chapter 2

Mom looked away, too uncomfortable to meet my eyes.

In the distance, Dad came riding back on the scooter.

My sister hopped off.

So did my brother.

I stayed where I was and looked up at Dad.

He locked the scooter and glanced at me.

“Look at the time. Get inside and eat!”

All right. It was a little late.

Tomorrow, when it was not late, it would probably be my turn.

At the dinner table, my sister, Shen Yue, and my brother, Shen Xing, were still arguing over who would stand in front tomorrow.

I shoveled down a few hurried bites and left the table. By the time Mom had cajoled and threatened Shen Yue into eating a great deal more, I had already washed my own hair.

I had crouched beneath the vegetable-washing tap outside the main room. The water was a little cold.

But if I could get myself clean, Mom would not cut my braids off because they were too much trouble.

Shen Yue and Shen Xing put down their bowls and raced into the yard to see the scooter. They tried to squeeze through the doorway together, and Shen Yue slipped and landed hard on her bottom.

Her scream made me jump.

“Shen Laikang, why did you get water everywhere? Were you trying to kill me?”

Dad rushed out first. He scooped Shen Yue up and checked her all over for cuts.

People said she was anemic and could never get enough nourishment. Losing blood would only make things worse.

Only after he had examined her from head to toe and found nothing serious did he raise his hand to hit me.

“You didn’t get a ride, so you tried to hurt your sister? Your puny life exists because of her. What right do you have to be jealous?”

The slap never landed.

Mom stopped him.

I seized the chance to burrow into her arms.

“Mom, I was only washing my hair. I didn’t mean to—”

Before I could finish, she pinned me in place.

Then she yanked my hair up.

Snip.

The wailing in the yard became mine.

Mom took Shen Yue inside to dab iodine on her skin.

Still sobbing, I picked up my hair from the ground, lock by lock.

Shen Xing stood beside me and sighed.

“Yueyue’s treatment cost a lot. Don’t blame Mom and Dad for being nervous.”

Shen Xing was already in fifth grade. All the children in town said he was loyal to his friends.

I thought so too.

Whenever I cried, he was the one who comforted me.

He took me to the barber. Grandpa Cheng had set up his stall at the entrance to his yard: one big chair with a little stool on top.

I perched on the stool with a cape around me.

Shen Xing said he only had three yuan left. Otherwise, he would have taken me to a better salon in town.

Cheng Xiaoyu squatted on the ground in front of me, blinking his big eyes.

“I can prove it. He took Shen Yue to the snack shop this morning and bought her a bag this big. Of course he’s only got a few yuan left!”

Grandpa Cheng turned and glared at him, then said he would cut my hair for free.

Cheng Xiaoyu’s eyes darted about. He changed the subject.

“Well, Shen Xiaokang? When you rode the scooter today, did you try opening your mouth?”

He started laughing before I could answer.

“Told you I wasn’t lying. Didn’t the wind puff your cheeks up like balloons?”

I puffed out my cheeks and blew twice.

“I know. Like this.”

Cheng Xiaoyu laughed so hard he rolled on the ground.

I glanced guiltily at Shen Xing, afraid he would expose me.

But Shen Xing was kind. He only looked away and scuffed the dirt with his shoe.

Grandpa Cheng worked on my hair for a full half hour, spending especially long on the back. When he finished, he seemed to admire his masterpiece, stroking my head again and again.

As I was leaving, Cheng Xiaoyu sprang up from the ground and pulled a colorful hair tie from his pocket.

He took the hair clutched in my fist and solemnly wound the tie around it.

It came out a tangled mess.

“Shen Xiaokang,” he said, “the first-grade boys pull girls’ braids.”

“Hide this safely at home. Then they won’t be able to reach it.”