Trafika Europe 13 - Russian Ballet

Katia Kapovich

“What is it?” she says. Malcolm turns as red as a lobster. “Nothing,” he replies, sticking out his teeth.

“Here’s the thing I’d like to clarify,” Diana speaks as though throwing down a challenge, and you can see by the expression on her face that she hasn’t yet overcome that emotional world of hers. “What did she do, that Galileo had to go live with his father?” We immediately recognize that by “she” Diana means Galileo’s mother, Francisca. It’s a reasonable question that we have no answer for. But, on the other hand, we don’t care what she had done. Because no matter what it was, we’re on her side. The other parents have hard- and-set principles. They are always after us about our responsibilities as students, to be organized and not be late for the school bus. “It’s not our problem that you missed it!” they say. But Galieleo’s mother doesn’t give a damn about stupid principles and what the other parents and teachers generally think. She simply opens wide all the three doors and we climb into her black van, where the air conditioner is always on in the heat, and then she takes us around to our homes. So, Francisca is cool, at least as far as we’re concerned. Moreover, she is so beautiful! Her hair is ash colored, and she leaves it out long. And she wears white dresses and never complains, like my mother does, that I get home late. “It’s not impossible that she smokes marijuana or uses

152