In You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Mateo is the nicest boy in school, but everyone is too focused on Andy to notice him. Dean Scott Vazquez plays Mateo.
Like most girls, Stacy likes the school’s most popular boy, Andy. As Stacy is always watching Andy, she overlooks Mateo, an Ecuadorian exchange student who is friends with Andy.
Mateo is not popular like Andy, but he is kind and caring, which Andy is not. These qualities are not much appreciated by Mateo’s peers. Stacy starts appreciating Mateo only when she realizes that Andy is not as special as she thought.
A special boy
Initially, Stacy and her friends do not like Mateo, as when Stacy tries to approach Andy and talk to him, Mateo tries to strike up a conversation with Stacy, and Stacy loses her chance to talk to the boy she likes.
Despite Stacy and her friends’ rude behavior, Mateo shows how kind he is time and time again. When Stacy gets hurt because of Andy, Mateo comes to check up on her while Andy just laughs from a distance. Mateo also asks Nikki if her legs are fine.
Unfortunately, Mateo’s concern is never appreciated, and he ends up annoying the girls. Mateo is not just nice, he is also the most sensible boy among the other middle schoolers. When one of them dares the others to jump off the ledge, Mateo is the only one who points out how dangerous it can be.
While Andy encourages Stacy to jump, a scared Mateo prays for her when she jumps. Although Andy and Mateo are friends, they are very different from each other; Mateo is almost a foil to Andy. Mateo is considerate and smart, but Andy is insensitive and foolish.
Andy does not even care about his grandmother, but Mateo does. He knows about the kind of food she gets at the retirement home, so he decides to send some good food to her, which impresses all the adults.
Mateo is Christian, but he comes to the temple so often that all the children there know and like him. He is nice to them as well and spends time with them. When Stacy sees him with the children, she starts noticing how good Mateo is.
After realizing that Andy is neither special nor good to other people, Stacy loses interest in him. She then approaches Mateo at her bat mitzvah party. There are rumors about Mateo having a girlfriend back home who is in college.
Mateo assures Stacy that they are just rumors, and the two of them dance together. Seeing Stacy dance with Mateo does not even bother Stacy’s protective father, as he knows the kind of boy Mateo is. Finally, Stacy finds a boy who is truly special and who will treat her well.
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