Field of Teens

"The kids are all afraid to try and fail," Jimenez says. "The risks they take are inappropriate -- they're the kind that get them killed. One of my biggest challenges is to convince them there's something else besides working in the fields."

In two weeks she will drive Chico to the airport. Elaborate plans have already been made for daily phone chats with her or with his mother. After the others have raced off to play outside, laughing and taunting and grabbing hats off each other's head, Chico is still sitting silently, a slight frown on his narrow face. "When you grow up in a place, you come back," he reflects. "You remember the things you did.