Supplemental Materials

2019-2020 Short Story Workshop West Bronx Academy for the Future (School X243)

The following are sample materials are from a fiction-writing workshop led by teaching artist Libby Mislan, for 7th and 8th grade students at the West Bronx Academy for the Future, Spring 2020. • Workshop Information Form • Teaching Path • Bio of Teaching Artist Libby Mislan • Two Writing Exercises • Excerpts from a Printed Anthology of Student Work

FY20 X243 West Bronx Academy for the Future Workshop Admin Form

Time Frame: Contact in mid fall School/Site: X243 West Bronx Academy for the Future Address: 500 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY 10458

Directions: GoogleMap Fordham Stop B D Program Contact: A Assistant Principal, Christopher King cking@westbronxacademy.org (718) 563-7139 Principal, Wilper Morales Teachers, Melanie Morales (7th grade) and Josh Casson (8th grade) Program Length: Number of Days, Number of Periods Please note the 7th and 8th grade mix below.

• Morning - 2 sections of 8th grade, 1 section of 7th grade (periods 2, 3, 4) • Afternoon - 2 sections of 7th grade, 1 section of 8th grade (periods 7,8,9)

10-day, 6-period program Dates: Feb. 3, 10, 24 March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 April 6, 20, snow day 27th May 4 celebration in library Grade/Audience: 7th grade & 8th grade Program Focus: Fiction focus for 7th & 8th grade students Anthology: Yes Notes: Mid-Program Assessment, PD focus, etc. T&W doesn’t typically allow 6-period teaching days but due to the challenges of the school schedule we thought that we would make an exception. Due to school closures, classes on March 16, 23, 30, April 6 and 20 were cancelled. In collaboration with the school, the following changes to the program were made: virtual workshops were held on May 4 and 11. Additional video instruction was provided to students, as well as feedback on written work. A virtual celebration was held on June 1, 2020.

TEACHING PATH

Class: Fiction: 2020 vision School/Grade/CT(s): West Bronx Academy/ 7th & 8th grade/ Ms. Morales & Mr. Casson Assistant Principal Christopher King, Principal Wilper Morales Teaching Artist: Libby Mislan

Program Overview: During each workshop, T&W teaching artist Libby Mislan will guide students through three projects that explore the genre of fiction writing, in particular looking at flash fiction, realistic fiction, and magical realism.

Inquiry Question: What are the issues I’m dealing with as a middle schooler? As a resident of the Bronx? As a pre/teen in 2020? What am I passionate about? How can I develop a character and plot that is inspired or influenced by my culture, upbringing, and life in 2020?

Residency Goals - Students will analyze contemporary fiction by successful authors that share their

cultural backgrounds.

- Students will expand their writing abilities, strengthening character development, plot,and gain a deeper understanding of the multitudes within the fiction genre.

- Students will practice drawing upon their own lived experiences to create vivid works offiction.

- Students will draw inspiration in their writing from the ways technology and socialmedia impact our everyday lives.

Creative Elements

- Character development- Shape of a story- Flash fiction (Twitterature and Writing from Social Media)- Realistic fiction- Magical realism

- Strong beginnings and endings- Editing and review- Assembling of work

Culminating Products and Events: - Students will complete three short works of fiction from three different fiction sub-

genres: flash fiction, realistic fiction, and magical realism. The work will culminate in ananthology and performed “Story Slam” celebration.

Student Outcomes - Emotional expression: Students will draw directly upon their lived experiences to build

character and plot that draws parallels to their everyday lives.

- Cultural expression: Students will be encouraged to write realistic fiction inspired bytheir unique culture and upbringing.

- Empathetic expression: Students will learn to appreciate and welcome their stories intotheir classroom as well as explore their similarities , which will allow them to furtherforster respect and care for one another. This will lead them to consciously define theircommunities, both outside the classroom and within.

- A love for literature: As a result of reading hyper-engaging mentor texts, students will beinspired to dive deeper into the fiction genre.

