After finding out that Mateo knew Harriet, I felt like I could finally lower my guard around him. The next shift at work that we were both scheduled to work allowed me to make a new friend. I arrived early at Cielito Lindo and waited for him to walk up. A few minutes before our shift, he arrived. He was walking with his headphones in, but as soon as he saw me, he stopped and took them out. He smiled as he put them away in their case. "Hey, Olivia!" He sounded excited to see me. I decided that I should use my best diplomacy skills to smooth things over between us. I reached out my hand for a handshake. He smiled as I extended my hand out for a shake. He reached out his hand and jokingly said, "Finally giving me a chance?" A small smile crept onto my face. I tried my best not to be too excited. But now that I know that Harriet has been friends with Mateo for years, I figured he could be my next new friend. 

Mateo and I began this ritual on any days we were scheduled together to work. I would arrive early and wait for him to show up, and then walk in together. He would come and help me with anything I needed at work. He would bring things that were out of stock or clear something up. We also left together each day at the end of our shifts. We started talking more. I found out that Mateo had graduated the same year as Martin, but he had not gone to college. He went straight to work. He explained how he was the eldest brother of 5 siblings, and his parents needed his help paying for things. Mateo had gone straight into working full-time. He had been working at a job in security before this one. But he hadn't liked working late-night shifts, so he looked for a different job.

 He has been working at Cielito Lindo for two years. He is fluent in Spanish, so he is able to speak to everyone who works at our job. After a few weeks of being friends, I asked him if he thought he could teach me some Spanish as well. I figured it would only help me be a better employee. When I asked him, he responded, "You looking for a way to spend MORE time with me, Smith?" He had started calling me by my last name, something he did with most of his friends. I had begun to get used to the constant teasing that came out of his mouth. 

We arranged to meet up at a coffee shop to start my Spanish lessons. On the first appointment, he actually showed up before me and waited for me. I began with very simple phrases in Spanish. We decided to prioritize anything that had to do with food and orders so that I could use them around the restaurant. I asked Mateo how long he had been speaking Spanish, and he told me that he had been speaking since he was born. Both his parents had been living in Mexico and came to America after they got married. They speak only Spanish in their house, but the kids learned English at school. I was impressed. He spoke multiple languages. In my old life, only the elite had learned second languages. It was fascinating to see how different our lives had been.

Mateo was always on his phone when he wasn't talking to me. I saw him on it during his lunch breaks. He also pulled up an app on my phone that I could use at the shelter to practice Spanish on my own, when Mateo isn't around. He listened to music on his phone as well. I was surprised by how important the phone was to his life. One lunchtime, I was curious about what it was on his phone that had his attention. He held it out and showed me. On the screen was art, and he started scrolling with his finger. There was dialogue too. He told me this was called a web comic. Something that an artist published online, and anyone with the app can read it. He got a little embarrassed and said that it was a bit nerdy. I don't fully know what nerdy means, but the fact that he was embarrassed made me feel like it wasn't entirely a good thing. He then explained that he also watched anime sometimes. I explained to him that I had never heard of anime before. He told me that it was an animated video, like the comic, but moving. I had seen videos already. Harriet had sent me some. But they had always been of real things. I tried to imagine one made entirely out of art and just couldn't. So Mateo said I could come over and watch an episode of his favorite show to see if I liked it. We made plans to do that after our next Spanish lesson.