The Chins had adopted him as an infant, never once making him feel different or out of place in their home. If anything, as a young boy he thought there was something wrong with him. Why else would he have sandy blond hair and blue eyes? He’d stand in front of the mirror and pull his eyes to the side, hoping to train them to stay that way so he could look like he was supposed to, like his mother and father. As a result, he’d learned tolerance early and never judged anyone based on anything other than who they were as people, just like he hoped people would judge him. The only time he ever got into fights was in elementary and middle school when somebody made fun of his parents.
It was the one thing he couldn’t tolerate, the one thing he’d never grown thick-skinned about. He didn’t mind when somebody called him Alex Chink. But once they made fun of his mother or father, all bets were off and somebody was going down.
That thought brought a slight smile to his face, though his eyes were still wet with tears. At six-foot-one, he towered over Li and An Chin, both naturalized American citizens who nonetheless bore the brunt of prejudice and wrath against China. Alex had long grown used to the caustic stares cast his family’s way, like they were doing something wrong by being together. So when he first started playing football, he’d launch himself at opponents with a fury bred of the anger left over from those looks, those stares, those lingering glances. He couldn’t hit bigots and the small-minded, but opposing players on a football field were something else again.
*
The siren had stopped sounding. The ambulance bucked to a halt and the rear doors thrust open to reveal the familiar California Pacific Medical Center sign. Alex closed his eyes and when he opened them again, figures draped in light blue medical scrubs were walking on either side of the wheeled dolly into the hospital.
I’m all right, he wanted to tell them through the clog in his throat, I’m okay.
One of the figures walking alongside the gurney was a woman with long hair the same color as his and he wanted to tell her how pretty she was. But a dark figure standing at the head of the hall leading to the emergency room’s exam area claimed his attention before he could grope for the words. The figure was crazy tall and ridiculously thin, draped in black everywhere except his flesh, which was sallow and sickly pale. A patient, surely, the pallor of his skin due perhaps to the effects of chemotherapy or treatment for some other lingering disease.
The gurney squeaked against the tile and spun round the corner at the head of the hall, seeming to pass straight through the tall man. Alex tried to raise his head to see if he was still standing there, forgetting all about the headboard strapping him in place. That point of the hallway came into view again when they turned the gurney toward an empty examination room and eased Alex toward it.
But the tall man was gone.
8
WAITING
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO stay,” Cara said in the hospital waiting room.
Sam kept the biology textbook cradled in her lap. “I want to.”
She felt Cara reach over and squeeze her arm.
“You’re a good friend, Sam, I don’t deserve you.”
You don’t deserve Alex, either.
“What was that?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you said something.”
Sam shuffled her legs and tucked the textbook under her arm. “Nah. Just clearing my throat.”
“’Cause the thing is, I feel really bad.”
Sam hoped Cara was going to tell her to forget about supplying answers for the science exam still tucked inside her backpack, that it had been a mistake and she should shred the pages, burn them, maybe.
“I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be dating Alex,” Cara said instead.
“What?”
Cara gazed about the hospital waiting room, as if to make sure nobody had heard the exchange. “Shhhhhh! And don’t you say a word. Swear you won’t say a word. I haven’t decided yet,” Cara said.
“What do you mean you haven’t decided?”
“You know Ian Sandler, right?” Cara asked.
Ian had graduated the year before them. Sam wasn’t sure what he was doing now.
“What about him?” she asked Cara.
“His dad has an in with the Warriors.”
“With who?”
“The Golden State Warriors. You know, local pro basketball team.”
“No, I don’t. You’re kidding, right?”
“Kidding about watching my dream come true? No way, girl. Hey, we’re seniors now and things change. Alex is going off to do his thing and I’ve got to do mine.” Then, after a pause, “You’ll see.”
“What’s that mean?”
“You know.”
“I do?”
Cara frowned, as if it were obvious. “Things will get better. As soon as you get to college. High school’s not worth the stuff that gets stuck to the bottom of my boots. That’s why Ian’s so important to me.”
“You mean his dad is.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “Whatever, girl, whatever.” Her stare tightened. “So can you keep it secret?”
“Haven’t I always kept your secrets?”
“I thought it might be different with Alex.”
“Why?”
“You know.”
“There you go again telling me what I know.”
“Well, I know you’re crushing mad on the boy. I can see it every time you look at him. Hey, I don’t blame you. All those tutoring sessions, all those hours spent looking at him. How can you help yourself? The kid’s totally gorgeous.”
“Not gorgeous enough, apparently.”
Cara shook her head, as if Sam were just a dumb kid who didn’t understand. “Grow up, girl. Graduation is all about change. I’m just starting the process earlier.”