Part 1
The sound of a public bus breaking to a stop, the door opens and then closes, and the bus takes off again.
Two young kids arguing in the back of the bus. The younger of the two is six-year-old Bryan who is half Mexican and half Polish and armed with the biggest smile loaded with optimism. Bryan’s older stepbrother, Roger, is a nine-year-old white boy with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a devilish grin backed by conniving thoughts.
The two boys continue arguing amongst themselves, it is unclear what they are arguing about until Bryan yells out loud, “No, I am not, I am not Mexican”!
The bus screeches to a stop and all the passengers look at Bryan, ding ding ding! You guessed right, that’s me!
After the air left everyone in a gasp, all the passengers realized I was just a kid and they all started laughing at the situation. The bus driver pushes on the gas and the people carry on with their agendas.
Roger leans into me and whispers, “You are still a dirty Mexican”!
Bryan tugs on Rhoda’s arm, the stepmom, and asks, “I am not Mexican, right”?
Rhoda replies, “No, no, no, you are much worse, you are a beanpole, half beaner, and half Pollock”. Bryan looks down in disappointment and his eyes start filling with tears.
Ding ding ding, you guessed right, I grew up with the actual “wicked stepmother” and Roger was my “evil stepbrother”. I also had a stepsister, Sara, but we pretty much just ignored each other.
This was my first experience on a public bus, and I can tell you it smelled awful. This was also my first experience interacting with racist people; I can tell you, that they smell even worse than the bus.
