Mirabel's Gift Part Two:

Mirabel skipped as she lead Camilo down the hall to where Dolores and Isabela had told them to meet them when it was time to go home. The entrance to the school was jam-packed with kids, older siblings grabbing younger ones, and friends calling out to friends. It was so noisy. A few of the kids gathered in the playground area with small boxes filled with food. They obviously planned to stay and play during the siesta break

Mirabel looked around the scene, looking for Isabela and Luisa. She had assumed that it would be easy to find Luisa because she was so tall for her age, but some of the big kids were as tall as Tia Pepa, and some were even taller.

"There you two are," a soft voice called out as Dolores rested a hand on both their shoulders, "How was your first day of school?"

"It was fun," Camilo announced eagerly, "We drew pictures and played with toys and our teacher read us a story."

"The story was boring," Mirabel announced, "School was boring, we can play with toys in Casita, and we can play outside at home. We can play with other kids in town. We go to school to learn, and I didn't learn anything."

"I learned that A makes the ah sound and cake and Camilo both start with the letter C."

"I already knew that."

"Did you know that ten is just a one and an O?"

"It's a zero, it means nothing, as in there is nothing in the one's spot."

"Carlos is right, you are a know-it-all."

"It's not my fault that you're stupid, please note that I was the only one given a note to give to Mama and Papa out of the whole class."

"That isn't a good thing Mirabel," a new voice announced, as Isabela appeared, "The only time a teacher sends a note home with just one student is when that student was being really bad."

"Really?" Mirabel asked, "I didn't mean to be bad, what did I do that was bad Lolo?"

"Hey," Dolores said softly, "I don't know, but I'm sure that your teacher will understand that it was your first day of school ever and you didn't know better."
"I don't want to be bad," Mirabel exclaimed, crying softly, "I don't, I don't, I don't."

"What's going on," Luisa asked, appearing next to them.

"Mirabel got in trouble with the teacher, she sent a note home."

"What did you do?" Luisa asked.

"I don't know!" Mirabel exclaimed, "I thought I was being good, but Isabela said that I wasn't."

"Isa…" Luisa said slowly, "What makes you think that Mira was being naughty?"

"Because she was the only one in her class that was given a note to give to Mama and Papa," Isabela explained, "So obviously she did something wrong."

"I didn't know," Mirabel exclaimed, bursting into tears, "I didn't want to be naughty, I wanted to be good."

"Hey," Luisa exclaimed, "It's okay, Senora Silva knows that today was your first ever day of school. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation as to why she's sending home a note with you and not the others. Maybe you just didn't notice her handing out the notes to the others?"

"But I didn't get a note," Camilo insisted.

"See I was bad," Mirabel insisted.

"Thanks a lot, Isabela," Luisa muttered, scooping Mirabel up, "You probably just ruined school for Mirabel."

"So?" Isabela asked.


Julieta glanced out the large window of the dining room as she set the table for lunch. The girls should be on their way home by now, and she was anxious to hear about Mirabel's first day of school. She had been so excited to start school, yet anything could have happened. What if the other kids were mean to her because she didn't have a gift? What if school wasn't what Mirabel thought it would be? What if she didn't like it?

"Juli relax, she'll be fine," Pepa said.

Julieta blinked, she hadn't even noticed her sister entering the room, or that she had just been standing there looking out the window.

"I'm surprised that you don't have a cloud," Julieta muttered, "Your youngest just started school for the first time ever."

"Trust me when I say that watering the fields today was easier than normal," Pepa confessed, "But it's okay, just you watch and see, Mirabel is going to come running down that path any second now, bursting at the seams with excitement wanting to tell you all about her first day of school."

Julieta let out a sigh, "Yeah, you're right, I'm just over…" her eyes strayed to the window as the children came into view, nine-year-old Luisa carrying Mirabel. Julieta whirled around, grabbing an arepa from the plate on the table and rushing out the door.

"What happened?" she demanded, shoving the arepa at Mirabel before relieving her middle child of her burden.

"Isabela," Luisa started, shooting the older girl a dirty look, "convinced Mirabel that she was naughty at school today because Senora Silva gave her a note to take home to you and Papa."

"I didn't mean to be naughty Mama, I really didn't," Mirabel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.

"I know that you wouldn't have been naughty on purpose," Julieta said softly, "I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation why you were given a note."

"I wasn't," Camilo pointed out helpfully.

Julieta shot her sobrino a look, silently telling him that he was treading on thin ice.

Camilo immediately shut his mouth tightly as he ran up ahead, obviously having caught sight of his own Mama standing in the doorway of Casita.

Julieta followed, Mirabel still sniffling slightly in her arms as the older girls followed at a much slower rate.

Julieta disposited Mirabel in her chair and crouched down next to her, "Okay, Mi Vida, let's take a look at that note now," she said softly, holding out her hand.

Mirabel shrugged off her backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out the envelope, handing it over. Her Mama smiled at her, ran a hand soothingly through her curls, and opened the envelope, pulling out the letter.

By this point in time, the rest of the family was gathered around the table, every spot taken except the one, a bitter reminder that Bruno was missing. Julieta shook that thought out of her mind as she shook the letter out and read it.

