by Van Hoang
She remembered Kathy, who knew the truth about her and must have told her friends what she’d seen.
But Kathy wasn’t looking at Thom differently. She wasn’t looking at Thom at all.
Ma frowned at the last picture. “Thom, why your face so weird?”
Bethany and Sarah nudged each another and laughed. Only this time, it wasn’t just Thom they were ridiculing, but Ma as well.
Heat boiled in Thom’s veins. It was one thing to make fun of her, but her mom had nothing to do with them.
Ma turned to the girls and smiled. “Are you Thom classmates?” she asked kindly.
All her life, Thom had never thought anything of the way Ma talked. Sure, she didn’t sound like other parents, but there was nothing wrong with it. But now, as Bethany and Sarah looked at each other, she heard how different Ma sounded, the slow, careful pronunciations bracketing her words, the accent difficult to understand for someone who wasn’t used to it.
And then when the girls didn’t say anything, didn’t even say hello or nod, Ma’s face reddened. Was she embarrassed or angry? Thom couldn’t tell, but watching her mom’s face fill with color, her own ears grew hot.
Bethany, Sarah, and Kathy turned away and disappeared down the hall.
“You know them?” Ma asked Thom.
“They’re my soccer teammates.” Thom’s eyes followed them. If she had the cudgel on her—
No. Of course she wouldn’t hurt them. She had never wanted to use her strength that way, but she thought of the Girl Giant she could have been if she had chosen differently.
The Boy Giant’s words came back to her. She couldn’t stand by helplessly anymore. She would stand up to those girls, if not for herself, then for those who couldn’t. It was time she used her strength.
“I’ll be back,” she said to her mom and Kha. “Bathroom.”
* * *
They didn’t hear her follow them down the hallway. Normally, the girls looked so … cool, especially when they were together, dressed so fashionably. But today, in their casual clothes, surrounded by the festive cultural decorations, they looked out of place, and Thom saw them for who they really were. Pretenders, struggling to fit in just like everyone else. Just like her.
“Did you hear what her mom said?” Sarah whispered to Bethany.
Bethany snorted. “Yeah, but I didn’t understand a word.”
“Aah yoo Thom clatmayt?” Sarah mimicked. They both convulsed into giggles.
Kathy didn’t join in, but she didn’t stop them, either.
Thom’s hands balled into fists. “Hey!”
They whipped around.
She marched up to them. “Don’t talk about my mom like that.”
They were stunned for a second, and then Bethany snickered. “Nice dress,” she said. But of course, she didn’t mean it.
“Yeah? Thanks,” Thom said anyway. “It’s much prettier than the basic outfit you’re wearing.”
Kathy cracked a smile, standing behind her friends, but caught herself and tugged on Bethany’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s go. It’s not worth it.”
“And at least I’m not ashamed of my culture,” Thom continued, looking directly at Kathy. She held her gaze, and after a few seconds, Kathy was the one who looked away. “You guys can laugh all you want, but you should be careful who you’re messing with. You saw what I did on the soccer field.”
Their mouths went slack, and they all took a step back. Thom hadn’t meant to admit to anything, but she was tired of hiding who and what she really was. A silky panel of the áo dài whipped around her legs. Her father’s words came back to her.
“I may be small,” she said, “but I am”—she gulped—“mighty.” And even though the words felt silly, had felt silly even when she was with the Boy Giant, they made her stand taller, filled her with something she couldn’t name.
Bethany and Sarah took a few more steps back, looking at each other in confusion.
“Yeah, well, whatever,” Bethany said finally. “Let’s go.”
Thom’s heart pounded as she watched them walk away. Her knees wobbled, and she felt like she was going to collapse.
“Wait, Thom.”
Thom was surprised to see Kathy jogging back to her. She stopped and interlaced her fingers in front of her stomach like she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands.
“Look, I … I’m sorry.”
