Here's the newest chapter! I hope you guys like it! Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Thanks so so so much for the favorites and follows, and thank you so much for your reviews. They mean so much!

Next update won't be until I don't even know. I'm hella busy with senior year. I keep moving the date back because I have no time. It should be soon that I next update.

plltwpjohoofan - Do you mean where is he, or why isn't he mentioned? I assume he would have passed by this point, and as for mentioning, you'll see. Thanks for your review!

Eight.

Leo tried to smile.

It came out as a sort of grimace.

He stood at the front of a classroom, about twenty other children his age staring back at him with bored expressions. Though there was one girl with red pigtails who was grinning at him. Leo wasn't sure what she was so happy about. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. His stomach was full of butterflies. Not the good kind, but the kind that made you feel scared and made your heart race.

His new teacher smiled.

"Everybody, this is Leo Valdez. Leo moved here very recently, and I'm going to ask that you guys and girls are really nice to him." The middle aged school teacher said. She stood beside Leo with her hand on his shoulder.

"So Leo, at the start of the year all of my kids told us something interesting about themselves. What's one interesting thing about you?" She asked with a grin. Leo looked around at the other students. They were shifting in their desks. They were restless.

"Uh." Leo said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I can speak Spanish."

Immediately, Leo noticed a shift in the room. The kids were smiling now, whispering to each other, and one blond boy called out,

"That's so cool."

A chorus of "Yeah"s and "Can you teach me?"s rang throughout the classroom until the teacher, Mrs. Carpenter, told them to quiet down.

"I can't really teach you guys." Leo mumbled. "I know it because I was taught when I was a baby."

"Were you born in Spain?"

"My babysitter is from Costa Rica."

"Is Spanish better than English?"

"I was born in Texas." Leo said with a slight smile. "I'm not Costa Rican, I'm Mexican. And I dunno, sometimes. It's more fun."

A girl with glasses and long brown hair said, "My daddy says the Mexicans can't read."

Leo's face turned pink.

"I can read." He said strongly. The girl didn't seem fazed.

"My daddy says you guys are better off mowing lawns. He says you guys shouldn't go to school because he doesn't want to pay for a border bunny's education."

Leo opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it. He felt that if he said something, it would be very mean, and his mama told him that if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all.

"Okay, that's enough questions for now." Mrs. Carpenter said with a nervous laugh. "Leo, that's your seat over there next to Jessica. Jessica, could you raise your hand?"

The girl with red pigtails smiled brightly as her hand shot up into the air. Leo quickly walked over to his desk and sat down, his face still burning. The teacher continued speaking, but Leo couldn't hear her, his ears were buzzing. He clenched his teeth as he thought about what that girl had said. He thought about it over and over, his anger growing each time he heard her utter "My daddy says-"

Then Leo took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and pictured something nice, a beach this time, like the one mama had taken him to on the fourth of July. There had been fireworks. He had loved the blue ones.

Earlier that morning before Leo had gone to school, Roberto had spoken to Leo about something, something very important according to the older man.

"Leo," he had said. "You will learn this in time, but I will tell you now so you can be prepared. A lot of the men and women in this neighborhood look down on me. They look at my skin color, they hear my accent, and they think I'm uneducated, less intelligent. I take care of their lawns, I make them beautiful, yet they treat me badly. It isn't fair, and sometimes they say very mean things, but I never respond, chiquito. I say nothing, because I have respect for myself."

"What about when you get angry?" Leo had asked, thinking of his own tendency to feel the emotion.

"When I get very mad and believe I may say something rude, I take a very deep breath, close my eyes, and think of something nice. That helps me feel better."

And so here was Leo, his eyes closed and his mind picturing the waves breaking on sand, his mama's warm hand grasping his own.

"Hey."

Leo opened his eyes and looked to his right. The redheaded girl was looking at him.

"My name's Jessica, but everyone calls me Jess. Do you wanna sit with me and my friends at lunchtime?" She asked with a hushed voice. The teacher was still talking at the front of the room.

Leo shrugged.

"Well if you don't you can play with us at recess. We play by the monkey bars."

"Maybe." Leo mumbled. He looked back at his desk.

"I'm sorry some of the others are so stupid."

Leo looked back at her. "It's fine. I just ignore them."

"Yeah, but it still hurts a person's feelings when mean things are said about them."