"What's that Mi Amor," Agustin asked, pressing a kiss to Mirabel's head, before stealing a kiss from Julieta.

"A note from Senora Silva, she wants us to come in after siesta for a parent-teacher conference."

"Is that bad?" Mirabel asked, looking at her oldest sister.

"On the first day of school, absolutely," Isabela said, "Everyone has Parent-Teacher conferences twice a year, but those days are scheduled months in advance, to have a teacher want to have a meeting so early in the school year… you must have…"

"Isabela!" Julieta exclaimed, glaring at her eldest, "That's enough! Stop upsetting your hermanita."

"Isabela has a point Julieta," Alma pointed out, "It's the first day of school, for Senora Silva to want to have a Parent-Teacher conference Mirabel must have done something wrong."

"But I didn't!" Mirabel cried out.

"Mama, we don't know why Senora Silva wants a parent-teacher conference," Julieta pointed out, "And I refuse to jump to any conclusions. We will deal with any problems once I am told what the problems are."


Normally Julieta would just let Mirabel play during Siesta, so long as she didn't disturb anyone else as well, but it was obvious that the excitement of starting school and the stress Isabela and her Abuela's words caused that the little girl was exhausted. So she accompanied her daughter up to the nursery, pulled her up onto her lap, and started to read the chapter book that she had picked out as a bedtime story to her. Mirabel barely made it through the first page before she was nodding off.

Julieta gently tucked her into bed, pressing a kiss on her forehead, "You'll feel better after you rest for a little while," she promised as she slowly closed the door.

She found Dolores and Isabela in the living room, homework sheets spread out on the coffee table as they tried to take advantage of the hour left before they had to go back for school.

"Homework already?" Julieta asked her oldest.

"It's just a review of what we learned last year," Isabela explained, "simple really, but we have chores that we need to do after school, so we might as well get it done now."

"Well, I was wondering, Dolores, do you have any idea what Senora Silva wants to talk about, did you hear anything?"

Dolores shook her head, "No I didn't," she confessed, "the only thing I really heard was Mirabel telling Senora Silva about her Loretta D. Lopez book."

"Loretta D. Lopez?" Julieta muttered, "Didn't I buy those for Luisa?"

"Yeah," Luisa said from the couch, "when I was seven, I've kind of outgrew them, so I gave them to Mirabel."

"Maybe that's the problem," Isabela said grumpily, "Mirabel thinks she's so…"

"Isabela we are not jumping to any conclusions on why Senora Silva wants to talk to your Papa and me."


Mirabel yawned, sat up, and stretched, Mama was right, she did feel better, although now Camilo would tease her and call her a baby for needing a nap. She reached over and slid her glasses on before allowing Casita to help her with her shoes.

Downstairs she found her Abuela working on a pile of mending in the living room, "Where's Mama?" she asked.

"Oh, so your awake," Abuela said glancing up at her, "Your padres went to the school with your hermanas and prima to talk to your teacher."

"Oh," Mirabel said softly.

"If I had had my way, you should have gone with them, and apologized for whatever it was that you did. However, your Mama didn't want to wake you from your nap."

"I didn't do anything," Mirabel protested.

"So you claim, but it's the first day of school, you must have broken a school rule without realizing it, and the proper thing to do is go to the school and apologize. Come on, I'll escort you back to the school."


Mirabel trudged solemnly next to her Abuela as she entered the school building, leading the way to her classroom. Inside her parents sat in big chairs next to the desk, talking to Senora Silva.

"I don't see why we shouldn't have her tested," her mama was saying as they entered the room.

"Senora Madrigal," Senora Silva called out, noticing Abuela, "What are you doing here?"

"I brought Mirabel over to apologize for being so naughty on the first day of school," Abuela announced, dragging the little girl forward.

"But Mirabel was an absolute angel today Senora."

Abuela blinked, "She was?"

"I told you that we shouldn't jump to conclusions until we knew what was really going on," Julieta exclaimed, glaring at her madre, "Senora Silva wanted our permission to give Mirabel a Performance Test to see if she shouldn't be placed in a more advanced class."

"Why would she need to be put in a more advanced class?"

"Because your nieta is extremely bright," Senora Silva explained, "From the worksheets she did today, I feel like it would be in her best interest to have her move up a grade."

"How do you know that she didn't cheat?"

Senora Silva opened a drawer in her desk, pulling out a piece of paper, "This is a book report that Mirabel wrote today. None of the other children were given this assignment. When she told me that she was reading Loretta D. Lopez's books, I wanted to see how well her reading comprehension was. Mirabel did not leave the classroom. I kept my eye on her. How do you suggest that she cheated?"

"I… um…" Abuela frowned, "Perhaps Mirabel was given a gift after all," she finally announced, "Perhaps it enhanced her intelligence, and her missing door is just a puzzle or riddle that she has to solve to find it. Yes, that's what this is. You should definitely move her to the most advanced class that you possibly can."

"That's what the performance test is for," Senora Silva announced, "I'll have to make arrangements for it, will tomorrow work?"

"Si," Abuela said, "I'll make sure that Mirabel is ready for it."