Echo

Ivy and her mother go to the picturesque Ward house. There, Susan encourages her to join the school orchestra, and to play the flute. Susan mentions her brothers; later, Ivy’s mother informs her that while one, Tom, is in the army, the gold flag outside the Ward’s house announces that the other, Donald, has died in action.

Ivy and Susan meet up between their two properties at a wagon, where Susan’s’ brothers’ names are inscribed alongside Kenneth Yamamoto’s. The two talk about their brothers. Susan tells Ivy that Donald died at Pearl Harbor, and that her father blames Kenneth, whom he calls a “jap spy” (435). Ivy bristles at the language and seeks to correct Susan. Susan reveals that she doesn’t have many friends because her father is “worried sick about losing another child,” and thus keeps her close to home (441). Susan goes on to ask Ivy if she has seen anything suspicious at the Yamamoto’s house, scaring Ivy. 

Ivy boards the bus, where Susan has saved her a seat. However, when they get to Lincoln School, the bus driver prevents her from getting off. Susan seems to understand and tells Ivy to save her a seat on the way home. Ivy is brought to Lincoln Annex, an ugly building, and notices that all the students “[look] the same: brown-eyed, dark-haired, and olive-skinned, like her” (447). A boy, Ignacio, tells her that students are segregated regardless of their abilities, although they can participate in afterschool activities at Lincoln Main. When teachers realize Ivy is fluent in English, they ask her to assist in a 3rd grade classroom. When she finally gets home, she lets out her pent-up tears.

Ivy’s parents are outraged at the segregation of Mexican students, and her father is determined to have her moved to Lincoln Main. However, his attempts are unsuccessful, and his only recourse is to join a lawsuit with other families. They contemplate moving back to La Colonia, but Ivy thinks of the Yamamotos in a camp, and “how their humiliation had to be ten times—a hundred times—worse” (461). She tells her parents she can endure and asks to go to the orchestra meeting. In bed, she feels dirty.