The Charity Chip (14 page)

Graciela stared at the computer screen in front of her. “I had a boyfriend that cheered for La U.”

The comment killed the conversation and awkward silence filled the space. Julio started his schoolwork. Graciela slipped the earpiece over her ear and got back to her game.

By the time Carmen announced lunch, Julio had finished two days’ worth of schooling. He was excited to learn, and with each completed lesson, the hope of maybe becoming a doctor welled up inside of him.

He noticed Angelica sitting at a table by herself again. Just like the day before, she was pushing the food around on her plate. “You don’t seem to like the food today either,” said Julio as he sat down.

“What? Oh, I guess I still don’t have much of an appetite,” said Angelica as she poked the food with her fork. “Julio, right?”

He nodded. “Angelica, right?” He was glad she remembered his name. “How long have you been a member of Caritas?”

She looked up at him with her mysterious green eyes. “About a year.” She took a small bite. “Did you enjoy the lovely Doctor Kozyar?”

Julio almost choked. He glanced around as he swallowed his mouthful of food. “Is she always so charming?” he asked in a quiet voice.

Angelica chuckled and continued to push her food around. “Did Isak save you from going to jail the first time you met him?”

Julio was about to put a forkful of rice into his mouth, but he stopped with his mouth open and looked at Angelica. “Yes. How did you know?”

She looked straight into his eyes for a long moment, and Julio felt like she was looking straight through him. When she broke her gaze, she stood without saying anything, took her dirty dishes to the kitchen, and left without even looking at Julio again.

Julio ate his lunch slowly. He didn’t know whether he should feel embarrassed or hurt at Angelica’s strange behavior. In his mind he replayed their conversation, trying to remember what he had said that might have driven her off.
Was I too forward? Is she avoiding me because I got caught by the police? Maybe she doesn’t like the way I dress.
He stared at his plate as he finished his lunch.

Julio was still staring at his empty plate when Isabela walked through the front door. She was dressed in a low-cut, black sleeveless dress and four-inch heels. At first he thought she was coming for lunch, but she walked straight over to Julio. He looked up and blushed as she got closer.

“Isak would like to speak with you,” said Isabela. Her lipstick was a perfect deep red. She pirouetted on her heels and headed to the front door. Before she pushed open the door, she looked back at Julio over her bare left shoulder and said, “Now.”

Before she could exit, Julio jumped to his feet and hurried to the kitchen with his dirty dishes. He grabbed his backpack and rushed out the front door. He caught up with Isabela before she could get back to her desk.

“Go right in,” said Isabela as she took a seat at her desk and picked up a magazine. “He’s waiting for you.”

Isak was standing at the window with his back to the door when Julio hurried in. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.

Isak didn’t turn around. “You violated the terms of your contract by drinking alcohol,” he said.

Julio looked down at his ragged shoes. “It was just a glass of wine. I forgot.”

Isak turned and focused his penetrating gaze on Julio. “Just a glass of wine? You cannot afford to be so casual with your commitments. We have very strict rules against alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. As you learned, the chip can detect the slightest level of alcohol in the bloodstream. If you continue to violate your contract, we will remove the chip and you will be terminated.”

Julio nodded and continued to look down.

Isak moved to his desk and looked at his computer. “On a good note, I see that you have excelled at your schoolwork, and Carmen said that you are very helpful.”

Julio looked up. The lines on Isak’s chiseled face had softened, and he was smiling. “Thank you,” muttered Julio.

“I have given you an opportunity to change your life. Do not spoil it.” Isak swiveled in his chair and began typing at his computer. “Now go.”

Julio nodded several times, and he hurried out of Isak’s office. Isabela glanced up at him from behind her magazine when he sat down in one of the foyer chairs to regain his composure. It took several minutes for his heart to stop pounding. After he regained his strength, he exited the building, too scared to do any more schoolwork, and pulled out his skateboard and skated for home.

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN

Los Visitantes

(The Visitors)

^J
ulio swiped his left hand over the sensor and pushed through the front door of Caritas. After three weeks, the small wound from the chip insertion was no longer visible, and he barely noticed it under his skin, but it had certainly changed his life. He wore a clean pair of jeans and a new pair of black canvas shoes perfect for skateboarding. Hunger was quickly becoming a bad memory. He had finished almost two month’s worth of lessons since his first day, and Isak told him that he showed great promise.

Julio had to settle for less expensive things and bargain hunt, because everything he bought for himself, he had also purchased for Raúl. He had hoped that his generosity would break the spell of
los mALditos
, but the harder he pushed, the more time Raúl spent with the gang at
El Infierno
. Then last night, Raúl never came home. Julio had searched at the plaza for him, had even skated by
El Infierno
, but didn’t find him, and he was afraid to approach any other members of the gang. Julio was worried.

He stuffed his backpack and skateboard into a locker and swiped his hand to lock it. He wasn’t surprised to see that he was the first one there. As usual, Carmen was the next one to arrive. Julio paused his lesson and helped her with the bags of groceries. He lingered in the kitchen and helped her put the food away and wash some of the dishes from the day before.

“You are like my lost son,” said Carmen as she gave him a bowl of yogurt with banana and patted him on the back. “Your mother would be proud of you.”

Julio blushed and sat down with the bowl of yogurt. He had just finished when Graciela arrived. He stayed in the kitchen until she got situated at her computer and then snuck up behind her. He pulled the oversized yellow earpiece off of her left ear and said, “
Adelante Alianza
!”

She turned and smacked at him playfully. “
Viva La U
!” They both laughed. Julio returned to his lesson. Graciela continued her lesson.

