Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Piddy goes to the guidance office where Darlene works as an aide. In exchange for Yaqui’s schedule, Piddy agrees to help Darlene with her physics homework. While waiting, Piddy laughs at a poster claiming the school is bully-free. With the schedule in hand, Piddy walks toward Yaqui’s class. Then, Ms. Shepherd, who is on hall duty, asks if everything is all right and if they can talk about English class. Promising to do better, Piddy rushes off. Instead of going to study hall, she walks out of the building and hops on a bus. When Mitzi does not respond to her texts, Piddy imagines that a stranger on the bus is her father.

That night, Clara is upset at Piddy’s school progress report, which cites missing work and inattentiveness. Ashamed but defensive, Piddy claims it is a difficult school. Clara worries and asks if Piddy wants to be no good like her father. She feigns ignorance and reaches for her necklace, but it is not there. Frustrated, Piddy insults her mother, wanting to make her feel small. When Clara starts lecturing about doing better in school, Piddy storms out.

Arriving at their old apartment building, Piddy sees Joey. Because Lila is not there, she follows him into the building’s basement where he retreats into a storage area. Back there, he has a mattress and a laundry basket where a stray cat and her kittens lie. Joey confesses that he cares for them. When Piddy admits that moving away has been horrible, he kisses her. As they continue to kiss, she hears his parents arguing above. Abruptly, Piddy says she must go.

The next morning, Piddy feels sick with dread and cannot get up for school. Her mother admonishes her for going out the previous night. Piddy stays home, but her mother goes to work. Falling asleep, she dreams of riding an elephant while everyone looks on in awe and respect. The doorbell wakes her. It is Lila. Brushing Piddy’s hair, Lila notices a hickey on Piddy’s neck. Piddy panics and refuses to divulge what happened with Joey, so Lila disguises it with makeup. Then, Lila asks if there is reason to be concerned. Piddy says no, and Lila tells her to be careful with boys. Later, when Piddy is alone, the phone rings. It is Darlene calling to tell her that Yaqui got in trouble with the police.

When Piddy arrives at school the next day, she feels safe because Yaqui has been suspended. However, when she gets to her locker, she sees antigay graffiti on Rob’s locker. Without thinking, Piddy scribbles out the lettering. A teacher sees and accuses her of defacing the locker. He takes her to the dean of student discipline, Mr. Flatwell. Piddy denies her wrongdoing, admitting that she did write on the locker, but that she was covering up something worse. After explaining, she snaps about the school being bully-free. Flatwell notices her tone and switches the conversation to her tardies, asking how things are going. Not wanting to be an informer, Piddy says she likes her old school better. Flatwell pushes her to elaborate and adds that the school cannot help if they are not aware of what is happening. Piddy laughs instead of talking. Flatwell gives her Saturday detention even though it is her birthday.

Friday night, Piddy and her mom head to Lila’s for an Avon makeup party. Piddy has her detention form that her parent must sign. They see Joey’s mom with bruises on her wrists on their way into Lila’s apartment. Inside, they get ready for the party. While Clara prepares food trays in the kitchen, Piddy corners Lila in the bathroom asking her to sign the school form. When Piddy tells her the story, Lila relents.

Later, the apartment fills with women who fuss at the sight of Clara, for they have not seen her in ages. Although it is hot, Piddy keeps her turtleneck pulled up as she totals Avon orders and looks outside for Joey. Music blasts, the women drink more, and dancing begins. Bebe swirls out of control, knocking Piddy’s soda everywhere. When she apologizes, she tells Piddy that everyone, even her mother, makes mistakes. Meanwhile, Clara hides in the kitchen, and when Piddy enters, she sees her mother dancing, a foreign sight. When Piddy comments, her mother stops. Clara spots Piddy’s hickey and demands answers, calling her daughter a tramp. Angry, Piddy storms off. Later, on the bus home, she stares out the window looking for Joey.

Wearing her salon shirt from the night before, Piddy arrives at Saturday detention, meeting Mr. Flatwell and other students outside the school. Once in the classroom, Mr. Flatwell shares the rules as a late arrival, Yaqui, interrupts him. Piddy cannot breathe as Mr. Flatwell tells Yaqui that she is late and cannot stay. However, she must come to the next two Saturday detentions. Angry, Yaqui turns to leave but spots Piddy and glares at her. Mr. Flatwell notices, moves between the girls, and ushers Yaqui out.

Piddy is so shaken that she trembles and cannot focus. However, she forces herself to complete schoolwork. With all but English done, Piddy looks at Ms. Shepherd’s extra credit options and decides to write a creative essay in which she must invent a modern-day monster. Once she begins writing, she cannot stop. Soon, Mr. Flatwell indicates that she may go. She is the only one left. Evading his questions about her essay, Piddy leaves with dread mounting that Yaqui is waiting outside. Mr. Flatwell notices her hesitation and asks if she is okay. Exiting the school, Piddy runs.

That night, Clara, Lila, and Raúl take Piddy out for her birthday. Piddy wears her new dress, which her mother dislikes. Unlike Mitzi, Piddy did not have a quinceañera the year before, so Lila wants to celebrate her sweet 16 with a fancy dinner. Piddy thinks about the distance growing between her and Mitzi, for her friend knows nothing about recent events and has no time to talk anymore.

When Lila hears a song she loves, Raúl asks her to dance. She declines, suggesting that he dance with Piddy instead. Once she relaxes, Piddy moves fluidly, and all the men at the bar watch. Briefly, she forgets about Yaqui. The rest of the evening, Raúl tells funny stories and shares how he became a police officer. Piddy discovers that he patrols the neighborhood where Yaqui lives, which is full of violence. On the way home, Clara drills Raúl with questions about marriage. He reveals that he is divorced before Lila stifles the inquiries, and they return to Piddy’s apartment.