It was March 18, 2002 and my friends had the coolest shoes ever. They had blue, grey, and black stripes. At first glance, they looked like normal shoes, but when you pushed a hard button, little wheels would pop up. Both of my best friends had these roller skate shoes, and I remember they would skate for hours until dusk. Jealous of my friends, I pleaded with my mother to buy me a pair. My mom promised me that if I was good, she would buy them for me. I was sure to be extremely good that day.
The next day, after school, I hurried home. My friends came over as soon as they got home, and we waited impatiently for my mother to come home. When she finally pulled up, she found us waiting at the door. She fixed us a quick lunch; we had ham sandwiches with Doritos chips and a glass of Kool-aid. Then, we rushed my mother to get into the car. Ten minutes later, we arrived at the store. I tried on the shoes; they fit perfectly, so my mom bought them for me. When we arrived back at the house, my friends and I ran out my mom’s car, put on our roller skate shoes and skated all over the block. As sundown came, I heard my mom’s faint voice calling out, “Azalie! Come home, mija, it’s time for your bath.” I said goodbye to my friends and glided home.
When I got home, I began skating around the house, and my mother quickly scolded me and told me not to skate in the house. Then she told me to tell my dad, my sisters, and my brother-in-law good night, so I skated to each one and gave them each a hug and said good night. As I scaled the stairs to take a bath, I remembered that I hadn’t told my mom good night. I dashed downstairs, gave her a kiss, and said good night. As I skated back toward the stairs, I slipped and banged my right leg on the corner of one of the walls. I yelled at the top of my lungs and began crying hysterically. Everyone ran to my side. Almost instantly, my leg turned as purple as a plum and swelled as fat as a bullfrog. My brother-in-law picked me up and took me to the couch in the living room. That whole night, I had to ice down my leg. The pain was so unbearable, I could not sleep. Everyone thought I was exaggerating, but they did not know the pain I was going through. It felt like my bones were being pierced by needles.
The next morning at 6:00 a.m., my sister and my mom took me to the doctor to get an x-ray. He told us that I had fractured my right leg. He sent me to another doctor in Vista, because he could not put a cast on me there. It was noon by the time we arrived at the other clinic, and I still hadn’t eaten anything. Then, after waiting half an hour, we were told that they did not do casts for children, so they sent us to Children’s Hospital. When we arrived at Children’s Hospital, it was about 2:30 p.m. My sister was going to buy me some food, but the nurses told her I could not eat because they didn’t know if I was going to need surgery. They did more x-rays and tests, and I had to take a lot of medications for the pain. By the time they put a cast on me, it was about 7:00 p.m. Finally, at 8:00 p.m., I had my first meal of the day. I returned home after a long day at the hospital. I did not return to school until a week later. I had my cast on for two months and then a second, smaller one for another month. This was a harsh punishment for not listening to my mom.
Because of this event, I now think twice before disobeying my mother. I’m not saying I’m a perfect child, but I am a much more obedient daughter. If I had listened to my mother, I would not have had to go through this ordeal. My mom always seems to know what’s best, and this incident helped me understand that.
