The loud telephone ringing echoed in my ear. I walked over to get it, still in a daze of shock. It was Mrs. Garcia, reminding Lupe to stay home that day. Even though the news was saying that Prop 187 wasn’t going to go into effect right away, Lupe’s mom insisted it was too risky to go to school, and my mom agreed. So Lupe stayed with Hank and my parents, and I walked to school alone.

In class, I stared at her empty seat while Mrs. Welch took roll. In addition to Lupe, Hector, Rosa, and Jorge were also absent. Stuart raised his hand and immediately asked whether this meant they were undocumented. Mrs. Welch snapped at him, “That is none of your concern.”

It was, though, the concern of a majority of Californians. In the end, it wasn’t even close. Wilson had won by fifteen points, and Prop 187 passed by an even larger margin—60 percent to 40 percent. Sixty percent. That was how many Californians had no problem pulling Lupe out of school.

At lunch, I waited for the Kids for Kids club to show up to the trailer classroom. Most were absent, though, and the few who did come, once they saw how few people there were, left and went back to the cafeteria. I sat alone in the empty trailer classroom, trying not to think this was it—the club I’d started was gone.

The door opened and I looked over. It was Jason.

“Where’s Lupe?” he asked. “I have to tell her something.”

“She can’t come to school anymore, because of Prop 187, remember?” I said. And just because I was so mad and frustrated at the election results, I threw in, “Thanks to your dad.”

“Hey! That’s not fair.”

I crossed my arms. “Well, he voted for it!”

“Yeah, but he’s one person!”

“Still,” I muttered.

Jason threw up his hands. “You know what? I came over to say that I told my mom what she did to Lupe and her mom was not cool. But I’m starting to think it doesn’t matter what I do. You guys are never going to separate me from my parents!”

He walked out, banging the door, leaving me all alone with my soggy corn dog. I wished Lupe was there to make me feel better. But as I looked around the empty trailer classroom, it felt like the first day of school all over again, and I didn’t know a single soul.