A Sisterin Before Breakfast

 

  Martín pulled back the curtain in the room he shared with his twin sister, Emma. The sky was blue and the ground was full of colors--red, orange, and yellow leaves scattered all over the front yard.

  "Close the curtain," Emma groaned from her bed on the other side of the room. She put a pillow over her head.

  Martín ignored her. There weren't many things that he preferred about living in Chicago compared to their house in Cuernavaca, Mexico. But the fall season was definitely one of them!

  He loved the way the air felt crisp and a little bit chilly, but not too much. And how the trees had begun to change colors from one day to the next, and how many different colors there were! He loved the sound the leaves made when they skittered across a sidewalk.

  "Martín, come on!" Emma said, sitting up in her bed. She covered her eyes with one hand. "It's too bright in here."

  Martín did not close the curtain. Instead he called to the small dog curled up at the foot of his bed.

  "Nacho, come here!"

  Nacho had been a birthday gift for the twins in September. Their parents thought he would be a good way for their family to meet some of the neighbors. Dog people loved talking to other dog people.

  Nacho had short legs, big ears, and a thin tail, which he wagged nonstop as he loped over to where Martín was standing by the window.

  Martín picked up the dog and pointed out the window at one of the Kohler kids walking their dog. Martín recognized him from school.

  "Nacho, look. It's your doggy friend Lucy."

  Nacho barked at Lucy.

  Lucy and the Kohler boy walked past Mr. Santorini raking his front yard. He wasn't making a lot of progress. The wind was messing up every pile of leaves he gathered as soon as he finished raking them.

  On the other side of Mr. Santorini, the other Kohler kids had already raked up a huge pile of leaves in their yard and were taking turns jumping into it.

  KNOCK, KNOCK

  Mami came into the room. "Buenos días!" she told Martín and Emma.

  Nacho barked a welcome.

  Mami kissed them each on their forehead, even Nacho.

  "It's going to be a beautiful day." Mami smiled and peeked out the window. "Looks like the Kohler kids are having fun. You should go talk to them."

  "Maybe later," Martín said, and shrugged.

  "Being part of a community is important," Mami replied. She was always trying to get them to talk to the neighbors and "make some friends."

  And sure, it was a good idea, if you were the kind of person who was good at making friends. But that was not an easy thing for Martín to do. Even if he did know one of the Kohler kids from school, it would be so weird to just go up and talk to them. And it wasn't like they were making any effort to talk to Martín and Emma.

  "Mom, it doesn't work like that," Emma said. "Besides, Martín and I already have plans for today."

  "Oh?" Mami asked. "Does it involve finishing your project on ancient Rome?"

  This she directed to Martín because, of course, Emma had finished her project ages ago.

  "Ummm... yeah. I just need to figure out what a sisterin is," said Martín.

  "A what?" asked Emma and Mami at the same time.

  "A sisterin."

  "What's a sisterin?" Emma asked.

  "That's exactly what I need to find out," Martín replied. "I literally just said that."

  "Hmmm... I've never heard of such a thing," said Mami. "Maybe your dad knows?"

  Martín's dad was a middle school principal, which meant he knew everything. He was also what he called "a history buff."

  "I'll ask him later." Martín pointed out the window to where Dad had started "being part of the community" by helping Mr. Santorini rake his yard.

  "All right," Mami replied. "In the meantime if you two are hungry, I have some molletes and chocolate caliente for you downstairs."

  "Definitely hungry!" Martín said, and he followed Mami out of the room.

 

   

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Excerpted from The Child King of Uxmal by Karla Arenas Valenti
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.