Leo looked at her more closely. Her eyes were a warm brown, and freckles were sprayed across her face.

"People make fun of my hair a lot, and my freckles too." She sighed. Then she smiled. "Maybe I can learn to ignore them like you."

"Jessica, stop talking." Mrs. Carpenter said. Jess's face turned beet red as she faced forward.

Leo almost laughed at her dismayed expression. He looked to his left, then, out the window beside his desk. There were trees in the distance, and between the trees and the school was a field of green grass. He felt the urge to jump out the window and sprint across the grass, into the trees, and away from all of these people. Even Roberto.

Why do you want to run away? Roberto is nice.

Leo didn't know why, he didn't know.

He just wanted to run.

The afternoon sun was relentless.

Leo leaned against a lone tree, but its dry branches did nothing to shield Leo from the heat. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, an action he seemed to be doing very often, and scuffed his sneaker on the parched dirt ground. He looked up for a moment, his dark eyes squinting in the harsh light.

Children were running around everywhere, laughing, screaming, and showing each other bugs and flowers that had been found in the grass.

It was recess time now, and Leo felt just as he had during lunch; uncomfortable. Uncomfortable, and fragile.

Not fragile like he could break at any moment and cry, but fragile like Leo felt like something small might set him off. Because although he kept thinking of nice things and taking really deep breaths, he couldn't stop thinking about what that girl had said.

He was realizing now what his mother had meant.

He was beginning to understand.

Leo looked toward the playground. Jess was standing near the monkey bars with a few other kids. She caught his eye and smiled, motioning him over. When he didn't move, she jogged toward him, her brilliantly white Keds kicking up dust.

"Hi Leo." She said, slightly out of breath. Leo nodded to her.

"Do you want to come over to the monkey bars? We're going to have a contest. Whoever can do the most pull-ups wins."

Leo snorted. The kids she seemed to be friends with were all thin and scraggly. He doubted this would go well.

"I guess I'd like to see that." Leo said with a slight smile. A smile lit up Jess's face and she grabbed Leo's arm. He allowed himself to be dragged over to the little group Jess was friends with.

Once they got there, Leo nearly groaned. These weren't just scrawny kids, they were the scrawny kids; the misfits, the nerds, the kids that got picked on. Leo knew from experience that these were not the kids to make friends with if you were the new kid. That only made you a target as well.

There were two other girls and three boys.

The one girl was very small and had black hair, which was cut short in a bob. She looked at Leo then looked away quickly. Leo thought she might be shy, as she was looking at the ground and was clenching one arm tightly with the opposite hand. The other girl had her arm draped protectively over the shy girl's shoulder. As Leo scoped this one out, he realized the girls might be twins. This girl had the same black hair, the same huge grey eyes, and the same thin lips as the other. Her attitude was much different, however; confident, even combative. Her eyes locked with Leo's, and she smirked.

Two of the boys were very skinny, and one was slightly chubby. One had thick glasses and a bony frame, which Leo guessed he got teased for. The chubby one had bright red hair like Jessica's. The last had a large hooked nose and a pinched face.

Jess pointed to the girls and said, "This is Renee and Rebecca." Leo didn't know which name belonged to which twin. Then Jess turned her attention to the boys.

"The tall one with glasses is Ryan, the one with red hair is Jack, and the one that looks like a rat is Nathan."

"Hey!" Nathan yelled.

"I'm just kidding I'm just kidding." Jess laughed.

"No you're not." Ryan snickered.

"Be nice." Yelled one twin, Rebecca Leo thought, and Ryan stopped laughing.

"Everyone, this is Leo! He can speak Spanish, isn't that cool?" Jess exclaimed.

"Yeah." Jack said. "So why is he playing with us?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're the nerds, Jess."

"No we aren't!"

Leo snorted and grinned slyly. "Yeah, you kind of are."

Jess glared at him.

"Sorry. Just being honest."

"If you have nothing nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all." Rebecca scoffed, and Leo's face fell. He was suddenly filled with an intense feeling of shame and guilt. He could remember what his mama had said. She had said that exact same thing.

And here Leo was being mean.

"I'm sorry." Leo whispered, his voice cracking. He stared at the dusty ground, and suddenly a hand was on his shoulder.

"No, no. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so mean to you, you are new after all." Rebecca said. Leo shook her hand off with a shrug. He tousled his dark curls and took a deep breath.