- Oral Presentation/Performance Skills: in preparation for the story slam, students willpractice reading their work out loud with confidence and clarity.

Rituals and Routines: --Open our classes with “10 words or less” on a post-it note --End our class with “I have a voice/My voice is powerful/My voice can change the world" call & response

Outline:

Week 1 February 3rd: Welcome/Warm Up Games, Community Agreements, 10 words or less Week 2 February 10th: Flash Fiction: “Twitterature” Week 3 February 24th: Flash Fiction: Writing from a photograph on social media Week 4 March 2nd: Realistic Fiction: Creating a character Week 5 March 9th: Realistic Fiction: Shape of story, creating plot, & writing beginning Week 6 March 16th: Realistic Fiction: Writing middle Week 7 March 23rd: Realistic Fiction: Writing end Week 8 March 30th: Magical Realism Week 9 April 6th: Magical Realism Week 10 April 20th: Magical Realism

Teachers & Writers Collaborative

Teaching Artist Bio

LibbyMislan

Libby Mislan is a poet and community-based artist in Queens, New York. Inspired by the intersections between poetry, music, and dance, she has collaborated extensively with dancers and musicians to create multidisciplinary works. She graduated with her MFA in poetry in 2018 from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she studied the intersections of poetry and body wisdom. Her work weaves the personal and the political in explorations of ancestral lineage, personal, collective and ecological healing, and radical re-imaginings. Libby works as a teaching artist with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Community Word Project, and Urban Arts Partnership’s Story Studio program. Her most recent poetry project, Queens Flora, was funded by Queens Council on the Arts, explored the plant life of the Ridgewood Reservoir. To see more of Libby’s work, visit www.libbymislan.com

Name _________________________________ Class _________________________________

Outlining Your Realistic Fiction Story

Circle the issue that your character is dealing with:

Other _________________________

(Flip the page over for your outline)

(Before you begin your outline) Make sure you have a paragraph written about a character that tells us: their name, where they live, their interests, and clothing style. You should also include what they care about, and what makes them scared, happy and annoyed. Name what issue they are dealing with.

HOME:-Family Problems-Divorce-Money Issues-Abuse-Not beingacceptedfor who you are

SCHOOL: -Homework-Stress-Time management-Procrastination-Dress Codes-Bullying-Grades

FRIENDS: -Trust-Rumors/Reputation-Fitting In-Drama/Fights-Awkwardness/Social Anxiety

IN GENERAL: -Race/RacismGender Identity-LGBTQ Identity-Puberty-Anxiety/Depression-Body Image

Sample writing assignment 1

BEGINNING: Imagine your beginning like a scene in a movie. Where are your characters in the first scene?

In the first scene my character is _____________________________________. (tell us where your character is.)

My character is with ________________________________________________. (are there other characters in the scene?)

My character is feeling______________________________(name an emotion)

because ________________________________________(what is happening).

RISING ACTION: What begins to happen related to my character’s issue?

My character begins to _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. (Think: does your character have a tough conversation? Are they caught in a hard moment? Do they need to make a big decision?)

CLIMAX: What big action happens?

The biggest moment in my story is when _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

RESOLUTION: How does something change?

In the end of my story, ____________________________________.(what changes?)

In the end of my story my character is feeling __________________ and _____________________(name two emotions that are different from how the character felt in the beginning of the story.)

Name _________________________________ Class _________________________________

Writing Your Realistic Fiction Short Story

Beginning (5-10 sentences): (Include: where character is, character description, and how they are feeling based on what is happening. Dialogue can be a great place to start!)

