Héctor was in a much better mood that night at dinner. It helped, though, that Papi—who loved cooking as much as Abuela did and generally handled all their meals—said he felt super lazy that night, so they’d just ordered pizza. Actually edible pizza, that is, which was also way better than Héctor had expected! Maybe Orangevale did have a few things going for it. Mami even said they might do pizza more than once a month because it was so good.

The next morning, Papi dropped Héctor off at school before he headed downtown to meet with someone about a blueprint he had designed. So he swung by Héctor’s favorite fast food chain for a breakfast sandwich as a treat. The two of them sat in the family car in the parking lot of the school, eating them.

“Pizza last night, and then bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches,” Papi said. “I gotta get some actual green vegetables in you tonight.”

“There was basil on the pizza last night, Papi,” said Héctor. “That’s, like . . . two vitamins, right?”

Papi laughed hard, a deep and hearty sound. “You truly take after Mami, mijo,” he said.

“What can I say? She passed me all her funny bones, Papi.”

His papi stuffed the last bit of his sandwich in his mouth. “Well, have a good day at school,” he said. “And you know . . .”

He didn’t finish the sentence at first. “Papi?” Héctor asked.

“You know, just . . . let me know if you need to talk about anything. About how school is going and stuff. I’m here.”

Papi got all bashful then, looking out his window. Héctor smiled. His dad was like that sometimes. He didn’t have a problem with his emotions, but unlike Abuela Sonia, who was incredibly direct and straightforward, Papi seemed uncomfortable in moments like this. Héctor thought it was kind of adorable.

“I will,” he said. He hopped out of the car and waved, then darted toward the front steps.

He was going to be fine. He knew it. That morning, he’d anticipated the heat this time and put on some gray shorts, a black V-neck, and some black Jordans. It was a simple, monochrome look, but it gave him confidence. There was nothing that could stop him if he felt good.

So he walked into school with a bounce in his step, keeping rhythm to a song in his head. He thought of what he’d told his mami: This was a new stage. A new production. All these kids were just actors in a play, and now, it was time for Héctor to take center stage, to sing his big number. He grinned when he imagined what that would really be like. A big choreographed dance up the steps? Oh, if only he could do something like that!