Lupe is one of the boys who grew up with Eddie in the
barrio. As Eddie says, Coach knew
"all of us glue sniffers - Angel, Lupe, dead
Jesus, and me - since we were on bikes with training wheels. He (knew) that some of us
would mess up, some more than
others."
Lupe is not as hard
core as Angel, but he is clearly headed nowhere, and most probably for a violent end.
Eddie describes him as someone who is always bringing trouble, or asking favors, forever
on the lookout for enemies. Lupe has been "stuck" before, and shows Eddie the scar on
his stomach. He nonchalantly says,
"It doesn't hurt...it's like ice...they just
stitch you and you're on your way...just like Jack in the Box...you're in and
out."
In addition to being a
violent gang member, Lupe is a drug user;
"the insides of his arms (are) blue with spidery
tattoos, the sign of someone who is covering up the needle
bites."
Lupe is headed for a
tragic end, but his brother Samuel is even worse. Samuel is the leader of a junior bunch
of gangsters who are already using knives on people they don't like, even Eddie. Lupe
tries to keep Samuel in line, slapping him, yanking his hair, and yelling that the boy
"should never, ever...pull a knife on a friend," but although Lupe is "scary when he
(gets) worked up," his words fall upon deaf ears. Although Lupe shows more decency than
his little brother, Eddie knows he will not last in the violent environment of the
barrio. Eddie just knows that one day
"some vato would hurt Lupe
bad or he would slow down from scars and broken
bones;"
the future shows no
promise for guys like Lupe.
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