Page 56 of The Gods Will Sing Our Song

“Sounds good to me.” I pause, thinking about Akira lifting me by the collar like a dog by the scruff of its neck. My throat is still sore today. “Only he doesn’t seem to do anything he doesn’t want to. So how will we get him to tell us who he is?”

She smiles, as though she’s excited to share her plan with me. There’s this beauty to Violet—she’s always ready to learn, to strategize, to figure things out about the world.

“I have an idea.”

I head back to my block. We’ve agreed to meet up at midnight, when Mrs. Aratani is asleep. I don’t allow myself to feel hopeful, but I also don’t feel entirely despairing, either, now that we have a plan.

Akira’s shadow has mostly dissipated, and I can see the sun hovering on the mountain ridge. I’ve always lived in Los Angeles, but being cast out here has turned me into a damn Eagle Scout. I’m starting to tell time from the sun as it moves through the sky. I even recognize the different types of shrubbery: sagebrush, rabbitbrush, antelope bitterbrush. I have a theory they all end in brush because God made them purposefully to scratch the hell out of us.

“Ren! Ren!”

Jace, Abigail, and Ethan bounce up to me. Jace hasn’t returned the sword he’s borrowed from the Children’s Village, and the other two are now armed with sticks. Their weapons whip dangerously close to my face. They speak at once.

“Slow down, slow down. One at a time,” I implore. They fall silent and then, assuming their siblings will remain quiet, begin talking over each other again. I hold up my hand. “Did you find the doubloons?”

“Better!” Jace cries. “We found real treasure. It’s even better than the matches Mama took away from us.” I wince. If a fire blazed through here, the entire camp would light up like a Christmas tree.

Jace is unconcerned. “Show him, Ethan!”

We look at Ethan and he hesitates, shy as always, but his eyes twinkle. He holds up a black arrowhead. I pick it up, impressed. Its surface is faceted, with a sharp point. I prick the tip against my finger.

“Ow!” I dramatically wave my hand, making the kids squeal in horror and delight. “This is some treasure, pirate captains.”

It’s true. The arrowhead is large. Makes me wonder how many tears have fallen into the dirt under my feet as those people were pushed out. Now we’re here, adding our own tears after being forced out of our homes, too.

Jace snatches the arrowhead from me and hands it back to Ethan. Ethan seems to be the appointed beast of burden for their treasures, because his pockets bulge. Who knows what else they have been pilfering. They run off into the camp, pointing their weapons at people and shouting that they’ll make them walk the plank. The elders shake their heads, and I hear one murmur, “Wild children. No manners. No good.” If I was their age, I’d be a menace, too.

When I reach my barrack, Mama charges out the door, face tight. Her pink jacket flaps around her like an extension of her anger. I freeze and my stomach churns. She pushes past me as though I don’t exist.

“Nanako!” Mr. Nomura calls entreatingly after her. She doesn’t stop. Fury replaces my anxiety. Has Mr. Nomura upset her?

“What’s going on?” I demand, closing the distance between us. Mr. Nomura is startled. He puts a hand on my shoulder, but I roughly shake it off. “What did you say to her?”

“Hush, hush, your sister is resting.” Mr. Nomura steps out of the barrack and shuts the door. With great calm, he settles down onto the steps where he often rests with Mama at night. “Sit.”

I’m not about to sit next to him. I keep a wide stance, glaring at him.

“What’s going on?” I ask again.

“Your mother is upset because I’ll be going on a trip to Salt Lake City.”

“A trip?”

“Hai. It’s the JACL national meeting. I’m going to recommend that the government allow nissei to serve in the war.”

My mind stops and starts. I thought Mama and Mr. Nomura had gotten into some sort of dumb fight. I wasn’t expecting this.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the government wanted just about everyone to enlist except us. You want to die for your country but you’re Japanese? No thank you. You can go rot in a camp.

“Why does my mother care?”

“Because of you.” He says the words simply, as though it’s obvious.

“Because of me?”

“Hai. She’s afraid you’ll join up. Leave. She says you’ve been wanting to leave for a long time now and this’ll give you the excuse.” Mr. Nomura watches me carefully. “But I told her. You aren’t the sort to run away from things.”

My arms fall limp at my sides.