Thom didn’t believe her at first. It didn’t sound like Kathy, whose voice was always clear and confident, not hesitant and soft.
“I shouldn’t have, like, stood by and watched … you know. With Bethany and Sarah. When they bullied you.” Kathy’s hands now swung to her sides, and she clasped them behind her back.
“Why did you?” Thom asked.
“I don’t know. All this time, I didn’t realize that it was a culture thing—I mean, they’ve never made fun of me like that. But they really shouldn’t have mocked your mom. It wasn’t cool.” She exhaled, sounding frustrated, but more with herself than with Thom. “I thought they just didn’t like you. But I just … I guess I just didn’t like you.”
“Why? I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Yeah, I know, okay? You’re, like, a really nice girl and everything, and my mom’s always telling me to be like you and study and be obedient, and then you joined soccer and you’re actually pretty good when you feel like kicking the ball.”
“Wait.” Thom scratched her ear. “You’re saying all this time, you were jealous of me?”
Kathy crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling.
“You’re kidding, right?” Thom said. “Kathy, look at you.”
Kathy flicked her hair over her shoulder. “No, I wasn’t jealous, obviously. I thought you were a little pathetic, wanting to be Bethany and Sarah’s friend when they hated you and bullied you. And you kept putting up with it.” She paused, finally looking at Thom. “But then I saw you. Practicing by yourself almost every night. That time you kicked the ball so hard…”
Thom closed her eyes. She’d known this day would come.
“And you’re not weak at all,” Kathy continued. “You’re…”
“Inhumanly strong,” Thom said.
“Well, yeah.”
Thom waited for the freak-out, but Kathy looked like they might have been discussing different hairstyles.
“And I think it’s kind of cool, you know,” Kathy said.
“What is?”
“That you could really hurt Bethany and Sarah—all of us—but you don’t, even though we probably deserve it. It must be hard … to hold back the way you do. And … well, yesterday with the lamppost. You saved me. I never thanked you.”
Thom didn’t know what to say. Of all the things she’d expected, it wasn’t this. An apology had been hard to believe, but an admission from Kathy that Thom was cool? It almost sounded like she respected her.
“Are you going to tell anyone?” Thom asked.
Kathy thought about it. “Not unless you want me to.”
Her heart almost exploded. “Why?”
“Who knows.” Kathy shrugged, and half turned to walk away. “I might need a really strong friend one day.”
* * *
She walked back to her mom and Kha with shaky knees.
“You okay, cưng?” Ma asked. “Who were those girls?”
“No one,” Thom said. “But they won’t bother me anymore.” And she knew it was true.
“Oh yeah? You beat them up good, hah?” She laughed hard at her own joke.
Thom frowned at her mom.
“Okay, one more picture, and then I’m done,” Ma said. “Promise.”
“What happened?” Kha asked as they posed in front of the camera.
“I think I may have just ruined my life,” Thom muttered through her grin. But it didn’t feel ruined, not any more than it already was. Actually, admitting the truth felt like the best decision she’d ever made.
The rest of Culture Day passed uneventfully. Kha and Thom presente
d their art project along with the rest of the class, and it went so well that the teacher asked to keep their poster as an example. The only hitch had been when they got to the part about the Boy Giant, and Thom found herself unable to speak at all. Luckily, Kha took over until she was ready to pick up the presentation again.
Bethany and Sarah left Thom alone, and even though Kathy wasn’t exactly friendly with Thom, she didn’t avoid or ignore her, either. Thom and Kha stuck together as much as possible, and between classes, she told him about everything that had happened in the heavens while he had been gone, including what the Boy Giant—her father—had said. A part of her wanted to make it up to Kha for how she’d acted toward him, and another part was just grateful to have a friend who knew what was going on.
“Is it true?” she asked. “He sent you here?”
