We Were Here

Miguel decides to accept Mong’s offer to escape to Mexico and agrees to bring Rondell on the journey. The pair remain dressed in street clothes after the “lights out” rounds by Jaden and await Mong’s signal to begin the escape. Miguel reflects upon happy memories of his family during better times, including accompanying his brother to the “secret fishing spot along the levee” (67). He also has an epiphany, in which he realizes that he is making a conscious, life-altering decision that might result in his inability to ever return home.

The pair escape through the bars on their windows, which Miguel loosened earlier that day. He doubles back into the house after Rondell exits, at which point he approaches Jaden’s office with the counselor’s keys.

Miguel first observed Jaden locking cash in the petty cash drawer when called into the office for a counselling session. He realized that the counselor only removed the keys from his belt “when he played one of us in foosball” (69). Consequently, Miguel uncharacteristically challenges the counselor to play; he realizes that Jaden interprets this as Miguel “finally coming out of my shell” (70). Miguel feels sorry for the misguided worker.

Typically reflective, Miguel speculates as to how many residents prior to himself have fooled their counselors, making Miguel feel like a “straight-up cliché” (70). He speculates that no one is truly unique, and that there is no real incentive to be alive, as there are no original actions left. As the game comes to an end, Miguel steals the keys to Jaden’s office and to the petty cash box. He refuses the counselor’s invitation to play a second game.

Miguel sneaks past the night watchman watching television in the group home living room, noting that he “could smell weed coming off [the watchman’s] clothes” (72). After realizing that he must pass the watchman unnoticed, Miguel reverts to his belief that he is capable of causing events to occur by imagining them; he feels that he has willed the guard to be distracted by causing him to choke on a potato chip.

After entering Jaden’s office with the stolen keys, he unlocks the petty cash drawer and steals an envelope containing $750. He risks staying there an extra moment in order to retrieve the file records pertaining to himself, Mong, and Rondell and brings them with him when he exits. As he joins his companions and departs down a side road, the narrator looks back at the group residence and realizes that “our pad really did look like a lighthouse” (74). 

The trio starts to run as they hear sirens blaring in the distance. Mong is unable to stop coughing; however, he claims that he is fine. They review their plan: Mong’s cousin will drive them to the Mexican border in her car, and they will travel to a resort town that will afford them employment, cheap housing and “all kinds of tourist girls” (75).

The escaped residents wait until late the next day for Mong’s cousin to arrive with her car. Miguel is surprised when he realizes that his hands are shaking severely as he considers alternate plans of escape, should their ride fail to appear, such as “hitch a ride to Mexico on my own. Or up to Canada” (77). Conversely, Rondell has slept since their arrival at the meeting stop. Miguel writes in his journal about “busting out” in order to distract himself.

The boys await the arrival of Mong’s cousin for hours in the parking lot; however, she does not appear. Miguel finally reaches into Rondell’s backpack to retrieve one of the books that he’s hidden in there for the other boy to carry. Rondell sees this, but does not react angrily.

After 10am the following morning, Mong finds a payphone in order to contact his cousin. Miguel had placed several books that he brought from the group home in Rondell’s backpack, including a copy of the novel Of Mice and Men. Rondell awakens while Miguel is looking through the bag, but merely retrieves his Bible. When Miguel makes the mistake of noting that his companion is illiterate and merely pretending to read, the young man responds by squeezing the narrator’s neck. After he is somewhat calmed, Rondell seeks to prove he can read by pointing out a sign that he interprets as “The Gap.” While the sign actually reads “Old Navy,” Miguel refrains from pointing out the error. When Mong returns from making the phone call, he advises the boys that his cousin is coming to get them.

Eventually, a “hipster-looking Asian girl” (81), identified as Mong’s cousin, Mei-li Chin, arrives, and the boys enter her car. She demands that each of them introduce themselves using their full names, and admits that she has reservations about helping them run away. Addressing Mong, she suggests that she has a compromise solution and requests that he trust her.

The narrator describes Mei-li as “fine as hell” (83); while he is happy and excited about their escape to Mexico, he envies teenagers they pass who “were just out in the open, laughing, having a good time” (83). When they realize that their driver is headed north, Mei-li explains that she wants Mong to be able to see his gung gung (grandfather) who is aware that Mong is sick and very worried about him. Mei-li, cynical due to an experience with a disloyal boyfriend, advises the boys that she is aware that they are not on authorized leave from the residence; however, she says that she will drive them to Mexico after Mong’s family visit.

Upon noticing Miguel writing in his journal, Mei-li asks him to write a story about her experience reuniting with her boyfriend, who had courted her, “talked and cried” (89), and won her back after cheating with other girls. She reflects upon the loss of innocence involved with maturing, and the lack of the sense of specialness that she had as a child. Mei-lei now describes life as “[u]neventful” (88). Miguel responds that experiencing tragedy can cause a boring life to seem desirable.

Mei-li continues to drive north toward San Francisco, passing “Crystal Springs Reservoir near where” (90) Miguel’s mother was raised. After a period of long silence, Mei-li requests that she not be portrayed as bitter in Miguel’s story about her. The narrator is very attracted to the young woman and fantasizes about being her boyfriends. He reminisces about his brother Diego’s success in attracting girls, but stops when he is saddened by these memories.

Mei-li tells Miguel that she wants to tell him a story concerning “true love” and a Chinese couple. She explains that the young woman in the story, “half Chinese, half Vietnamese” (91), was a very talented singer with a bright professional future in Shanghai. Despite Mong’s obviously annoyed reaction, Mei-li continues to relate that the young girl is paired by a Chinese matchmaker with a handsome, intelligent, wealthy Chinese boy who graduated from an American law school. He fell in love with her immediately and proposed marriage; however, the singer declined due to her interest in her career. Undeterred, the pursuer wrote her daily letters for two years. Miguel compares this romance to the story of his own parents’ courtship. His American mother and “hippie Mexican” (93) father had married as teenagers when his mother was several months pregnant with Diego. His father had described the marriage as a case of “slumming gone too far” (93).

Mei-li continues to relate that the young singer eventually agrees to marry the young lawyer, believing that she will successfully combine raising a family with her singing career. She is about to win a prestigious Chinese singing competition, but the judges advises her that she must deny her marriage; however, her husband advises against lying while entering a contract. The young woman, realizing that she is now pregnant and will be unable to go on tour, denies the prize and it is awarded to a competitor.

Mei-li notes that Mong can tell the rest of the story, but to remember that “the young man’s love for the singer was the basis of every single decision he ever made” (95). She suggests that the group stop to eat pizza for lunch, and Miguel realizes just how attracted he is to Mei-li. He experiences another epiphany, which is that a girl like Mei-li would refuse to live with him in Mexico; he notes that he was born in America, and wanted to be able to live there, too.

When Mei-li leaves the table, Mong announces that he is leaving because he realizes that Mei-Li has no intention of driving them to Mexico. The other boys follow, but Miguel leaves cash on the table to pay for lunch Mei-li’s gas expenses.