Choke by Diana Lopez Page B

called Last of the Mohicans . It’s mag-tastic.”
    â€œSounds like she’s talented. I’m glad I’ll get to meet her.” Mom then focused on me again. “See, Windy? All your friends have interests. There has to be something you like to do.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You’re taking this too seriously, Mom.”
    â€œI’m just saying you should try different things. Get a hobby like the rest of us. You didn’t even look at the health career brochures I gave you.”
    â€œI looked at them. I already did my presentation, didn’t I?”
    Mom pulled into the employee parking lot. “I want you to ask your counselor about summer camps,” she decided.
    All I could do was roll my eyes again.
    We got out of the car and walked toward the building. Pleasant Hill is a three-story retirement home with walls made of large, irregularly shaped stones. It’s built like a square horseshoe with a courtyard in the middle. By the front door is a circular drive where a van picks up the residents for outings, and toward the back is another, more secluded drive for the ambulances. Sometimes, instead of an ambulance, I’ll see a hearse.
    Mrs. Vargas lives on the first floor. She has diabetes, so the nurses constantly monitor her insulin and diet. “And they clip my toenails, too,” she once told me. Other than that, she can take care of herself. In fact, her room is like anapartment, with its own bathroom and kitchenette. Only the PA system reminds me that we’re in a hospital. When Mrs. Vargas wants company, she goes to the general area and watches CNN. Sometimes she does crafts or plays card games and Scrabble with her friends.
    â€œThere’s Nina,” Elena said, and sure enough Nina was waiting by the front door. She wore black jeans, a white shirt, and a solid red scarf.
    I introduced her to my mom.
    â€œHello, Mrs. Soto,” Nina said as she shook my mom’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Windy and Elena have been really nice to me at school. It’s tough joining the class so late in the year.”
    â€œI’m sure it is,” Mom said. “Where are your parents? I was hoping to meet them.”
    â€œThey wanted to meet you, too,” Nina replied, “but my dad’s out of town and my mom had a lot of errands to run, so she just dropped me off.”
    â€œWell, we are a little late.” Mom glanced at me and Elena as if to say, “I told you so.” She walked us inside, and when we got to the elevators, she said, “You girls have fun. Windy’s dad is going to pick you up in a couple of hours.”
    We waved as she disappeared behind the elevator doors. Then we went directly to Mrs. Vargas’s room.
    As soon as she saw Elena and me, she hugged and kissed us. “Who’s this?” she asked about Nina.
    â€œOur new friend.”
    â€œHello, ‘new friend.’ Come in. Come in. What’s your name?”
    â€œNina. I go to school with Windy and Elena.”
    â€œWell, any friend of Windy’s is a friend of mine. Isn’t that right, girls?”
    We nodded.
    â€œCome and help me with this puzzle.” We followed her to a table next to a sliding door that opened onto the courtyard. “I’m having lots of trouble with the sky part.”
    Mrs. Vargas loves 1,000-piece puzzles. Most of them are landscapes of beautiful places — cottages surrounded by ice-capped mountains, seascapes with colorful sailboats, or villages with cobblestone roads. She decoupages over her favorite scenes, then frames them and hangs them on the wall.
    â€œWe had our speech presentations last week,” Elena said. “Ronnie, the guy Windy likes, showed us how to lift weights, and I talked about ice-skating.”
    â€œAnd Windy?” Mrs. Vargas asked.
    Nina answered for me. “She did a great job telling us about office jobs.”
    â€œThat’s right,” I