Three Keys

Mia intends to bake chocolate chip cookies with Hank on Sunday, but they need to go to the grocery store for ingredients. While there, they see graffiti sprayed on the side of the store that reads, “Go back to your country.” The two are shaken by the disturbing words and later talk about racism. Hank offers the following advice: “You just have to hope that through your small interactions with them, eventually you’ll change their minds” (74). 

At school on Monday, some of Mia’s classmates are upset by the escalating hate crimes in the state. Three other students form an impromptu group with Mia called Kids for Kids, and they meet under an oak tree on school grounds during recess to talk about their concerns.

Back at home that afternoon, Mia meets a reporter named Annie Collins from the Anaheim Times. She is interested in how the Tangs came to buy the Calivista. Mia is proud to be interviewed and points out that America is a nation of immigrants. Annie seems pleased with her answer and tells Mia how she started as a writer. Mia thinks, “Listening to Annie talk about being a professional writer, fireworks exploded inside me even louder than the fireworks at Disneyland!” (80).

The Kids for Kids group is attracting new members. They agree on some ground rules: “1. Be gentle, be kind. 2. Say what’s on your mind. 3. Cone of silence!!” (81). Jason soon asks to join. As the kids share their stories of discrimination, Mia is surprised to learn that Jason is being bullied too. Later, Mia apologizes to Jason for storming out of his house and invites him to hang out with her at the motel.

Mia receives a letter from her Cousin Shen in Beijing. He used to be like her older brother, but the two have lost touch. Shen says that his family is looked down upon by people who own apartments in the inner rings of the city. Mia thinks, “Even when people are all from the same city, we find ways to divide ourselves” (85).

Mia then gets a call from Lupe, who explains that her grandmother has just died in Mexico. Lupe’s mother will need to cross the border illegally to arrange the burial. Mia prepares a Chinese ritual to give Lupe’s grandmother a good sendoff to the afterlife. Lupe is touched by the gesture.

The next day at school, Mrs. Welch displays the newspaper article featuring Mia’s family. Everyone is impressed except Bethany, a mean student who calls Mia a maid. Mia gives an angry retort, and Mrs. Welch makes her stay after class as a penalty.

During detention, Mia helps her teacher clean up the room, realizing that cutbacks have affected the janitorial service. Likewise, Mrs. Welch is not reimbursed for the class supplies she buys. Mia is surprised to learn that Mrs. Welch has a doctor’s degree. She thinks, “I tried to picture her as a doctor and wondered which was scarier—having her decide on my grades or my medicine” (90).

That evening, the family and regular motel guests celebrate the publicity that the newspaper article will generate. Mia asks her mother about Mrs. Welch’s doctoral degree, and her mother explains what a doctorate is. She thinks Mrs. Welch’s sour attitude is because she should be teaching college instead of sixth grade. Her mother says, “I guess it’s kind of like me cleaning motel rooms, even though I was once an engineer” (92).

At school the next day, the informal kids’ group attracts new members. As each person shares their story, Mia is shocked to learn how many others have experienced the same hardship as she and her family. 

Hank purchases a new phone system for the motel. When he tries to assemble it, Mrs. Tang puts it together in minutes, saying that she used to work on products like this all the time in China. Mia says, “It dawned on me then that maybe Mom missed more about her old life than just shopping—after all, she didn’t used to just turn these on, she made them” (95).

Later that day, Mia learns that her mother’s credit card application has been rejected because she doesn’t have a credit history. Mia writes an angry letter to Visa saying that they should give a hardworking, responsible person like her mother a chance. 

The next day’s class assignment is a new essay about what art means to each person. Mia hopes she can get a better grade than a C this time. At recess, Lupe confides her worries that her mother may not get back into the country.

During the next How to Navigate America class, Mia hears stories about how would-be employers exploit Mexican immigrants. She tells them they should complain but realizes they can’t because they are in the country without authorization.

Jason’s mother drops him off at the motel to visit Mia. That afternoon he cooks scrambled eggs better than any Mia has ever tasted. Later, Mrs. Tang has a problem removing a wine stain from new sheets. Jason suggests soaking the fabric in milk because that’s what Lupe’s mother used to do when she worked for the Yao family.

Mia is astonished to learn about her friend’s connection to Jason because Lupe never mentioned it. After Mrs. Tang leaves to buy milk, Mia and Jason indulge in a pillow fight that scatters feathers all over the room. Fearing to clog the vacuum, Mia insists they pick up the feathers by hand. Mrs. Yao walks in and is horrified to see her son cleaning up like a common servant: “‘I didn’t let him come over so he can be the maid!’ she snapped. I felt my ears boil. Before I could say anything else, she turned to Jason. ‘Get in the car!’” (107).

By October, there is a rise in hate crimes preceding the upcoming election. Hank is moved to volunteer at the ACLU to counteract this trend. He also adds a line to the motel marquee that reads “Immigrants Welcome.”

Back at school, Mia gets a B− on her newest essay, an improvement but not the A she wanted. That evening, Mrs. Tang and Mia go to the shopping mall to meet the Chinese ladies who have become Mrs. Tang’s new friends. Mia casually mentions how she and her mother used to window shop at the mall with shopping bags stuffed with paper because they couldn’t afford anything. Mrs. Tang is furious at Mia for embarrassing her, and they leave abruptly. 

The following day, Mia apologizes to her mother, but Mrs. Tang says she’s the one to blame. She was trying to impress her snobbish new friends because she wanted to feel like she was succeeding in American society.

Lupe later tells Mia that her mother has found someone to help smuggle her out of Mexico. When the two walk outside, they discover that someone has posted a “Whites Only” sign on the side of the motel.

Hank and Mia repaint the motel lobby a bright yellow color to distract themselves from the ugly message. Business has dropped lately. It appears that people don’t want to stay at a motel that welcomes immigrants. Later, one of the motel’s principal investors withdraws his support of $50,000. He says the welcome sign is sending the wrong message. The Tangs refuse to remove the sign. One bright spot in Mia’s day is the letter her mother receives from Visa offering her a credit card.

The next day at school, Mia tells her Kids for Kids group how well her appeal worked in reversing the credit company’s denial. She suggests that the others find a way to appeal the decisions that are creating obstacles in their lives. While they are sitting under the oak tree, one of the recess supervisors says they can’t just sit there. As a result, many of the kids leave.

Back in class, a huge cockroach has climbed on Bethany’s desk, and everyone is afraid to kill it, but Mia smashes it with her shoe. On her way to the bathroom to clean her shoe, she runs into Principal Evans. Mia confides her concern about bullying and hate crimes. The principal is sympathetic and also sees no harm in Mia’s group assembling under the oak tree.

The following day, the principal announces a potluck cookout to help unify the students. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish. Jason is excited to display his culinary skills. Back at home, Mia finds her parents and Hank celebrating because their line of credit was approved, which might tide them over until business improves.

Later, they find leaflets stuck into every guest’s door that reads, “United States of America NOT United States of Immigrants” (124). The Tangs call the police. The officers point out that the motel marquee is antagonizing the haters, and they recommend taking down the sign. Otherwise, the Tangs are asking for trouble. Mia says, “I looked the officer right in the eyes and said, ‘We’re not asking for trouble. We’re asking for kindness’” (125).