Efrén Divided

Efrén heads into Ms. Salas’s room. She teaches the Leadership class and is in charge of the student election. She mentions how in past years many more than two candidates ran for school office; one year 11 students ran. She asks Efrén if he is certain about not running, and he tells her he came only to support his friend. Mrs. Salas offers conchas (bread rolls with sweet topping) to the boys. Jennifer Huerta and her friend Han Pham are in the room as well; only Jennifer is running. Efrén thinks Jennifer is pretty nice although she tends to correct others when they are wrong about something. Ms. Salas says the loser will be the vice president. Efrén thinks David has a chance since “Jennifer had a way of rubbing student the wrong way” (23).

After the meeting, Efrén and David rush to Mr. Garrett’s history class. Mr. Garrett used to be a creative and energetic teacher, earning a teacher of the year designation just the year before. Now, though, he is moody and disinterested in teaching, evidenced by his bare room and unengaging assignments. Mr. Garrett sips coffee and works on Sudoku puzzles as the students start an article assignment on their Chromebook tablets. David passes Efrén a cartoon that shows Mr. Garrett sleeping and Jennifer Huerta requesting more homework.

At breaktime, Efrén goes to the school library. He enjoys the atmosphere and loves books new to him as well as books he already read. Today, a book’s title reminds him of the fruit trees on his walk to school: The House on Mango Street. Jennifer Huerta approaches and tells him it is her favorite book. They discuss books and reading; then their conversation turns to the election. Jennifer says she is running because she wants to “make a difference, even if just at school” (31). She feels strongly about the situation many families face in their community and reveals to Efrén that her mother is in America without authorization. Efrén shares that his parents are as well. He reassures her that he will not tell and checks out Jennifer’s favorite book.

Later, at lunch, Efrén and his friends watch David play on a gaming device. Efrén reflects how he might have his own device if Apá had gotten a bonus for working hard instead of needing emergency appendix surgery in the last year. Right after school, David wants Efrén’s help with campaign posters. He convinces Efrén to hang posters in the girls’ bathroom stalls that read “DON’T GO NUMBER TWO. VOTE FOR DAVID AND GO NUMBER ONE!” (35). Efrén discovers, though, that Jennifer beat David to this idea with similar posters already up. David wants to trim the size of his nose in the poster’s cartoon with Wite-Out. The two hide when they hear someone coming, then leave when the person locks themselves in a stall and begins to cry. On the way out, Efrén sees from the pink rolling backpack under the stall that the crying girl is Jennifer.

When Efrén gets home, he is puzzled because Amá is not there. He tries to read, thinking that maybe Amá took the twins to the playground, but he soon notices their coats in the apartment. He goes to the playground to see for himself. They are not there, and Efrén runs home. He sees a note from a neighbor, Doña Chana, saying that Ms. Solomon brought the twins home and Doña Chana has them. She tells Efrén after sending the twins to watch TV that Amá called to say ICE arrested her and others at the factory during a raid. Doña Chana says she already left a message for Apá. Efrén sits stunned while Doña Chana lights a candle with a saint on the jar.

When Apá finally comes home from work, the twins are still awake. He plays with them briefly while Efrén waits to talk to him. Mia asks where Amá is, and Apá tells her she went to visit Aunt Martha. Efrén thinks about how no one deported from their neighborhood returns. He knows the ICE raids are worsening all over—statewide and around the country too—and sees the evidence of it in the way Apá no longer takes them on trips out of their town (to avoid checkpoints). One night the family went to Denny’s for dinner and ended up across the aisle from two uniformed ICE officials. Efrén recalls how fearful his parents were as they tried to pretend that everything was fun and normal.

After Efrén helps get the twins into bed, he sits to talk with Apá, but the phone rings. It is Amá. Apá talks to her briefly, then gives Efrén the phone. Amá says she is fine, but Efrén hears her sniffling. ICE will send her back to Mexico the next day. She says she will return soon and asks Efrén to mind the twins. Efrén promises to do so. He lies awake that night, thinking about his mother and the way she says a prayer and runs her fingers through his hair when he cannot sleep.

Early in the morning, Apá awakens Efrén before leaving for work. Efrén reassures Apá that he can get the twins to school. Apá gives Efrén 20 dollars for food. Apá tells Efrén he will try to arrange for a coyote who can bring Amá safely back across the border into the US. He says he must borrow money from a friend at work to make it happen. Efrén tries dutifully to cook dough with cinnamon sugar in oil for the twins’ breakfast, but it is a disaster; oil spatters and he burns his hand. He ends up taking them for the free breakfast at school.