Alex ran out of the house with a football. Usually he would practice his skills till sunset all by himself. But today was different. Today Alex met Leo.
Alex's mom said that a couple and their son from Columbia were moving in next door. It had been a week. But Alex hadn't seen the boy yet.
Alex crossed the yard and knocked confidently at the door and almost immediately Leo appeared. "Hi, my name is Alex," Alex said, holding out his hand.
Leo smiled shyly and shook Alex's hand. "Leo...my name is Leo," said the dark-haired boy quietly.
"I haven't seen you around school yet, have you started? Do you play any sports? How do you like the neighborhood? ..." Alex kept asking questions at the wide-eyed Leo.
Shaking his head, Leo looked rather uncomfortable and uneasy. "Oh," thought Alex, "he doesn't understand me." Alex presented his football to Leo and said, "Do you want to play?" He wished Leo would understand his action, if not his words. The smile on Leo's face was the answer.
"Great!" responded Alex. Next moment they were passing the ball back and forth. Leo played well and they just hit it off so great. Hours sped by, and Alex's mom called out that dinner was ready. Alex stopped playing and pantomimed putting a fork to his mouth and eating. "It's time for dinner," he said regretfully.
Leo grinned and repeated, "It's time for dinner."
"Exactly," said Alex, "Can we play again tomorrow after school?" Alex asked, not sure if Leo would understand. Yet he could tell Leo didn't get him.
Suddenly Alex got a great idea. He pulled the confused boy toward his house. There he started searching his bookshelf. Moments later, he found an orange book—a Spanish dictionary! He fingered the pages to look up the words for tomorrow, after and school.
Then Alex looked directly at Leo, held up the football, and said mañana, despué de, and la escuela, not sure if what he said really translated into what he wanted. His face brightened as Leo smiled and eagerly nodded his head.
"Mañana!" Alex repeated.
"Mañana!" agreed Leo.