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Sample writing assignment 2

Rising Action (5-10 sentences): (What begins to happen? Describe the conflict, or situation, that your character is dealing with.) __________________________________________________________

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Teachers & Writers Collaborative

Writer in Residence Libby Mislan

Spring 2020

Days of our Lives

A collection of short stories written by the seventh and eighth grade

students from the West Bronx Academy for the Future

Excerpt from printed anthology of student work

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TEACHERS & WRITERS COLLABORATIVE (T&W) partners with New York City schools and community-based organizations to offer dynamic creative writing programs led by professional writers. Since 1967, T&W has worked with more than 750,000 K-12 students and more than 25,000 teachers at schools throughout New York City; published more than 80 books and an online magazine about creative writing education; and provided free resources for students, teachers, and writers on our website (www.twc.org).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This residency was sponsored by the New York City Department of Education and Teachers and Writers Collaborative (T&W).

T&W programs are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

T&W is also grateful for support from the following: The Bydale Foundation, Cerimon Fund, Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, E.H.A. Foundation, Kenneth Koch Literary Estate, Leonore Gordon PD Arts and Wellness on the Go Fund at Stonewall Community Foundation, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Simon and Eve Colin Foundation, Wells Fargo, and friends of T&W.

A Teachers & Writers Collaborative Publication Copyright © 2020

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With Appreciation

The short stories featured in this anthology were written by the 7th and 8th grade students of

the West Bronx Academy for the Future during a ten-week residency (modified to six sessions

due to COVID-19). I want to acknowledge how proud I am of our students for continuing to

thrive in their academics during the transition to virtual learning and for taking the time from

their busy academic demands to complete this creative project with such thoughtfulness.

Our residency focused on writing realistic fiction, which we defined as “made up stories, with

believable characters in believable places.” We began our time together with warm-up realistic

fiction writing exercises, like developing characters by looking at the street photography of

Andre Wagner. We read a realistic fiction short story by Gary Soto entitled “Seventh Grade,” to study the shape of a story, dialogue, and descriptive language. Drawing inspiration from our

own lives, we brainstormed issues that middle schoolers in the Bronx go through, whether it be

school stress, bullying, trust issues with friends, dating, family issues, coming out as LGBTQ+,

or more systemic issues like racism, sexism, or poverty. We drew upon these issues when

developing the characters and plots in our short stories.

This anthology would not be possible without the relentless commitment of the classroom

teachers Ms. Melanie Morales and Mr. Josh Casson, Assistant Principal Christopher King, and

Principal Wilper Morales. Your collaboration guided the students to create a wealth of work

they can be proud of. Also, special thanks to Umu Kuthum Kabba for illustrating our book

cover, Esmeralda Rodriguez-Garcia for illustrating the title page, and Akeelah Wallace for her

illustration (can be seen on P. 57).

I would also like to thank the Teachers & Writers Collaborative team for this opportunity and,

finally, to the participating students of West Bronx Academy for your part in sharing your

creativity and making this residency come to life.

Libby Mislan

Teaching Artist

Teachers & Writers Collaborative

Spring 2020

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Table of Contents

701 .................................................. 6

Annaly Abreu ......................................... 6 Joseph Almonte .................................... 8 Emy Barrera .......................................... 9 Zoe Burgos .......................................... 11 Lizbeth Cabral ..................................... 14 Autumn Carino .................................... 15 Assoumaou Diallo ............................... 16 Hedith Hernandez ............................... 17 Azar Jones .......................................... 19 Sofia Lopez ......................................... 20 Saraya Martinez .................................. 21 Miguel Michaca ................................... 22 Angelina Perez .................................... 24 Leanna Perez ...................................... 26 Meleny Perez ...................................... 29 Rosandy Perez .................................... 34 Kimberly Pita ....................................... 36 Jasmine Rico ....................................... 37 Mellanie Rodriguez ............................. 40 Samantha Rodriguez .......................... 41 Jonery Santos ..................................... 42 Junior Taveras .................................... 45 Akeelah Wallace ................................. 47

