In the beginning of the story Mrs. Bigio is unsympathetic to the kids in school, especially Mai Thi because she is still wrapped around her husband's unheroic death. Rather than try to understand where Mai Thi is coming from, she takes her anger out on her when she says, “Pick it up and be glad you're getting it. You shouldn't even be here, sitting like a queen in a refugee home while American boys are sitting in swamps on Christmas Day. They're the ones who should be here. Not you” (95). Mrs. Bigio’s words are very harmful to Mai Thi and make her feel let down in front of an entire cafeteria. Mrs. Bigio does not consider how her words could impact Mai Thi, nor how the students will respond to this outburst. Mai Thi is left to cry alone. After all, they should try and get along because of their similar stories. It is not until much later that Mrs. Bigio is able to work through her grief in a way that doesn’t negatively impact others. Paragraph 2 …show more content…
Biogio realized that she had to make up for what she did for Mai Thi, so she made her a special meal. Mrs. Bigio was so sorry for what she did to Mai Thi, so she made a signature dish from where she comes from to try and make it up to her. "And when Mrs. Bigio got to Mai Thi, she stopped, lifted a plate down onto her desk, and said, "I am so sorry, Mai Thi. I am so sorry." (183) Mai Thi was so surprised when Mrs. Bigio walked in with her favorite dessert, especially after what happened in the lunchroom. Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio grew a stronger relationship after this because they got over their fight. Mrs. Bigio got over her husband's death because she knows she can't fix that, but she did know she could fix the friendship. Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi are now friends and have gotten closer to each other. They both went through the same thing, so they always have each other's