Héctor wasn’t all that surprised when his mami nudged him awake and he learned he had slept through the night. “Looks like you really needed that,” she said, smiling.

He yawned and stretched, and the feeling was gone: that ache, that terrible emptiness he’d felt the night before.

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess I did.”

He rushed to get ready that morning. He was actually excited to get to school. He wanted to stop by the Room to get an update on when he could help Sal with moving the library, but he also wanted to find Jackson. He shouldn’t have turned down the chance to go thrifting with his three new friends.

Maybe . . .

Maybe it was time to fix all this, this separation of Héctor’s life. What would happen if he brought someone into the Room? Would it even let him do that?

As thrilling as that thought was, Héctor knew he had to deal with one thing at a time. As his mami drove him to school before heading to work, he asked her about hanging out with his friends.

“And Taylor’s dad said he’ll drive,” said Héctor after explaining everything. “So I could make sure to get everyone’s number for you so you and Papi could talk to their parents.”

Mami grinned. “Look at you!” she said. “Making friends! Get their parents’ numbers, and your papi and I will give them a call tonight.”

She planted a big kiss on his forehead after pulling up in front of Orangevale Middle School. “Let me know if any of your teachers need a note,” she said. “In case they give you grief about homework.”

“I will, Mami,” he said, and he climbed out of the car, then blew her a kiss. “Love you!”

His mood was better, that was for sure. He marched up the steps to school and was delighted to see the door to the Room as soon as he was in the hallway.

Today, the Room had a totally new vibe: it looked like the cute corner coffee shops that were all over the Mission and the Castro in San Francisco. Natural light spilled in from a couple skylights in the ceiling, and Sal and Juliana were sitting at a counter next to an automatic coffee machine, the kind with like ten buttons to press to make any type of hot drink you wanted.

Héctor immediately felt at home.

“So, I have the best news!” Sal exclaimed, raising up a mug.

“What’s up?” he said, walking over to the counter.

“First of all,” said Juliana, “I need you to try this latte.”

He heard his papi’s voice in his head, telling him he was too young for espresso. But . . . Papi wasn’t here. And a latte wasn’t that bad.

“Okay, a small one,” he said. “What is it?”