Summary

Kim starts school in a neighborhood that is nicer than the one in which they live. Paula gives the school a different address for Kim, and Kim is told to tell anyone that address if asked. Eventually, Kim finds her classroom, where she is greeted without much friendliness from her teacher, Mr. Bogart. She still cannot speak much English and has difficulty interacting with her teacher. Kim is appalled at her classmates’ disrespectful and rowdy behavior in the classroom and cafeteria; she notes that she “had never seen children behave the way these Americans did” (26). After lunch, Kim is given a pop quiz. She is not sure what to do with it, so she looks at a neighbor’s paper. Mr. Bogart sees her looking, and he gives her a zero on the assignment, for cheating.

After school, Ma is there to greet Kim...