Those Shoes
   
Every time I have walked to school in the past, there they are in the mall window, staring me in the face. Those perfect, perfect shoes, with perfect, perfect stripes running down them. Everyone who mattered had them, from the cheerleaders to the principal to the football stars.
   
Every time I ask Grandma if I can get them, she says the same answer. Those words are now etched into my mind, as if with a needle. “You have to buy them with your own money, chica,” she tells me. “We don’t have room for wants in this familia. You know that, Gabriella.”
   
So I tried to earn money. I applied for a job at a small restaurant that had a smiling sun hanging on the door. I was told to wait tables and I would be able to keep all the tips I earned. I would be rich! On my first try, I saw another waitress balancing six plates all over her arms and I decided to try the same. Long story short, I was fired on the spot.
   
“Gabriella Flores, get out of my restaurant!” the owner yelled at me. I could swear that as I walked out of the restaurant in defeat, the sun on the door smirked at me.
   
The next thing I tried was dog walking. It always seems so easy in the movies. I picked up a Great Dane named Tiny, a Pomeranian named Snowflake, a husky named Tulip, and a Yorkie named Flex. It didn’t go quite as planned. Tiny scared Snowflake, and she wound her leash around Tulip, and in the end Flex was the only dog staying calm. Even though dog walking was chaotic, at least I made some money.
   
I walked to the mall with my best friend, Winnie. When we got there, I finally realized that I didn’t really want Those Shoes. I just wanted to be like everyone else! I decided to get something I really wanted.

I named my new hamster Cashew, or Cashy for short, to represent all the hard work and money it took to buy her.