702 ............................................... 50

Treasure Brown .................................. 50 Elissa Done ........................................ 51 Nadia Duncan ..................................... 52 Sebastian Espana .............................. 57 Aleah Foster ....................................... 58 Jeremiah Guzman .............................. 60 Umu Kuthum Kabba ........................... 61 Assitan Kone ...................................... 65 Citlali Perez ........................................ 67 Arlenys Pichardo ................................ 70 Tynaisha Rich ..................................... 72 Sky Rodriguez .................................... 75 Jada Wagner Reyes ........................... 76

703 ............................................... 78

Raely Camilo ...................................... 78 Nyasia Degracia ................................. 80 Giovanni Flores Ortega ...................... 81 Xavier Gonzalez-Wallace ................... 82 Justine Lozada ................................... 83 Jaydalyn Marin ................................... 85 Lisbeth Moreta Rondon ...................... 87 Esmeralda Rodriguez-Garcia ............. 88 Natacha Salazar ................................. 92 Mahamadou Touray ........................... 93

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801 ................................................ 94

Pistell Asare ........................................ 94 TʼAshley Bernard ................................. 96 Liz Bulgarin-Vargas ............................. 97 Karla Camilo ...................................... 100 Karla Camilo ...................................... 102 Jesslyn Decena ................................. 103 Deysi Franco Cruz ............................ 104 Kiara Garrett ...................................... 105 Kimberly Guadalupe .......................... 107 Chasity Guerrero ............................... 109 Barrington Head-Marte ...................... 111 Kendric Henriquez ............................. 112 Maleek Henry .................................... 113 Anthony Maraquina ........................... 116 Miguel Marte ..................................... 117 Kobe Montesino ................................ 118 Pedro Olavarria ................................. 119 Jared Ortega ..................................... 120 Justin Perea ...................................... 121 Aleanis Rodriguez ............................. 123 Angel Rodriguez ................................ 125 Leslie Rojas ....................................... 126 Gesele Segura .................................. 128

802 .............................................. 129

Tayshaun Alvarez ............................. 129 Krissien Ashley .................................. 130 Dalia Balbuena .................................. 132 Valerie Cabrera ................................. 134 Angel Diaz ......................................... 136

Vanessa Flores ................................. 138 Jorge Garcia ..................................... 139 Mia Garcia ........................................ 140 Lisbeth Hernandez-Olivo .................. 141 Anthony Horta ................................... 143 Joseph Jimenez ................................ 144 Mahamadou Kantako ....................... 145 Justin Martinez ................................. 147 Denise Mora ..................................... 148 Amanda Ramos ................................ 150 Isabella Rivera .................................. 152 Adalia Rodriguez .............................. 153 Catherine Stewart ............................. 154 Harmonie Tribble .............................. 155 Jayson Wallace ................................ 157

803 ............................................. 158

Raiden Abreu .................................... 158 Christopher Aldama .......................... 159 Chantel Bilson .................................. 160 Victor Breton ..................................... 161 Christian Cruz ................................... 162 Daniel Jimenez ................................. 164 Donmar Kerr ..................................... 165 Ryan Ortega ..................................... 166 Steven Pavia .................................... 167 Leslie Perez ...................................... 168 Eliza Ramirez ................................... 170 Damian Reyes .................................. 172 Francisco Rodriguez ......................... 174 Shalia Vega ...................................... 176 Javonne Wilson ................................ 178

