Middle of the Story

In my previous blog I further explained the introduction unto about the middle of the book. Matt had just found out that he is a clone. After being held prisoner in the big house, and being mistreated by Rosa, Matt met the owner of not only the house but the owner of his genes. Matteo Alacran was a clone of El Patron: a 140 year old man. When he met El Patron he liked him very much. We also saw a bit of a change in Matt since the first blog: Matt developed asthma after being held in a cage filled with sawdust and he became a lot less social. However as I continued to read on he begins to develop a good friendship with a kid named Tam Lin. Tam Lin and Matt went horseback riding and on this ride Matt learned a lot about his surroundings. Tam Lin told him that the horse was a cloned horse that was programmed to do whatever he said much like the dead farmer they had passed on the way there. He died because he was told to work and never told to stop working so he worked himself to death. This is when Tam Lin tells him a secret, which was that he was El Patron's clone which is why people do not like him. Because he was different and people don't like that about him. Matts settling into a nice routine with Celia and Tam Lin, but he's constantly bothered by the fact that he's a copy of another person. It's okay, Matt, we would be, too. He's also haunted by the dead eejit he saw. María still visits, but now brings her annoying dog, Furball with her, which only serves as a reminder to Matt that people think of him as an animal. When he hears Tom and Steven's mother, Felicia, playing the piano, Matt becomes interested in the instrument, and music in general. Felicia, we learn, is an alcoholic and seems very depressed. One day, Matt has to hide in a closet to listen to Felicia play. The closet is actually a secret passage, and Matt starts to explore it. It goes all over the Big House and has peepholes into various rooms. After a while, Matt starts to play the piano himself in secret, but Tam Lin discovers him and decides to get him a proper piano teacher. They find a music teacher who has gone deaf and really needs a job. His name is Mr. Ortega and he agrees to teach Matt, even if Matt is a clone. Figuring that if he excels at school people will forget he's a clone, Matt throws himself into his studies. At El Patron's 143rd birthday,Matt, who really cares about El Patron, is sad to see him so aged. Celia seems nervous about El Patron's party and tells Matt to find her if anything seems weird. Matt kind of likes El Patron's birthday, because it means that his friends are celebrating it as his birthday, too. It's the one-day of the year that the Alacrans have to pay attention and be polite to him. A creepy redheaded guy from California is also at the party. His name is Mr. MacGregor. El Patron arrives and appears to be in much better health. He thanks his new doctors for their awesome treatment with million dollar checks. He then proceeds to tell the story he tells all the time, about how his family was very poor and how all of his eight siblings died before reaching adulthood. Matt overhears a conversation among the adults. El Patron is talking about things like "fetal brain implants" and makes fun of his grandson, El Viejo, for not hopping onboard the modern medical technology bandwagon. It turns out El Viejo is the man with cancer, whom Matt stumbled upon while roaming the secret passageway in Chapter 9. This part of the book was interesting because it didn't seem to uncover much more about who Matt was but it seems to show who he is becoming. His strange behavior was glaring in certain parts such as demanding a birthday kiss from Maria in front of everyone. I have new questions now. What is up with the Fetal Implants? How is El Patron staying strong at 143? How long do they expect him to live? What is Matt's destined future in his society?