Roberto & Me Read Online Free PDF

conversation with him. Can you imagine if some strange kid walked up to you from out of nowhere and just said, “Don’t get on the plane! Don’t get on the plane!” You’d think he was crazy.
    I went home and spent the rest of the night reading my Introduction to Spanish textbook from school.I memorized all the numbers, greetings, and common phrases. I learned which words were masculine and which were feminine. I learned all the possessive adjectives and pronouns. I was obsessed.
    In case of emergency, I practiced saying Estoy enfermo. Necesito ayuda. (I am sick. I need help.) I don’t think I ever worked so hard preparing for a test at school. Señorita Molina would have been proud.
    Just after midnight, there was a soft knock on my door. My mom had come back from working at the hospital, and she wanted to say good night.
    â€œYou’re studying Spanish?” she asked. “In the middle of the night? On the weekend? Are you feeling okay, Joey?”
    â€œI want to be able to talk with Roberto,” I told her.
    â€œSo you’re already on a first-name basis with him?” she said with a laugh. “Is tonight the night?”
    â€œYeah,” I said. “Dad gave me a Clemente card. He gave me the video game system too. Thanks, Mom! It’s really cool.”
    I opened my backpack and showed her the Nintendo.
    â€œWait a minute,” she said. “You’re not going to bring that along, are you?”
    â€œSure,” I told her. “Why not? I thought I might have a little time, and I could play some games.”
    â€œJoey, what if somebody sees it?” my mother said. “There were no video games back in those days! People won’t know what to make of it. Maybe they’llthink it’s a bomb or something. They might think you’re a terrorist!”
    â€œMom, will you relax?” I said. “There were no terrorists back in those days either.”
    My mother rolled her eyes the way she does.
    â€œAll right,” she said. “Let me pack you some lunch to take with you.”
    â€œMom, I don’t want to bring lunch.”
    â€œJoey, you’re going to get hungry!”
    â€œI’ll get something to eat while I’m there !” I insisted.
    Mom rolled her eyes again.
    â€œSo, you’ll take a video game with you, but you won’t take lunch?” she said. “That makes a lot of sense.”
    â€œNo lunch, Mom!”
    My mother sighed, which means I won the argument. She must have been pretty tired, because she usually fights a lot harder than that. There were times when she talked me into taking an umbrella back in time with me in case it rained.
    â€œHey, listen to this,” I said as she kissed my forehead. “¡No subas el avion, Roberto!”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” she asked.
    â€œIt means, ‘Don’t get on the plane, Roberto!’”
    â€œ That’s what you spent the whole night learning?” she asked.
    â€œNo,” I told her. “I learned a lot of other stuff too. Like ¿Donde esta el correo? That means ‘Where is the post office?’”
    â€œThat should come in handy, in case you need to mail a letter in the past,” my mother joked. “You just be careful, okay? I know how dangerous it can be.”
    â€œI will.”
    â€œYou’re doing a good thing, Joey. A very good thing. I’m proud of you.”
    She kissed me again and closed the door behind her as she left.
    It was quiet in my room. I put on a pair of jeans, my old sneakers, and a T-shirt that didn’t have any writing on it. I wasn’t sure what year I would end up in, but I wanted to blend in. If I showed up 40 years ago wearing a T-shirt that said something like AMERICAN IDOL or BRITNEY SPEARS on it, people might be suspicious.
    Not that I own those T-shirts, mind you.
    I went to my desk drawer and took out a fresh pack of baseball cards. These would serve