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Zoe Burgos The Red Dress

The loud ringing of the bell fills my ears. I had forgotten where I was. A classroom full of strangers, yet I know them by name. As my eyes open, I’m greeted by a gentle push coming from my right. I look over and Levi’s face, my best friend, meets my eyes. “Are you okay? You slept through the whole period.” I didn’t answer until I stood up, grabbed my grey book bag, and threw it over my shoulder. “I stayed up til 1 yesterday. I was watching The 100. Don’t tell my mom though or she’ll take my laptop away,” I answered as I began to walk out of the classroom with Levy. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve stayed up with you. Staying up till 1am on a school night isn’t as bad as staying up till 4. Your sleeping schedule is getting better,” Levy said as we walked out to the hall. It was lunch time now, so we began making our way through the crowd of kids to go to the lunchroom. “You dare bring my sleep schedule into this when you’re the one that does all nighters at least thrice a week.” “Hey listen, we don’t talk about that, ya hear me?” Levi said while threatening me with a pencil, and I zipped my lips. As we walked into the lunchroom, our ears were immediately met with the loud noise of chatter and laughter of the other demons the teachers are forced to call students. I became quickly irritated. As we made our way to the line, Levi overheard some girls talking about later tonight, apparently there was a school party. Now, here’s the thing that absolutely sucks about this school, it’s old fashioned. We were told about the party and everyone is supposed to attend, but boys are supposed to wear suits and girls are supposed to wear dresses. I have an issue. I don't like dresses, I absolutely hate them since I feel like too much of my skin is exposed, and even though people tell me I'm thin I don't see myself as that. When I look at myself in the mirror I don't see it, I see the opposite. “You can wear the dress your mom bought you last week, it’ll look perfect on you,” Levi said, dragging me out of my own thoughts, and I’m glad he did. Oh, right, Levi is a guy by the way, the only guy my mom allows me to hang out with since we’ve been friends since very little, we’re practically siblings. “You know I don't like dresses or skirts, I'm good with my jeans,” I answered almost immediately. Another problem is that there’s going to be a lot of people there. I don't like to be in big crowds, it always makes me feel nervous, I can't stand them. I

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haven’t talked to anyone, meaning I still don't have friends which I don’t mind as long as Levi is with me. “You can use the suit your dad bought you.” I said in return, and that was the end of the conversation, for now at least. We got our lunch rather quickly and went to sit by our usual spots. Levi is a germaphobe, he always carries around baby wipes and hand sanitizer, so of course he cleaned our table and seats before we could sit down. He sat down after I did and just stared at me without touching his food. I, of course, found it weird because I knew he was hungry. “Got a problem there buddy?” I asked, taking a bite out of a muffin I had. He just shook his head and took a bite out of the banana he had taken. “What’s your biggest insecurity, or fear?” He just asked out of the blue. ”Why the sudden question?” “Oh, no reason, just want to have a serious conversation,” He said with a shrug. Here’s the thing, Levi is into psychology, so he’s going to start asking a lot of questions and that’s completely fine! It’s just that I haven't talked to him about my problems, though he knows about the crowd thing. “Why is it that you hate crowds, or being in public so much? I know it’s not because of cramped space, you’re not claustrophobic, so tell me what’s up.” He sounded so serious it felt like it wasn’t him at all. “The thing is that I don't like being stared at.” The fact that I was able to finish that sentence surprised me, he usually doesn’t let me finish. “Why? Is it because you think you look ugly? Or maybe fat?” I wasn’t surprised he came to that conclusion, he knows me too well for my own good. “Can we not talk about this right now?” I responded with a question, not answering his. He just nodded with a disappointed sigh. The rest of the lunch period we ate in silence. The rest of the day went flying by, and the time everyone was waiting for arrived, dismissal. Today we were let out early though because they had to get everything ready for the party. Levi wanted to walk today because he ran out of baby wipes, which meant he can’t clean the seats on the bus. “Going back on our conversation earlier, you never answered my question.” I rolled my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh, might as well answer him since I'm tired and I don't want to deal with his interrogation later. “I just feel like everyone is judging me and just mentally laughing at me. There, happy?” I asked, glaring at him. He was shorter than me, so I kind of had to look down a little to look at him. “Yeah, was it hard to answer a simple question?” I didn’t answer. We went our separate ways to get home, and since he wasn’t walking with me anymore, I decided to run the rest of the way home because it was fun. When I got home, I was immediately met by my dog, my one and only love. I went straight to shower, greeting my siblings on the way. After showering I went to my room. My mom knew about the party, so she laid out the clothes I was supposed to

