know who she was!”

“That’s probably why she was so mean when she heard him say hello to you, Lucía,” Jennifer said, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

“Seems that Betty learned that being popular in ninth grade doesn’t mean much to an eleventh grader.” Susan smirked.

“I guess,” I said, starting to replay the entire scene with Betty in my mind.

“Listen, Lucía, we’ve all been the target of Betty’s venom at one time or another,” Rita said. “Don’t let it get to you. Now you’re officially one of us midlevel girls.”

“Midlevel?” I asked, looking over at Jennifer.

“That’s what we used to call ourselves,” Jennifer explained. “Girls who aren’t part of the popular crowd, but are still friends with a bunch of people. We’re smart, but not as much as the brainy groups. We’re just in the middle. Average American teenage girls.”

I smiled and took a sip of the sweet tea. Me, an average American girl. Until I could go back home and be an average Cuban girl, this would suit me just fine.