Other kids filtered in and sat down at a computer. Angelica, brooding as always, slipped in and took a computer in the corner. Her eyes flitted from side to side like a bird watching for predators. She never seemed to relax. After the last conversation, he had avoided her.

Julio was in the middle of a math lesson when he saw Doctor Kozyar come in through the back door followed by Isak and another man in a suit. A wave of expectation swept through the room, and everyone stopped what they were doing and watched them, even Graciela. Isak walked to the center of the room and held up his hands. “Good morning, students. I want to introduce our visitor. May I present Señor Pascal Goulet from the United Nations Humanitarian Council.”

Pascal Goulet looked small beside Isak, but he stood in front of everyone with his hands crossed behind his back. He wore wire-rimmed glasses resting low on his hooked nose, and his thinning hair was sandy brown. He smiled and gave a courteous nod to everyone in the room. His teeth were tall and white like the teeth of a movie star.

“
Buenos días
,” began Señor Goulet in an accent Julio had never heard. “It is a pleasure to be here today. Caritas appears to be operating very smoothly. We congratulate you for your efforts. Thank you.” Señor Goulet waved and yielded the floor to Isak.

Isak smiled and stepped forward. “Señor Goulet will be evaluating us for the next few days. He will be asking you questions and trying to decide if Caritas should be expanded to other parts of Peru, and even to other countries. I expect each of you to give him your full attention if he asks to speak with you.”

Isabela pushed through the front door in a tight dress. A cameraman followed right behind her, and behind him was a woman that everyone recognized at once—Sofía Encuentro.

The petite anchorwoman looked just like her oversized picture on the side of half the buses in Lima. Her long black hair was parted down the middle and fell on the shoulders of her black suit jacket. Her jacket was unbuttoned, and her figure filled the white blouse underneath. She wore pants instead of a skirt and carried herself with purpose. Her eyes were black and searching.

The room started buzzing with excitement. Graciela looked at Julio with her mouth open and almost jumped out her chair. Isak stepped forward and took control. “Students, I know that you are excited, but please show respect to our guests.” The buzz was reduced to mute whispers. “We have invited Sofía Encuentro to tour our facility today. She will interview some of you and report on the success of our program. Please show her the respect she deserves.”

The cameraman stepped into the eating area and began panning his camera around the facility. Sofía Encuentro was discussing something with Isak and Señor Goulet. Julio, like all the other Caritas students, had his eyes glued on the celebrity. She seemed so much smaller in real life. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angelica leave her computer and head for the front door. Her departure puzzled him, but nobody else seemed to notice her exit.

After a short discussion, Isak took control again. “Students, please continue with your lessons. We will be touring the facility with Señora Encuentro and her cameraman this morning. Please continue with your lessons and try to ignore us,” he said with a chuckle, “if you can.”

Julio turned back to his computer and slipped back on the headphones. Before he could get back to his homework, Graciela tapped him on the shoulder. He pulled back an earpiece and looked at her. He had never seen her so excited.

“Did you know that she grew up in La Victoria? Her mother died in childbirth, and her father died in a mining accident. She was raised by her grandmother. Her real name isn’t Encuentro. It’s Espina, but she changed her name to Encuentro so she could use it in her catch phrase.”

“Why do know so much about her?” asked Julio.

“Because I want to be a reporter someday,” swooned Graciela. She turned to stare at her idol incarnate.

Julio smiled and went back to his lesson. It was hard to concentrate with a celebrity news reporter and her cameraman looking over his shoulder, not to mention Isak, Isabela, Doctor Kozyar, and Señor Goulet. He didn’t make much progress until the gaggle slipped through the back door and left them in peace.

When Carmen announced that lunch was ready, Sofía Encuentro and her cameraman were in position. Carmen wore her usual dirty apron, but Julio noticed that she had straightened her hair and was careful not to show her missing front tooth. Julio glanced up at the camera as he followed Graciela through the line and then to a table.

“Do you think she’ll interview us?” asked Graciela as she sat down. She still had her headphones around her neck.

Julio shrugged. He was nervous that they would interview him and he would have nothing to say. Since he hadn’t told his brother about Caritas, he was also worried that Raúl would see him on television and start asking questions. At least Raúl would have to come home to ask the questions. He tried not to worry. It was bad for digestion.

“Excuse me,” said the smooth voice of Sofía Encuentro, “Can I ask you a few questions?”

Julio looked up, hoping she was talking to Graciela, but Sofía Encuentro, the larger-than-life figure plastered on half the busses in Lima, was talking to him. Without waiting for an answer, she sat down beside Graciela, and her cameraman zoomed in on Julio. Graciela fidgeted in her seat. Isak and Señor Goulet hovered in the background.

“What’s your name?” asked Sofía. Her strong voice seemed mismatched with such a small person. Her diction was perfect.

Julio swallowed and put down his fork. “Julio Camino,” he answered. He decided not to present himself with his full name to avoid sounding precocious. He squinted into the bright light from the camera. He noticed Señor Goulet looking over the cameraman’s shoulder.

“Isak told me that you were the newest member. How long have you been involved with Caritas?” asked Sofía.

“Three weeks,” answered Julio with a smile.

“How did you hear about Caritas, and how did you get involved?”

Julio smiled at the camera and tried to hide his panic. He didn’t want everyone in Lima to know he joined Caritas because he was picked up for stealing. “Isak offered to buy me some food one night when I was hungry and then offered me the opportunity to join.”

“Were you in the habit of accepting free food from strange foreigners?” Her black eyes seemed to detect that he wasn’t telling the whole story.

Julio’s face flushed. “When you live on the streets without parents, you do what you have to do.”