The Fight for Kidsboro Read Free Page B

day.
    â€œRoberto Santana?” Scott asked. “Are you sure?”
    â€œHe’s perfect,” I said.
    Scott dipped a French fry into his ketchup. “Excuse me for bringing this up, but you do know his dad’s in jail, right?”
    â€œThat’s just a rumor.” I hated the way kids believed anything they heard. The latest gossip was that Roberto’s dad was in jail. No one knew exactly why, but everyone had a guess. Roberto denied all of it. I believed him, though I had no evidence on my side either.
    â€œMaybe it’s a rumor, maybe it isn’t,” Scott said.
    â€œYeah, but even if it is true, which I doubt, why should that matter?”
    Scott shrugged, his ketchup-soaked French fry dangling limply from his hand. “We don’t want any trouble in our town, do we?”
    â€œWhat Roberto does and what his father may or may not have done are two different things.
”
    â€œSo maybe we should ask him,” Scott said.
    â€œAsk him if his father’s in jail?”
    â€œYeah. The city council’s gonna want to know.”
    â€œWhy should it matter?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t know. You don’t think it matters?”
    â€œNo.”
    Family matters were private. I knew this especially, because I wanted my own family matters to be private. My mother and I had moved from California to Odyssey when I was eight. No one knew anything about my life before I came to Odyssey, and I was determined to keep it that way. It was something I never talked about, even with Scott. Roberto had a right to keep his mouth shut too.
    â€œPardon me for breathing,” Scott said, “but does he even wanna be in Kidsboro?”
    â€œI told him about it,” I said, “and he seemed to think It was a cool idea.”

    The next day I presented Roberto’s name to the city council. I was met with a less-than-enthusiastic response.
    â€œDo you really know him?” Jill asked.
    â€œNo. But I know he’s smart. He got the best grade, in my history class.”
    â€œHow is knowing history going to help us?” Scott asked, still not convinced of Roberto’s worth.
    â€œI don’t think he knows how to speak English,” Alice said.
    â€œYes he does.”
    â€œI’m just trying to figure out how he’s going to help Kidsboro,” Jill said.
    â€œWe didn’t ask that question about any other candidate. I mean … we’ve got people in this town who have almost no positive qualities at all except that they’re somebody’s friends. Now why does Roberto have to live up to higher expectations?”
    They all exchanged looks.
    Nelson was the only one brave enough to speak up. “I know this may not be a reason to keep him out, but you do know about his dad—”
    â€œYes!” I answered angrily. “I know what people say about his dad. What does that have to do with him ?”
    Nelson adjusted his glasses. “Some studies indicate that criminal behavior is genetic.”
    â€œHave any of you ever seen Roberto steal anything?” I asked.
    They shook their heads.
    â€œHave any of you ever seen him destroying property? Getting into a fight?” More heads shaking. “Then we have no evidence that he is anything but a good student. That we have evidence for.”
    â€œI agree,” Jill said. “We can’t keep him out because of his father. But I think he should have a probation period. A couple of weeks to show us what he’s got—since nobody really even knows him.”
    Everybody around me nodded. I was against this, but I was confident that Roberto would soon show everyone that he could be an asset to the community. So I agreed. Roberto would become a citizen of Kidsboro, but he would be watched very closely.
    I gave Roberto the news (though I didn’t mention the probation), and he seemed happy about it. I had a feeling he was just thrilled to be a part of