The Five Wounds

Brianna is in her first year of teaching at Smart Starts!, a government-funded program for teenage mothers in Española. She began the job with a spirit of hope and a strong, idealistic desire to help young mothers better themselves. She remembers decorating the drab classroom and bringing in encyclopedias, other reading material, cozy rugs, and a plant. She is pleasantly surprised by the students, as she expected more drugs and behavior problems. The one student who she struggles to connect with is Angel’s friend, Lizette. Brianna finds the young woman aggressive and abrasive. Outside at lunch, Lizette performs mock-fellatio on a banana and, although Brianna does not want to address the behavior, she grimly marches outside, admonishes Lizette for wasting a banana, and ends the girls’ lunch early.

Inside after lunch, Lizette raises her hand and objects to Brianna having cut their lunch short. Brianna explains that her behavior was inappropriate. Lizette does not understand why, and Brianna’s heart pounds. She is 25 and does not feel as though she is perceived as a true authority figure. When the day comes to an end, she is grateful and looks forward to going home. Brianna reflects that her employment in a program for teen mothers is ironic, given her own lack of luck with men: She is still a virgin and, although she does not want a baby, desperately wants to have sex.