That weekend, everyone—“the investors, [Mia’s] dad, the weeklies, Hank, Jose, and [Mia]” (183)—meets with Vacation Resorts to learn more about their offer. When the group asks if the current workers would keep their jobs if the sale goes through, Vacation Resorts tells them no, they’d bring in their own people. At the end, Mia feels like she did after the photo shoot. Her hard work at the Calivista seems simply insufficient: “[T]he big guys still saw [her] as just a kid and wanted to move [her] to the back row” (185). Mia has a bad feeling about the sale and is even more opposed to the deal than she was before.

Afterward, Mia and her Mom talk. Mom tells her about some behavior issues at school, particularly because she’s a substitute and not a full-time teacher. Mom also says that, while at the high school, she saw Lupe briefly. Lupe looked stressed and lonely.

When Mia writes about Lupe later, she knows she probably should write this to her in a personal letter. However, it’s easier to write to her readers rather than face the problem head on.