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Patty's Problem
By Patty Paddock and Monica Shah
Patty wondered what Maria and Rosie were always talking about. Was it her?
Maria was Patty's closest friend at school. They picked each other when choosing teams in gym class. They ate lunch together every day. They were even in the same reading and math groups. Patty loved spending time with Maria.
But when Maria got together with her friend Rosie, Patty felt left out. Sometimes they'd speak English, but lots of the time they spoke Spanish.
"I bet they're talking about me!" Patty thought. "Why else would they switch to a language I don't know?" The more often Maria and Rosie spoke Spanish, the more convinced Patty was that they were talking about her.
Once, when Patty walked into the cafeteria, she saw Maria and Rosie with their heads together, giggling over a piece of paper. Patty's face turned red, certain the note was about her. She walked over and pulled it out of Maria's hands. Maria and Rosie looked up, startled. "What's the matter?" asked Maria.
Patty tried to read the note, but couldn't—it was mostly in Spanish. "…muy loca…," it read. Patty knew what "loca" meant—it meant crazy. They think I'm crazy, Patty thought, throwing the note on the floor and running out of the room.
After school, Maria sat next to Patty on the bus. "Patty, what's up with you? Why did you take that note and throw it?" Maria asked. Patty was silent for a moment, but then quietly told Maria that she thought the note was about her.
Surprised, Maria exclaimed, "Of course it wasn't about you! Why would you think that?"
"Well," began Patty, "you and Rosie are always talking in Spanish and I can't understand what you're saying. I figure you're talking about stuff you don't want me to know about."
"Patty, I had no idea!" cried Maria. "I didn't even realize we were talking in Spanish so much. I think it's just that it's really natural for Rosie and me to talk in both Spanish and English because we speak both languages. And we've mostly been talking about Mañuel, a boy she met while visiting her grandparents in Costa Rica this summer and she's been crushin' on him ever since. So whenever we talk about him, we do it in Spanish."
Patty started to feel a little better. "But the note said something about 'loca'–I know that means crazy."
"I wrote that because I was teasing Rosie that she's crazy about him–she's loca for Mañuel," Maria responded, laughing.
Patty giggled as well. "Oh, Maria, I'm so glad you told me," she said.
"You know what," began Maria. "When all three of us are together, Rosie and I will try to speak mostly in English. But why don't you let me teach you some Spanish?"
"That would be great," Patty said, "that way I can join in too—no matter what language you're speaking."
"Absolutely!" Maria said with a smile. "Let's start with 'Tú eres mi amiga favorita.'"
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