Esperanza recollects her fond memories of her friend, Marin from Puerto Rico. Marin teaches Esperanza all about boys and working and the world, informing her of her boyfriend still waiting to marry her in Puerto Rico, how she wants to work downtown and wear pretty clothes and marry someone wealthy who she meets in the subway, and how to attract men with her strong gaze. Esperanza is sad because Marin's parents plan to send her back to her mother because they believe she is too much trouble, with her cigarettes and her men.
"Marin, under the streetlight, dancing by herself, is singing the same song somewhere. I know. Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life" Chapter 11, pg. 27.
