Room to Dream

Mom and Dad are getting ready for their date on Saturday when the front desk gets a call from one of the motel customers. A bright light from the Magna is shining into the windows of the Calivista, making it hard to sleep. Dad promises to look into it immediately.

As they approach the mega motel, it’s hard to miss what the customer meant: “The Magna [is] lit up like a second sun” (190). When they get inside to file a complaint, the people at the Magna tell them they can’t do anything about it. It’s their pool light, and it has to be on at all times. They suggest blackout curtains, but those are too expensive, especially at the last minute. Mom offers to get thicker fabric at the fabric store and sew it onto the existing curtains herself. Sadly, Mom and Dad’s date is canceled so they can prioritize the customers.

Mia is sad, but not shocked, that she failed the geometry entrance exam. Most of her answers were guesses, and she knew she wasn’t quite ready to skip ahead like Lupe. Jason asks if he can take it too, but the teacher tells him no, since he hasn’t even been turning in his homework. Jason apologizes—a big culinary competition is coming up that has put him behind in his classes. Their teacher doesn’t care and says she will have to send home a note to his parents.

Mia glances at the recipes Jason is studying. Rather than Asian fusion recipes, he’s pouring over French recipes that he used to hate. Mia tries to talk to him about it, but Jason is still angry that she turned him down the other day. He says he doesn’t care what she has to say. He mentions Da-Shawn before making his exit: “Before [Mia can] tell him that Da-Shawn [is] just a friend, Jason [grabs] his math textbook and [gets] up from his chair” (195). Mia is discouraged; now she doesn’t have any friends in her math class.

Mia is grateful that she and Da-Shawn are growing closer, especially since her two best friendships are on the rocks. Da-Shawn shows Mia a new piece he wrote that makes her laugh. While they discuss writing more in depth, Mia lets it slip that she writes a column in China and promises to bring some of her columns for him to read.

At the grocery store with her mom, Mia can’t stop thinking about Da-Shawn. They run into Jason and his mom, Mrs. Yao. Mom tells Mrs. Yao about the Magna, and Mrs. Yao replies that her husband’s chain in San Diego has been proving difficult to manage. Mia thinks “Maybe it’s possible to win against a chain! But [her] smile waver[s] when [she looks] at Jason’s sad face” (198) and remembers that he had been proud of his dad’s new chain.

Mrs. Yao tells them Jason is going to be a French pastry chef; he needs to stop making Asian food if he wants to succeed in the United States. Mia is disheartened, knowing this is not what Jason wants. When they walk away, Mia tells Mom, “I hope Jason doesn’t let his mom tell him what to do” (199). Mom comforts Mia, telling her that he will probably be more strong-willed than that.

Back at the motel, a couple arrives looking for a room. Hank put up more fliers earlier, encouraging people to stay at an independently owned motel. The couple proudly says they like to support small businesses when they can. Mia is elated, but they all know it’s not enough to save them in the long run. They will need a bigger plan before they run out of time.

On Friday, Mia plans a surprise date night for her parents at the Calivista. She enlists Hank to help with decorations and his burgers. The plan goes off without a hitch: Mia is “their waitress, pouring them drinks under the full moon, as Hank pass[es her] dishes through the small front office window” (203). Mia’s parents are touched, grateful for their daughter’s kindness. Mia thinks that maybe Mom will finally be honest with Dad about school, but she doesn’t mention the bullying. Instead Mom turns the attention to Dad and thanks him for “trying so hard these last few weeks, trying to turn the motel around. And holding down the fort while I teach” (203). Her words clearly mean a lot to Dad, and Mia is happy to see them enjoying their night together.

In English class, Da-Shawn approaches Ms. Swann about starting a school paper. After he mentions the idea to her, he turns to Mia. He wants to do a story about her column in China, but she says no. She tells him, “I didn’t want people knowing about my columns, especially the ones I wrote about Lupe and Jason” (204). Da-Shawn says he won’t write about it unless she wants him to. As he says this, he puts his hand on hers, and Mia feels butterflies in her stomach.

That night, she writes a new column: How do you know you have a crush on a boy? She tells her readers all about Da-Shawn and how much she likes him. She is worried it is too personal, but then she remembers Mr. Wang wants more drama and honesty. Without another moment of hesitation, she faxes it to China.

Hank and Mia leave to pass out more fliers at Lucky Lanes, a bowling alley. When they get to the parking lot, they see that Lucky Lanes has gone out of business. Mia, recalling her visit to China, asks Hank if he ever misses his burger stand there. Sometimes he wonders what would have happened if he stayed, but ultimately he feels his place is here helping Mia and her parents.

