When Bel was in 3rd grade the Iowa Test of Basic Skills asked him to define a tortilla. C. a Mexican Pancake, was the correct asnwer. Bel knew this was fucked up. He'd eaten way too many of his mother's and grandmother's home made flour toritillas to agree with the test's definition. Yet, he new it was the correct answer. Why? Because he'd taken enough standardized tests to know the logic. At eight years old he'd determined that a test from Iowa would have been written by white people. Bel was a Mexcian-American in Texas. It was 1985. He didn't think tacos had made as far north as Iowa. He wanted to choose D. none of the above to take a stance but he chose C.
At lunch, Bel overheard Rosie Martinez telling her friend Carmen that she chose D because tortillas weren't pancakes. Rosie's comment was followed by a chorus of me toos. Bel lowered his head and stared at his fishsticks. He knew he'd chosen the right answer.