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wear, and of course, a dress was included. I could pick out my clothes for myself, but still, thanks mom. I dried myself with my towel and started getting dressed, the party starts at 4 and it’s only 3:03. I’m only trying it on to see how it looks. The dress was wine red, my favorite color. I stood in front of the mirror, looking at myself. At first glance I liked how it looked, but then I started noticing every little thing. I felt like my arms seemed fat and that my legs were too big, after that first glance everything just seems horrible. There was a knock on my door, not too long after that my sister came in. She just took one glance at me. “You look as ugly as ever.” I knew she meant the opposite since we have that thing where we talk in opposite sometimes, but it didn’t help me at all. “Mom’s at work, I’m going to be picking you up later.” That’s all she said before leaving. To pass time, I just sat down on my bed and waited for Levi to call since he was the “alarm.” Not too long after I finished today’s homework, I received a call. I knew who it was already, so I just stood up and got my shoes. Thank god the dress has pockets where my phone fits or else I'd be doomed. I walked out of my room, said my goodbyes and walked out of her house. Levi’s mom was driving us, so when I spotted their car I went over and opened the door casually as if it was my mom's car. I got in, greeted the mother and then Levi. We chatted about the homework and how easy it was for us before we arrived. His mom told us to have fun and we exited the car. Levi didn’t respond but I did, I said we will. Most of the other kids were already there, so we were allowed to go inside. We went to the gym, since it was big and that’s where the party was supposed to be held. “You look pretty, I don't think you should worry about anything,” he said as we walked. That kind of made me feel better. “Thanks, you look pretty fancy yourself,” I complimented him in return. We arrived at the gym and we immediately cringed at the music being played. Neither Levi or me listened to these types of songs, we absolutely hated ‘em. We just ignored that and went to some food tables to get some. I could feel some people looking over at us, it made me sick, that was until a girl from a grade above came over to me and complimented me on how I looked. “See? Nothing to worry about, no one is judging you,” Levi said patting my shoulder. “I guess I was worrying over nothing then,” I said with a chuckle. The party was way more fun than I thought it would be. More people complimented me and I talked to Levi some more about it. By the end of the party, I was actually feeling way better.

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Lizbeth Cabral Worst First Day of High School

Alex paced around her room anxiously. She was nervous about her first day of high-school. New people, new teachers, and her best friend, Jaylene. "Calm down Lex, it's the first day, what could go wrong?" said Jaylene while packing her supplies. ”Okay Jay, but we're not little kids anymore. This is freshmen year. High-school is supposed to be the most immeasurable four years of our lives. I don't wanna mess it up.” "Well whatever Lex, stop grieving so much. Nothing bad is going to happen,” Jaylene said as they both headed to Alex's car. As they arrived at the school they noticed a few familiar faces. As the day went on they got their schedules and figured out that they have most classes together and ate in the same lunch area. As they go to have a seat in their lunch table, Alex trips over her foot and falls on the floor. Her clothes were all dirty from the spoiled food on the floor. Embarrassed, they head to the bathroom. “Could this day get any worse?’’ said Alex, while cleaning herself up. “C’mon Lex, one bad thing happened. It could be worse than this.” As soon as Jaylene spoke, their enemy came into the bathroom. “Oh, I was hoping to see you nerds here,“ their enemy said as she stood by the door. “Alright Jessica, what do you need?” said Jaylene while giving her a stare. “Oh, nothing…but did you see how Alex fell? What a loser,” said Jessica while laughing. “Alright Jessica, that’s enough. You can leave now,” Alex said while rolling her eyes, giving as much attitude as possible. Jessica left the bathroom while she and her friends followed after her. “I stand corrected about what could go wrong,“ said Jaylene. “Yeah, stay shut or something else could happen,“ said Alex. The day passed by very slow for the two. They had a load of homework to do. They were taking a break and scrolling through social media when Jaylene noticed something. The embarrassing fall that got Alex all dirty was because of their bully, Jessica. The fall was meant for Alex. It was a setup. “Uh, Lex... Look at this,” Jaylene said as she passed the phone over to Alex. “Great, I’m a laughing stock… this has two-thousand views!” said Alex. “High-school can’t get any worse than this,“ Said Jaylene.