At home, Mia writes about the change happening in her city. She tells her readers, “As a small business owner, I refuse to give up or to be intimidated. I think the only way to compete with big business is with big heart” (210). This is the mantra that will help her get through this tough time.

As she finishes writing, a commercial comes on. The voice on the TV says, “Ever find a bug in your bed? Clogged toilets? Don’t risk a good night’s sleep on a small, unknown place. Come to the Magna […] Our rooms are held to national standards of cleanliness!” (210). Mia and her family can hardly believe their eyes. The Magna is claiming to have much cleaner standards than independently owned motels. Mia rushes to the phone to call Lupe about it. She knows her friend is busy with school, but this is urgent.

Mia tells Lupe that she’s worried customers will think the Magna’s ad is targeted at the Calivista. The Calivista isn’t mentioned by name, but since all the other small motels have been bought up, people will draw conclusions.

Lupe thinks it’ll blow over, since the Magna can’t afford to run the ad all the time. Mia, however, is not convinced. She has “the feeling that when it came to trying to put us out of business, no expense was too big for the Magna” (212). She knows they must act fast if they want to save their motel.

The next day, Da-Shawn tells her to try to get her column published in The Anaheim Times. Even though Mia fears another rejection, he tells her she shouldn’t worry about it since she’s already a published columnist and doesn’t have anything to lose by trying. Flattered by his kind words, she asks him to the school dance on a whim. He accepts, and Mia is over the moon. The one bright spot in her life is that she will get to go to her first school dance with her crush.

The investors meet for a vote that night. Mr. Cooper opens with the argument that they won’t be able to compete with the television campaign. Mia reminds him there’s more to the motel: classes that people need and a community that has been built over the last few years. Mr. Cooper says “It’s a business. You’re not supposed to bond. That’s what you all haven’t gotten since day one. None of this is personal!” (215). They eventually agree to wait a little longer, but Mr. Cooper tells them they’d better decide before it’s too late.

Mia goes out to the pool, and Lupe follows. At first Lupe says that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to sell, so they could have more money for college. Mia reminds her that her family and so many others would no longer have a place to live, and her Dad and Hank would be out of a job. Lupe agrees, but she doesn’t know how they are going to beat the Magna. The two girls sit side by side for a moment, just like old times.

The next week, Mia goes to meet the editor of The Anaheim Times. After Mia tells him what’s going on with the Magna, he walks Mia toward the office of the editor in chief. They have to follow guidelines; they can’t publish something just because Mia says it’s happening. However, the editor in chief might be able to help.

When they get to the editor in chief, Mia is “happily surprised to find a woman sitting at the desk inside. She [has] short gray hair and [wears] reading glasses on a chain” (220). Her name is Katherine Addison, and she is easy to talk to. Mia tells her the plan: “We needed to accept their cleanliness challenge and prove who was actually cleaner. And if the media happened to be there when the inspection was happening…well, then that would be better than advertising” (221). The plan is bold, but Mia is sure it will help save her family’s motel.

Katherine likes the idea, and she tells Mia not to do anything differently the day the inspector comes. Mia gives her word as a columnist, prompting Katherine to ask about Mia’s column. Katherine takes her time to read each one. She really likes the last column on Anaheim changing and would like to consider publishing it when it’s ready. When Mia excitedly adds she can make it more dramatic, Katherine explains she doesn’t want more drama, she wants more research.

The Anaheim Times agrees to cover the story about the competing motels. It could lead to a sure victory for the Calivista against the Magna, and for small businesses against corporations in general.

Mia calls the health department to report both the Calivista and the Magna, setting the plan in motion.

After she hangs up, she reads the pamphlet on good journalism she got at The Anaheim Times and feels a pang of guilt:

I stare at the last line—must keep their personal biases from influencing their story. […] I definitely did not keep my personal biases from influencing my stories about Lupe, nor did I get her [Lupe’s] side of those stories (224-25).

Mia realizes her writing wasn’t fair to her friend, and she wants to make it right.

Mia writes to Lupe, saying she’s proud of her and misses her. Next she writes to Jason to apologize for missing his cooking competition and express that she wants things to go back to normal between them. The next day, she puts both letters in her friends’ lockers and hopes for the best.

Jason sees Mia at his locker and points to the flier, once again asking her to the dance. She tells him she asked Da-Shawn, who said yes. Jason throws the flier on the ground and storms off, leaving Mia to wonder why he always gets so angry about this stuff.