Kha nodded as they walked to Mrs. Abbot’s class. “My dad, the Dragon-King of the Jade Army’s Seventh Legion, owed him a favor. When the Boy Giant came back to the heavens, he asked my dad to send you a guardian, someone to keep an eye on you and your mom. He couldn’t send one of his soldiers, not without the Jade Emperor finding out. They suspected something was up with your mom and dad at first, but your mom hid you pretty well, eventually moving you all the way out here. They couldn’t prove anything, couldn’t find you. Your dad could, though, so he sent me.”
“The Jade Emperor doesn’t know about me?”
Kha coughed. “I mean, he didn’t. Your father didn’t want anyone to know. He wanted to keep you safe. He’s always missed you, and he tries to keep a close eye on you since he can’t actually be here. That’s how he found out you released the Monkey King. He kept it a secret from everyone else in the heavens, so you wouldn’t get in trouble. It’s not like you set the Monkey King free on purpose, you know?” He adjusted his headdress. “But the Jade Emperor probably knows about you now, with everything that happened last night.”
Kids glanced at them as they passed, but Kha’s headdress was attracting more attention than Thom’s yellow áo dài. And instead of laughing, kids complimented and high-fived them as they walked by, especially the ones who’d also dressed up. Thom had thought she would feel weird in her long dress, and she did at first, but as the day went on, she started to appreciate the beauty of the print, the smooth flow of the silk over her skin.
“My father will think I’ve failed,” Kha said quietly.
“But you haven’t.”
“I did, though. The cudgel is out, isn’t it?”
“That’s my fault.”
“I was sent to stop you.”
“Kha.” She didn’t continue until he looked directly at her. “No offense, but even if you tried, you couldn’t beat me.”
He held back a smile.
“I’m really sorry,” she whispered, as if speaking quietly would make her feel better.
“Are you still going to give the cudgel to the Monkey King?”
She wrung her hands. “I don’t know.”
“Do you want him to take your strength away that bad?”
She thought about everything that had happened, about her talk with the Boy Giant. Guilt laced through her, shame so heavy that she sagged with the burden of it.
“No,” she admitted. “I don’t think I do.”
Kha was silent now, as if afraid to push her too hard.
“I hated my strength before,” she said, “but now I know I can use it for good, the same way the Boy Giant does.”
Even though she was still angry at her father for abandoning her and leaving Ma, she had to respect him for doing what she’d never considered. Maybe she could do the same—use her strength to stand up for others who weren’t as strong.
“How come your dad sent you to stop me?” she asked Kha. “Isn’t it too dangerous for his own son? This is the Monkey King, after all—not just any weak demon.”
“Excuse me, but I’m a dragon.” He grinned, but at her serious expression, he became more somber, too. “My father … like everyone else in the heavens, he values strength over everything else. He doesn’t like that I’m closer with my mom. He wants me to be more dragon than fairy, even though technically, I’m half of each.” Kha sighed heavily. “So he insisted that I go, to prove how strong I really am. Even though you didn’t exactly make it easy,” he added pointedly.
“I’m sorry.” She looked at her hands, which had picked up trucks, fought with the Monkey King’s cudgel, and broken bones. “I thought I could fix everything by myself.”
Kha smiled. Was he already accepting her apology?
“Partners?” he said.
She shook her head. “Friends.”
* * *
“How did it go?” Ma asked after school, grinning from ear to ear and making that face she made when she saw a puppy or some other adorable thing. “So cute. You should wear áo dài every day.” She reached out to pretend to pinch Thom’s cheek, and Thom was surprised that she didn’t hate the attention. “Where’s Kha?” Ma said.
“His grandparents picked him up.” She couldn’t take her eyes off Ma. This morning had gone by too fast, a blur of movement and rushing to get out of the house on time, but it hit her that if things had gone worse in the heavens, she might have never seen Ma again. She smelled wonderful, the subtle vanilla scent of her lotion filling the car.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” Ma touched her cheek and looked at her hand.
“No. It’s just nice to see you.”
