bruno de soto | eleven | fin

"Mr. De Soto, do you know why we've called you into the front office today?"

"Uh... Squeaky, maybe?"

"Squeaky?"

"Honestly, I wasn't trying to be bad or nothing. I just saw him on my way to school and he looked all weak-"

"Wait, wait. We called you here to talk about your grades."

"Oh, then you can ignore that other stuff..."

"No, wait: who is Squeaky? You said you saw him on your way to school?"

"Yeah... he was stuck in a yogurt cup, and he didn't look good, so I-"

"Mr. De Soto, are you saying you brought a rat onto the school campus today?"

"Would... that mean I'm in more trouble?"

"You aren't- you're not in trouble for your grades, we just wanted to check in and see if anything is going on at home that might be preventing you from completing your homework."

"Oh. So I can keep him?"

"The rat?"

"Yeah!"

"I- that's between you and your parents, Mr. De Soto. But for future reference, don't bring anymore, erm, pets into school with you. Now, back to what we were discussing-"

"Sorry, it's been a weird, like, couple years. My Uncle got real sick a while back so we've been having to spend a lot of time over there."

"Are you helping to care for him?"

"I mean, kinda. Sometimes Mom needs my help moving him and stuff, but I mostly just vibe til we're ready to go home for dinner."

"Do you think you could start bringing your homework with you when you go there? Is that possible?"

"Oh! That's kinda smart. I hadn't even thought of that. Yeah, I guess I could."

"Okay... and that's the only thing you'd say has been preventing you from finishing your work? You aren't struggling to understand the material or anything like that?"

"Bro, I haven't understood anything in school since, like, fourth grade. But usually the answers are in the book somewhere. And if I ever get really confused I just get someone to let me co-"

"Yes?"

"Nevermind! Haha, nothing at all. I'll start doing my homework and will not bring any more rats to school from now on!"

"... Okay, thank you Mr. De Soto. Here, take this form to your mother to be signed so that she knows your grades need improvement. You're good to go back to class now."

Phew. He didn't even mention the tardies, thank goodness. I can hear Squeaky rummaging around through my backpack. I can hear him chewing something, some piece of paper. I frown. After that talk, the last thing I need is some crazy excuse like my pet mouse ate my homework. I stop in the hallway and shrug my bag off, unzip it to see the little fella at the bottom, chewing on an old candy wrapper. Well, at least it wasn't anything important.

When he notices I'm looking, he freezes.

"Aw, you're good little guy. But I don't think it's a good idea to keep you in my bag anymore. It isn't really appropriate, you know? Could be a distraction in class. Plus you might get squished in here if I'm not careful! We need to put you somewhere better. Hmm..." I look around for a few seconds before a brilliant idea strikes me.

"Oh! I know! We'll keep you in my locker!"

Foolproof plan. Or so I think. I close the locker door with Squeaky inside, and then I go to class. By the time the bell rings and I've made it back to my locker about twenty minutes later, he's nowhere to be found. I sigh. Maybe he wasn't doing as bad as I thought. In that case, this is a good thing! Squeaky the mouse is saved! And, uh, released somewhere in the school.

Hopefully he finds the cafeteria soon. We get yogurt on Wednesdays.


Mom isn't home when I get there. This land used to belong to my grandparents, but they split it for their kids when they died. Uncle Miguel was already married and pregnant with my cousin Chichi when they died, so he got the top of the hill, with the house they grew up in. Mom got the base of the hill, which was just fenced property when she first got it. After Mom and Dad moved in together, they lived in a shack for like three years while they built this place. Which, don't get me wrong, this house isn't anything crazy, but I get my own room and had a yard to play in growing up, and that's already more than a lot of people could say.

I lean over the kitchen counter to peer through the window. Sometimes, Uncle Miguel likes to sit on the porch and watch the sunset. But I don't see them out there, so he must be having a rough day. I shine an apple using the tail of my shirt and head out up the hill to go and investigate, realizing only when I am standing at their front door that I forgot to bring my bookbag with me. I look back at the steep climb and sigh.

I'll start doing my homework tomorrow, I swear.