A few minutes before six, we heard Mama get home. She came straight to the kitchen, and when she saw Nurzhan sitting there doing
his work, a smile came over her tired face. “Oh, what a good boy, doing his work.”
“Not so good, Mama. Nurzhan got in trouble.” I didn’t
mind having to tell her this bad news too much (not like when I had to call Papa). Then I explained about the fight and how
Papa had to come to the school.
“Oh, my poor little one!” Mama rushed to Nurzhan and examined his hands. Tenderly, she touched his face where it
had been cut. Then she turned sharply toward me.
“Maya! How could you let this happen?”
“Me! I wasn’t even there.”
“On the bus, when this boy is so bad to Nurzhan. You must make this boy stop.”
“No, Mama,” Nurzhan explained. “He would tease me more if my sister spoke for me.”
“I don’t understand this. In Kazakhstan, if someone insults you, they have insulted everyone in the family. And everyone must respond.”
“It’s different here, Mama.”
Mama looked sad. She sighed deeply. Then the phone rang and she told me to answer it. Mama always wants me to
answer because she is shy about speaking English. When her work calls, I always speak on the phone to the women whose houses she cleans and then translate for Mama. (I translate
their exact words, not like with Mr. Shanaman.)
Reread the dialogue in paragraphs 109–119. What does this dialogue reveal about how Mama’s relationship with Maya differs from her relationship with Nurzhan?
