Miss Universe

"So, we have to leave our apartment, you know, because of that thing I told you about."  
I looked at Rafael.
"When?"
"By the end of the year."  he answered.
Kids say that all the time, and then they don't move.  He was gone two days later.  I had screamed at him in class a matter of days before, something I don't usually do.  Now, I will always regret it, more than I would anyway. 

Antonio arrived a day after Rafael left.  And then, came Joya and Cati, straight from Mexico with no English.  The county has decided that they don't deal with Intensive English anymore and that we have to do it at our schools, whether there is time in our schedules or not.  Whether they actually provide us the materials or not.  Multi-million dollar budget, but you get what you get.   I want to do anything I can for these kids, but here are only so many hours in the day, and I want to do it right.  It took weeks to get these girls scheduled correctly and I still don't have the promised materials.  I am down to thirty minutes a day of planning and teaching seven classes a day.  I am running, running, running. 

I sort of like it.  Though I am done with the county not giving me a damn thing to do my job, I love these kids.  I am off most of my duty assignments and doing what I actually like, teaching.  I have to hustle to plan, but it's okay.  And, it keeps my mind off of Lola.  My baby.  My baby I lost.  

"We're moving."  Arecely announced.

"No," I responded, thinking she didn't know what she was talking about.  They usually don't.  And, my salt block, my child of salt, those are the ones that usually stay.  I included her and Flave-o-Flave in the Intensive English class I formed.  Flave and Joya weren't eligible because of their grade and Arecely had timed out of IE because the county did her wrong.  I figured if I was doing it, might as well include all of the kids that really should be in it. Even if my salt block was hard, a hard child, that often made other kids feel bad.  On purpose.  

"Miss Nicaragua won Miss Universe."  Arecley announced, a huge smile on her face.

"And then, they arrested her for treason.  That's why we had to go.  It wasn't safe for us anymore with Ortega."  

She never told us anything before.  That's when I knew she was really going.  

Christmas festivities took over the school.  I waited with my walking crew on the last day before our break.  The bus riders filed out and I saw Arecely, in tears, walking out of the door.  My hard girl.  My salt block.

I grabbed her and hugged her, hard, crying myself.

"Please take care of yourself."  I said over and over, knowing she was the only one that would.