by Debra Diaz
Emily:
Other People’s Parents
I spend a lot of time at Stacey’s and Janine’s
houses.
Stacey lives on Edna Street, a block away from
our school. Her small green house is dark and cool
and filled with books and magazines. Stacey’s parents,
Mr. and Mrs. O’Donald, went to college and
like to drink martinis. Sometimes they even take
Janine, Stacey and me with them to fancy cocktail
lounges and order us Shirley Temples. Mrs. O’Donald
is really smart and goes to graduate school. She
calls herself a feminist. Mr. O’Donald works in a big
office in downtown Los Angeles and likes to cook,
but he doesn’t get much of a chance because he’s
always working.
Because Stacey’s parents aren’t home most of
the time, she gets to cook her own meals. Her
favorite meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner is
steak and Coca-Cola.
Janine’s dad, Mr. Richardson, works at the
Chrysler Plant and comes home every day at 5 p.m.
Mrs. Richardson stays at home and cooks real
American food, like mashed potatoes, spinach and
macaroni and cheese. I like Mr. and Mrs. Richardson
a lot because they’re really nice, but sometimes
they look at me like they’re worried, and it makes
me uncomfortable. That’s why even though I like
being at the Richardsons’ house, I prefer to go to
Stacey’s, where no one watches you or asks you anything.
A lot of times I wish my parents were more like
other people’s parents. But they’re not. So when
being at home makes me feel sad or mad or lonely, I
just walk over to my friends’ houses. Mom doesn’t
like it much, though. She says I spend too much
time away from home.
(THE RED CAMP is reprinted with permission from the publisher of The Red Camp by Debra Diaz (University of Houston – Arte Público Press, 1996) to buy a copy of THE RED CAMP, go to their website at http://www.arte.uh.edu/view_book.aspx?isbn=1558851690)