Sire
- A boy named Sire stares at Esperanza every time she passes his house. He makes Esperanza feel all funny inside.
- Papa calls Sire a punk, and Mama says not to talk to him.
- Sire has a girlfriend named Lois. Esperanza admires her tiny, painted toenails and feminine hands and makeup. But she notices that Lois doesn't know how to tie her shoes.
- Esperanza watches Sire and Lois together and wonders about what they do together. Mama says "those kinds of girls […] are the ones that go into alleys" (28.3).
- Esperanza feels like "everything is waiting to explode like Christmas" (28.4). She wants to sit out with boys and know what it's like to be held and kissed.