Ma ruffled Thom’s hair. “See? I told you, áo dài is like magic. Put it on, and everything feel better. So how was it? Did anyone laugh, like you say?”
“No. They liked the dress.”
“I knew it. Even if they laugh, you stronger than them, remember. You can stand up for yourself.”
It wasn’t the first time Ma had made a comment like that; it wasn’t even the first time today. But she always joked about it.
And it wasn’t a joke. Not to Thom. Not after what the Boy Giant had told her, especially not now that she knew that Ma had known everything all along.
“I’m stronger than them,” Thom said.
“Yes. Much stronger.” Ma chuckled, flexed a bicep.
“Ma,” Thom said slowly.
Ma looked surprised at Thom’s harsh tone. “What is it? Why you mad now? You were so happy earlier.”
“You know, don’t you?” Memories came back to her like punches to the gut. How Ma had brushed off each accident, saying it wasn’t a big deal when everything else was a big deal to her. Thom couldn’t leave a jacket on the couch without receiving a lecture, but breaking five bottles and spilling water on the new rug was fine.
“You know,” Thom whispered, “about my strength, about the Boy Giant, about my dad.”
Ma tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “What do you mean, your dad?”
“My dad is the Boy Giant.”
Ma pinched the bridge of her nose. “You giving me a headache.”
“He told me himself.”
“He what?” She braked hard, stopping just in time at the red light.
“I met him. Thánh Gióng. The Boy Giant. Whatever he calls himself, he’s my father.” Thom hated how Ma’s sunglasses blocked most of her face, how it hid her expression, but she could tell that she had struck a nerve, because Ma’s jaw was tense. “Did you know that I’m like him?”
They pulled down the street of their house. Kha wasn’t home yet, his driveway empty.
“What you mean?” Ma spoke softly, with a slight waver in her voice.
“That I’m just as strong?” Thom watched her mother, and the longer the silence stretched, the deeper her heart sank, until it sat at the pit of her stomach like an anvil.
“You knew,” Thom said, the lump in her throat so painful she could barely squeeze the words out. Ma had known all along, but instead of telling Thom, she had just let Thom think she was a freak. She had kept Thom in the dark and pretended everything was normal when nothing was normal. It never had been—h
er father was the Boy Giant! Thom was part immortal.
Thom had always thought Ma was different from other parents, that even though Ma could be tough and strict, she was always honest. She never lied, even when it hurt. But now, it hurt more than anything because she had lied. She was just like everyone else, manipulating the truth to get what she wanted.
Ma parked the car and turned to her. “I wanted to keep you safe.”
“But not telling me the truth wouldn’t have kept me safe.”
“I was going to tell you, but you weren’t always so strong … You were normal for so long, there was no reason to … and I thought maybe … you wouldn’t be so strong after all. But then there was never time.”
“We live in Troy,” Thom pointed out. “The most boring city in the world. The nearest boba place is thirty minutes away.”
Ma sighed. “I was going to tell you when we moved, but you were so upset you didn’t want to listen to anything I say.”
“You still should have said something.”
“I was scared, cưng. I thought if you find out who you really are … you might want to leave.”
“Where would I go?”
“To your father.”
“What?” Thom breathed faster. She would have had a choice?
“Your father always wanted to take care of you. He loved you—he never wanted to leave, but he wanted to protect us. I wish … I wish we could have all stayed together, but … he would have taken you with him, and I wanted you to have a normal life.”
Thom’s heart pounded. “Why couldn’t we have all been together?” Thom asked. “Why did you make him leave?”
“It’s not allowed. I wanted him to stay, but it’s against the rules, and if the heavens knew, they would have taken both of you away. Part mortal, part god—they think you’re dangerous. But you’re not. I know you’re not.”
Thom looked straight ahead. Why did everyone think that they knew what was right for her? How did they decide if she was dangerous or not? She was sick of having other people keep things from her, sick of being lied to and unable to decide for herself, when she was the one who was stuck with her abnormal strength.