“No.” This isn’t a lie. I don’t mess with that stuff.

He stares me down, like he doesn’t believe me. “Do you have any restaurant experience?”

“No.” Yet another pointless question. It’s all on my application—a big, fat zero. This is not going well. I can’t afford to screw this interview up. I force another smile. “But I can learn.”

He frowns but doesn’t answer. I start to fold my hands on the checkered tablecloth but stop when I see how greasy it is. At the next table, the couple laughs. The sound gets under my skin, like they’re laughing at me, even though I know that’s ridiculous.

The manager finally stands up and offers his hand. “Thank you for coming, Ms. Martinez. We’ll let you know.”

Yeah right. I stand up and shake his warm, wet hand. He has a limp handshake. My father would call him a pendejo. But Papá is in prison for life, so what does he know?

The manager pulls his hand away and that’s it. Another job interview over. I grab my backpack and start to walk toward the exit. I pass the other table and they laugh again. Maybe they are laughing at me.

What am I going to do now? I’ve been all over the city and have spent every free minute after school applying for jobs. No one wants to hire an underage, inexperienced, tatted-up Mexican girl. Even McDonald’s turned me down. If I don’t find something soon, I’m screwed.

In two months I’ll be kicked out of foster care, forced out of my current home, and most likely will have to drop out of school. My time’s running out fast, but I refuse to end up like some of the other foster kids I’ve known who aged out of the system. Living on the streets. Knocked up. Hooked on drugs. Sent to prison. Dead.

Screw that. I’m going to make it on my own. I’m going to college. I’m going to be free.

But I need a job, fast.

I swallow the tiny amount of pride I still have left and turn back to the manager. “Look, I really need this job. Please. I’ll wait tables. I’ll wash dishes. I’ll do anything you want. Just give me a chance.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, crossing his arms. “We’re not hiring right now.”

Oh sure. Except for the NOW HIRING sign on the window outside. Rage flares inside me and I clench my fists. No one will give me a chance. Is it my age? My tattoos? My brown skin? What the hell is wrong with me?