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Hedith Hernandez Accepted

Fedirica always knew there was something different about her. She didn’t learn what it was until she got older. Fedirica would watch her friends get crushes and boyfriends. Fedirica, however, was never really interested in boys. Fedirica would also see her friends go shopping for skirts and dresses with bold cheerful colors. Fedirica didn’t like dresses or skirts, nor did she like those colors. She preferred to wear clothing that wasn’t too eye-catching. She always felt different from the other girls, this made her miserable. She thought there was something wrong with her. She didn’t learn what made her different until she got older. Fedirica learned about the LGBTQ+. She was joyous to know that she wasn’t the only one who felt like her. Fedirica wanted to tell her friends about what she was, but she hesitated. Would her friends accept her for who she was? One afternoon, Fedirica was invited by her friend Maggie to a sleepover. Fedirica was excited. “Oye mamá, ¿puedo tener permiso para ir a la casa de Maggie?” She asked her mamá, hoping to get permission to go. “Ok, porque no, mi hija. Pero ven a casa antes de las 9,” her mother replied. Fedirica was grateful her mom let her go. She had never been to a sleepover. She got her stuff and left. She said her goodbye to her mamá and went to the house with the blue walls that belonged to Maggie. The sleepover started relatively normal. They played games, talked about school and just joked around. Maggie got an idea, and she asked the question Fedirica would dread, ”Have you had any crushes? Who do you have a crush on?” Fedirica's heart sank and she began to panic. A million thoughts rushed through her head, What do I say? Should I say anything? Maybe I should pretend to like a boy. She thought about it for a while, and she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to lie to Maggie. “I’ve haven’t liked anyone in a while,” replied Fedirica, trying to say as little as possible. But Maggie didn’t like this reply. “Come on, there has to be someone you like,” said Maggie. Fedirica was starting to get nervous. She can’t know I like girls, she thought to herself. She wanted to leave. “Sorry Maggie, it’s starting to get late and my mom will get worried.” Maggie glanced at her clock “7:42,” it read.

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“It’s still super early,” said Maggie as she turned back to look at Fedirica, “you said your mom let you stay here till’ 9.” “Shoot,” muttered Fedirica “Now how do I leave?” The rest of the sleepover was uneventful, Fedirica tried to avoid all interactions with Maggie to prevent any mention of crushes. What would she think of me if I told her? Would she even want to be friends anymore? Fedirica kept scrolling to her phone, debating in her head what to do next. She just wanted this sleepover to end so that she could go back home, back to her mamá. Fedirica remembered something her mamá had once told her, back when Fedirica was barely old enough to tie her own shoes “Fedirica, mi hija, keeping a secret will never make you happy. It will only leave you feeling full of regret.” These words have stuck with Fedirica all her life. Every time she felt scared of telling something to her mom she would think of these words. If Maggie is really my friend she will accept me for who I am. She got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Maggie. “Listen Maggie, about earlier,” started Fedirica. “I was a little nervous about telling you but. I don’t have any crushes because I don’t like boys. I like girls.” Maggie sat there, quiet, too quiet. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Fedirica thought Maggie took it the wrong way. Fedirica felt embarrassed. She started to head towards the door when Maggie suddenly grabbed her hand. “It’s ok, amiga. I understand how you feel. I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me.” Tears rolled down Fedirica’s face. But not sad tears. She hugged her friend Maggie and wept with joy. Her friend accepted her. The next day, Fedirica went to school with Maggie. Warm sunlight shone on their faces. They talked along the way, Fedirica was no longer nervous and fearful but now free that she was accepted.