# data[].attributes.body
and who suffers?/ the workers./ striped/ drained/ bled/ dry as the barren/ cotton-wasted soil./

# data[].attributes.body
" I start at the school./I can speak, read, write/ two languages. Surely someone will pay for a tutor./

# data[].attributes.body
" The waiter, at least/ has a helpful tip/ he says 'There are always jobs/ at the garment shops/ for girls like you/ i wonder/ what that means/ (a girl like me)/ but I follow his pointing arm/ to the shops/ up the streets."

# data[].attributes.body
" at eight o' clock / when the shop door closes / and locks, / we sweat / at the back of the workroom / our throats dry / our faces bloched red."

# data[].attributes.body
" Now that i have found work/ I can begin English classes/ at the free school in the evenings"

# data[].attributes.body
" a rap on the knuckles / if i talk/ a clap on the back of the head / if i laugh /a smack on the shoulder / if i so much / as hum ".

# data[].attributes.body
" I passed my spelling/ and Mathematics exams!/I hurry after work/to the free school/ to check the schedule/ for the next round: Geography/ History/ and Trigonometry.

# data[].attributes.body
" i spoke to the boss/sure he would make it right. hardly lifting his eyes/ from the ledger sheet/ he said/ there are dozens of girls/ fresh off the boat/ who would be more than happy/ to work in your place/ without complaining./fired./

# data[].attributes.body
"He hefts me up/ into the shadowed maw/ of a police wagon."

# data[].attributes.body
" the boss looks at the list / tosses it into the stove /get those children / back to work".

# data[].attributes.body
"An army of girls / trained in silence. / I have never been / obedient / or / biddable / or / meek."

# data[].attributes.body
"The classroom at the free school/ is full of woman like me,/ workers,/ their hats tilted/ at an angle/ as they listen/ to the teacher's words."

# data[].attributes.body
"The foreman shoves me from the lintel/ shouts something in English,/ spits in my face/ slams the shop door./ I wipe my skin clean with a corner of my skirt,/ my head ringing/ with the one word/ i understood:/ union."

# data[].attributes.body
"...i watch the inspector/checks the toilet/checks the windows/checks the scrap heap/checks the door handle/ to see if it opens/ from the inside /..see that these items /are corrected/with haste/he says/ as he walks away/ the boss looks at the list/tosses it into the stove/get those children/ back to work!/ and he locks the door behind him

# data[].attributes.body
"how can i leave this fight/ flit off to college when so many still suffer/ when i can feel tension like mercury rising/ a wisp of hope/ beginning to drift/ skyward

# data[].attributes.body
"Am i really so foolish to believe/ i can do more/for myself/for Mama/for the workers/if i do not?

# data[].attributes.body
"I am glad/ to bring a wage/ home to my family/ but/ my fingers are sore/ my eyes grow tired/ from squinting/ at tiny stitches/ all day./"

# data[].attributes.body
"there are windows/but they are locked./there are new machines/ but with them/ we are expected to produce/twice as much/...the floor/is just as littered/just as dirty/just as tempting/ to an open flame."

# data[].attributes.body
" evelina cries out/ snatches her hand back/ from the machine / that punched its eyed fang /through her nail".

# data[].attributes.body
"A piece of cake/ for each of you/ if you don't say a word,/ if you stay hidden/ until i come back."

# data[].attributes.body
"If you do not stay silent/ you cannot work./ If you do not work/ how will we eat?/"

# data[].attributes.body
that a girl/ cannot speak up/... against a man/... i say/ we need representation./ we are made to work/ long weeks-seventy hours or more./

# data[].attributes.body
"Let go of me!/ I shout./ I have done nothing wrong!/ 'Disorderly conduct, ma'am,'
the officer says."

# data[].attributes.body
"There are dozens of girls/ fresh off the boats/ who would be more than happy/ to work in your place/without complaining./ Fired."

# data[].attributes.body
"There are dozens of girls/fresh off the boats/who would be more than happy/to work in your place/without complaining."

# data[].attributes.body
"There will always be a reason/ to set my dreams aside:/ my family's well-being/ the workers' struggle/ my own desire to laugh/ and dance/ and skip my studies/ for a trip to the opera"

# data[].attributes.body
Gavin, Edgar, Zach

# data[].attributes.body
Kaitlyn, Raven, Emma

# data[].attributes.body
Landen, Abbi, Gianna

# data[].attributes.body
Clara would have a safer environment in college.

# data[].attributes.body
The protest may not work and she could lose everything with no reason.

# data[].attributes.body
Clara would put herself and her family in danger.

# data[].attributes.body
If Clara protests, she risks losing her job and achieving her dream of going to college