In "A Rice Sandwich," Esperanza comes home for lunch every day, and she decides she wants to take her lunch and eat at school. Her mother says she doesn't need to; Esperanza begs and pleads and eventually wears her mother down. But when the time comes, she has to take her mother's letter of permission to the principal (Sister Superior), who knows she doesn't live far enough away to justify bringing her lunch to school. She makes Esperanza point out her house from the window, and Esperanza begins to cry. Then the nun says she may stay that day, but not again. Esperanza goes to the canteen and eats her sandwich, crying as the other children watch.
In "Chanclas," Esperanza and her mother are going to her baby cousin's baptism party in the church basement. Her mother gets new clothes for Esperanza, but forgets shoes, so she has to wear her school shoes. This embarrasses her, and while everyone else dances, she sits in a folding chair and won't get up. Finally her uncle drags her out on the floor and dances with her, and they are so good that everyone watches and applauds. Her mother is proud of her, and a boy Esperanza knows watches her dance.
