Stella Díaz Has Something to Say

After dinner, Stella and her family move to the living room to play card games. Stella’s mom plays salsa music, and they all dance. Stella loves dancing with her mom, but she is too shy to dance around other people. Now that he’s a teenager, Nick is not as excited about dancing with Stella and their mom, but Stella knows that he still enjoys spending time with them even if he doesn’t show it. Stella’s mom plays one of her favorite songs, and she tells Stella that they used to listen to it when they lived in Mexico City. Stella was born in Mexico but moved to Chicago with her family when she was a baby. Before going to bed, Stella feeds her betta fish Pancho. She is grateful that she doesn’t live alone in a tank like Pancho does, because she would miss her family too much.

On Monday, Nick and Stella walk to school together. Before class starts, Jenny shows Stella a new backpack she got to match a girl in her class, Anna. Stella is disappointed that Jenny wants to match with a new friend, since Jenny has been Stella’s best friend for years. She feels better when she goes to class and sees her teacher, Ms. Bell. Stella likes that Ms. Bell wears polka dots and that she reads aloud to the class every day. Stella decides to try to make a new friend, too. She plans on befriending the new student who is about to join her class.

Stella’s class goes to the library, where they are greeted by Ms. Morales, the librarian. Ms. Morales wears bright outfits, has a stuffed goose, and is generally “full of spunk” (17). Stella likes her because she speaks Spanish. Stella is interested in marine life, so Ms. Morales introduces her to books about Jacques Cousteau, an ocean explorer. Today, Stella chooses a book about octopuses. She envies how octopuses are expert escape artists.

When the class gets back from the library, the new student arrives. Stella is shocked and somewhat disappointed to see that he is a boy. The boy’s name is Stanley, and he’s from Texas. Stanley speaks Spanish, which is another surprise to Stella since he has light features. Stella is so nervous when she stands to introduce herself to Stanley that she accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English. Then, when she sits back down, she falls over in her chair. Everyone laughs, and Stella is mortified. She wishes she could escape, like an octopus.

Stella doesn’t speak to Stanley again for weeks. One day, he comes over to her desk and offers her a cookie. She accepts the cookie, but she’s so nervous that she drops the pencil she was drawing with. Stanley asks to see Stella’s drawing, but she refuses. It’s a blobfish, but Stella doesn’t think it’s good enough to show Stanley. Stella notices that Stanley is very outgoing and confident. He never seems scared, and he already has a lot of friends.

Ms. Bell tells the class that the school is having a celebration for the custodian, Don, who just became an American citizen. Ms. Bell explains what a legal alien, a visa, and a green card are. Stella has a green card. She is displeased to learn that this makes her an “alien,” which she thinks of as a scary, ugly creature. Stella feels out of place at Don’s celebration. Don cries tears of joy as he explains to the students how he came to the US from the Philippines. Stella hopes that she can be that happy eventually, if she ever becomes a citizen.

Stella goes to a specialized speech class with Ms. Thompson. Ms. Thompson asks Stella about her dad, which Stella doesn’t like. Her parents divorced several years ago, and her dad now lives in Colorado. Stella doesn’t miss him. When her parents were still together, they argued constantly, and her mom was always upset, though Stella doesn’t understand exactly why.

The speech class is annoying, but sometimes it’s a nice break from regular class. For years, Ms. Thompson has been correcting Stella’s pronunciation of the “V” and “B” sounds. When Stella goes back to class, they are playing a math game that Stella loves because she’s good at it. She likes being able to show off her intelligence. Stella beats most of her classmates in the game, and at the end, the only two players left are her and Stanley. Stella gets so nervous that she can’t speak, so Stanley beats her. She’s very embarrassed and considers this “a new low” (47).

One morning as Stella is walking into school, she spots Stanley and immediately turns red out of embarrassment. Trying to avoid him, she runs into the school office. Later, in class, Stella considers that Stanley must think she’s very strange based on how she acts around him. She doesn’t know what to say to Stanley, and she’s jealous of him because he seems to be good at everything.

Everyone plays kickball in gym class that day. Stella goes up to kick first since her classmates know that she’s the fastest girl. Stanley is pitching for the other team, and when Stella sees this, she freezes up and strikes out. The whole class makes fun of her, chanting, “Stella stares” (55) because Stella often looks at people without saying much.

At lunch, Stella tells Jenny what happened in gym class. Usually when they eat together, Jenny shares Vietnamese food with Stella, and Stella gives Jenny Mexican food to try. Jenny suggests that Stella try 0asking people questions, like Sherlock Holmes does. Then, Stella will learn more about people and have more to talk about with them.