"So," he started. "Who's going first?"

Jack walked up to the ladder and began to climb. When he made it to the top, he rubbed his hands together and stuck his tongue out in concentration. Then he reached up to the first bar and let himself hang. The others, Leo included, surrounded him.

Jack took a deep breath and pulled himself up on the first pull-up. Then another. And another. Leo was surprised to see how many he could do. Sweat beaded on Jack's forehead, and his short cropped ginger hair blazed like fire in the sunlight. The thought of fire made Leo shiver, and he pushed idea out of his mind.

"Wow, he's still going, what is that, eleven?" Ryan said, impressed.

Then Jack dropped to the ground, landing on his butt, breathing hard. He let himself flop onto his back and he smiled up at them.

"Twelve. Twelve is the number to beat."

"I'm next." Jess said as she scrambled to the top of the ladder. She expertly grabbed a bar and began her pull-ups, moving much faster than Jack had. The ginger boy groaned as he watched her. He rose from the ground and looked at Leo.

"She's the best at pull-ups." He stated. Leo laughed. He thought he liked Jack.

"Hey, let me have a go. I know I can do more than you carrot top." A loud voice said from behind them. They turned around and all of them but Leo groaned.

A tall blond boy was standing there with his hands on his hips like a superhero. Another boy with brown hair was beside him. They both looked old, and they both looked strong.

"That's Jeremy." Becca whispered.

"He's a sixth grader." Jack sighed.

"He hates us."

Jess still hadn't stopped doing her pull-ups. A thin sheen of sweat was on her brow.

"Come on, Jessie, get down. I'm going to show you how it's done." Jeremy said louder. Jess didn't stop. Jeremy walked through the other kids and stood right under Jess.

"I said get down!" He yelled, and he grabbed her ankle, yanking her harshly from the bar. She cried out as she landed hard on her back, coughing. Jeremy jumped up to a bar, not even having to use the ladder.

"What is wrong with you?" Jess gasped from the ground, the wind knocked out of her.

"Nothing. I just want to show you that a little girl isn't stronger than me."

"Really? Well good luck with that you jerk. I did thirty six of them before you pulled me down." Jess said with a smile. She got to her feet and walked over to the other kids. Rebecca hugged her and asked if she was okay.

They all watched Jeremy do his pull-ups. Even Jeremy's friend stood with his arms crossed, his eyes trained on the blond boy's body.

Leo was counting.

Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-one.

Thirty-two.

Then Jeremy dropped to the ground, his face red with effort.

"There you little runt. I beat you." Jeremy said. Jess groaned.

"No you didn't." Leo said.

"What did you say?" Jeremy asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I said you didn't beat her. You only did thirty two."

"You wanna say that again?"

"Are you deaf?"

"No, gravelbelly, I have perfect hearing. I was just confused because you think you can count."

Leo ground his teeth and moved toward Jeremy before stopping himself. Jeremy smirked.

"I can count." Leo hissed. The other kids backed away a little.

"Leo, just shut up." Jess whispered from behind him.

"In Spanish, maybe. But in English we do it differently, you see. You must have gotten mixed up, you scrawny mudman." Jeremy growled as he stepped closer to Leo. The older boy was at least two feet taller.

Leo bristled.

"I can count in both you dimwit!" Leo yelled.

"See now you must be lying, because Mexicans don't even get educated. They just sit around on street corners drinking booze and then they go to work mowing our lawns. Oh yeah, Leo, I was meaning to ask, are you doing anything Saturday? My grass is getting high."

Leo's face felt like it was on fire. He felt his fingernails digging into his palms as his stomach, and then his entire body, filled with rage. He had never been this angry. He was trembling with the emotion.

"Cállate, pedazo de basura!" Leo yelled.

Jeremy laughed. "Is that what you said when you snuck over the border?"

Then Leo's hand flew forward, crashing into Jeremy's jaw.

The end to another chapter! Sorry for grammar mistakes in both my English and Spanish. The the twins are named after a pair of twins I myself am best friends with.

I hate racism so much it makes my blood boil. Poor Leo. Please leave a review, it makes me so happy!

And did anyone else have tons of trouble the last few days? Fanfiction kept telling me there were no views on my last chapter even though some of you guys reviewed it...weird. I hope it doesn't happen again.