The Tequila Worm

Sofia walks into her room, and Terry is crying. Brooke comforts her. When Terry leaves, Brooke tells Sofia that Terry is a lot to handle: “She’s already obsessed about getting into one of the big three” (136)—Harvard, Yale and Princeton. After the two girls talk about the reasons Terry cried, Terry bursts into the room and asks Sofia if she is on a scholarship. Sofia says she is, and Terry wants to know who the other three Mexican-America scholarships recipients are, and Sofia explains they are all boys, so they are in the dorm across the campus. But the worst part of this questioning is when Terry asks Sofia if she’s a Catholic. Sofia affirms that she is, and Terry says something that will haunt Sofia for a long time: “Don’t you think Mexicans are obsessed with death” (139)? Brooke is appalled and asks Terry if “parvenus” are obsessed with money, status, and marrying old money. Terry huffs and runs out. Sofia asks what a “parvenu” is, and Brooke tells her it’s someone with “new money” (138).

Sofia tries to get used to the lack of privacy. At the first formal dinner, she can’t choose a dress.