I flip through the pages, trying to make up my mind quickly. Ma never really made seafood, so I’m not even sure I know what shrimp tastes like. While I try to decide between fish, or shrimp, or something that’s called a surf and turf, Mrs. Reid looks up and folds her hands over the table.

“So, Darryl,” she says. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been great, Mrs. Reid,” Darryl answers. “Or, actually… maybe a little nervous. I’m starting orientation at NYU in a few weeks.”

Mrs. Reid’s eyes seem to sparkle in that moment. “Well, it’s perfectly normal to be nervous,” she says. “I’m sure it’ll be great, though.”

“Have you taken the SAT already, Mateo?” Mr. Reid asks, turning toward me.

He may as well have punched me in the stomach. All the air leaves my body, and I sit there in front of him for a few seconds, trying to remember how to breathe. I know Mr. Reid means well. I know that, under any other circumstances, this question would’ve been expected, fair to ask.

“Uh… no. I was planning to take it this fall.” They don’t need any more explanation than that. They don’t need to know that I’m probably not gonna take the SAT anymore, that all the prep I did was for nothing. I don’t need to ruin dinner by explaining that I’m not even sure how or if I’m gonna get through my last year of high school.

Kimmie says something, but I don’t hear what it is, because suddenly my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I reach for it, expecting to see Ma’s or Jorge’s name on the screen. Instead, I see Maria’s.

“Sorry,” I say, sliding out of the booth. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Again, Kimmie says something, but my heart is beating too fast for me to care.

“Hey, Maria,” I answer as I sprint across the restaurant, in the direction of the bathrooms. “I’m at dinner, but I can come pick up Sophie in a—”

“Mateo.” The way she whispers my name, the way she breathes loudly into the phone makes my stomach drop. Something is wrong.

“I—I can’t find her!” Maria says frantically. “She… was right here… and the bathroom was around the corner… but I looked, and… not there. I just don’t know where she—”

“Wait a second,” I say. “Slow down. Maria, you’re not making any sense. What happened?”