Summary

Julia decides to attend the school dance because the host of the after-party has a sister who went to school with Olga. Amá offers to buy Julia a new dress, but the shopping trip is frustrating for both of them because they have differing standards of beauty and modesty. Julia borrows a dress from Lorena instead. At the dance, Julia awkwardly hangs back from the dance floor. Her classmate Chris comes over to stare at her cleavage, and when Julia rejects him he accuses her of being conceited, “talking like a white girl and shit” (111).

The host’s sister does not attend the after-party, so Julia struggles with her anxiety as she mingles in the overcrowded space. She finds none of her male classmates attractive, and when the other partygoers criticize one girl for indulging her sexuality, Julia wonders if she...