Eli scowled at the school building as they drove up to it. Their teacher had decided to declare today Heritage Celebration something or the other. Everyone had to research their ancestors and write a report to share with the class. Which meant that Eli was going to have to stand in front of everybody and tell them how different he was. Just to make matters worse, they were supposed to bring some food to share as well. Supposedly that would make this a party, which in adult talk apparently meant this would be fun. And his mother had insisted that he bring kimchi! He had begged her to make something else instead. Donuts would have been good! He heard that they had Starbucks in South Korea, so he was pretty sure donuts counted as a cultural food as well. No such luck though. He was still debating whether it would be better to ditch the box of kimchi in the nearest trash can, and just take a failing grade. His father would not be amused though, and Eli preferred to keep his intact. This was so going to ! If they had just moved 10 miles north or south instead of here, he would be able to go to school with all the other Koreans. Instead he was the only one in his grade. His life was truly cursed.

“Have a good day at school, Honey.” His mother leaned over to give him a kiss. Eli hurriedly pulled away.

“Moooooooommm, you’re embarrassing me. Today is already bad enough.” Eli muttered and jumped out of the car as soon as he could extract himself from her arms.

The day went as bad as he thought it would. By the time recess came around he was ready to head to his usual hiding place, behind the swings and around the corner. The angle of the building left a shadow along the edge of the wall, and if he curled up in it most people did not notice he was there. Eli rested his head against his knees and willed himself to disappear. In his mind, he was already Wolverine, and Jean Grey needed him to come save her from being a lab rat. He had just taken out the guards surrounding the perimeter, and was about to storm the compound when a boot being shoved into his side broke his thoughts. Eli looked up and cursed quietly. It was David and his minions.

“Hi, freak.”

“What do you want?” Eli glared.

“Well that’s not very nice. I said hi, you should say hello back. That’s the civilized thing to do, right?” David smirked and glanced around at his sycophants for confirmation. His smiled turned ugly as he looked back at Eli. “I thought your kind are supposed to be polite. Shouldn’t you be bowing to your betters?”

Eli’s hands trembled as they clenched into fists. He knew he should have skipped school today.

“In what world would you be considered better than me?” Eli choked out a bitter laugh.  “Even Mindy agrees with me. You wasted all that money buying her treats for lunch, but I’m the one that got her Valentine’s Day card. Maybe you’re the one who’s the freak.”

David’s face twisted as he took a few steps closer. The other boys started to fan out around Eli, cutting off his avenues of escape.

“Listen up, you Jap bastard! We don’t want you here. You come to our land, and take our jobs. My father would still have a job if you roaches hadn’t stolen it from him. You and your family should go back to the trash pit you came from.”

Eli stood, trembling in rage. In the back of his mind he could hear a voice telling him to calm down. That Taekwondo was not meant to be used to beat up those who were weak. He was about to tell that voice to go piss off. David reached forward and grabbed the front of Eli’s shirt.

“Come on boys, let’s throw him in the dumpster! Though judging from the food you eat, Eli, it should smell just like home to you.” Laughing, he started to drag Eli off as the other boys quickly surrounded him, until Eli broke the hold on his shirt and shoved him away. The rest happened quickly. David pulled back his arm to punch him, and Eli reacted on instinct. All those years of training directed his actions as he blocked David’s punch with one arm and broke his nose with the other. Eli kicked David square in the chest, sending him flying back onto the ground. Then the rest were on him. He gave one a black eye, and toppled another, but he had never fought that many people before. Pain shot up his chest as someone landed a hit on his ribs. His head snapped to the side as another landed on his jaw. Still, Eli was a trained fighter and quickly put down another boy. The rest broke and fled. They were cowards who did not want to face a real fight. Eli walked over to David, who was lying on the ground crying, and straddled him. He liked the red color of the blood covering the other’s face. It matched the heat burning inside his chest, the rage that caused his fists to shake.

“Get your facts straight. I’m not Japanese, you idiot.” Eli drew back his fist. “I’m American!” His fist slammed down. He felt the pain lance through his hand, and then they were being pulled apart. Looks like the teachers had finally gotten around to arriving.

It turns out that fighting was not to be tolerated in this school.

“What do you mean my son is suspended? He was the victim here!” Eli’s mother stood with her hands on her hips, legs spread slightly apart in a solid stance. He hated when she did that. It was usually a sign for him to hide.

“According to the other boys he was the one that started the fight.”

“Does that even make any sense? It was six against one!”

“That is six witnesses against your son’s one. He left them in a pretty bad state. You are lucky this is all Eli is getting. One of the boy’s mother wanted the police to indict your son, to try to have him thrown into a juvenile detention facility. If you want Eli to continue to be able to attend school this fight will never happen again. We take the safety of our students seriously.”

They left. Eli contemplated whether his father should have been a lawyer instead of a general manager. When they got home his mother slammed the door open and threw her purse on the bench. She sent him to his room with a warning.

“We will talk about this when your father gets home.”

Eli curled up into a ball underneath his blanket. He was officially SO DEAD. He did not even want to imagine how angry his dad would be. The school had been talking about the police as well. The last thing Eli wanted was for the police to take him away from his parents. Then again, perhaps the police could take him away just long enough for his dad to calm down. That might be an idea. The longer Eli stayed and waited, the more nervous he grew. Eventually, he decided that it was not a wise decision to be waiting around for the return of either his dad or the police. He packed his book bag with the rest of his allowance, his favorite outfits, and the Nintendo DS. Opening up the window and popping the screen out, he left.

Eli sat on a bench at the Metro Station and watched the people walking by. Sometimes he wished he could become them. Try out a new life, like trying on a new skin. Just to see what it would be like. What different problems did they have? If only he could have superpowers, like the X-Men. Eli would choose a power that let him become someone else. He could slip from life to life, change his personality, his experiences, feel so many different things. It would be an unending adventure. Certainly more interesting than his boring life. Unfortunately, Eli lived in real life, not his comic books. The best he could do is pretend to become someone else, act out living another life. Kind of like actors. Hmm, that was a thought. Maybe he should become an actor. He could become a famous actor and then leave this country. Maybe go to Asia, where he would finally look just like everyone else.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Eli tensed. Relief washed through him when he saw his dad, followed swiftly by uneasiness. Maybe this whole running away idea had been a bad one. Funny how a lot of his decisions always looked so much worse in retrospect. Eli squirmed as the silence stretched on. This was why he hated it when his dad punished him. Mom would go straight to the yelling for the next hour or so, and then it was over. Dad always wanted to talk about everything first, filled with lots of moments where Eli was supposed reflect on the things he had done wrong.

“I heard from your mother what happened.” More silence. Eli shifted uncomfortably. “Did you really take out all four of them? I’m glad to know all those Taekwondo lessons aren’t going to waste. We might have to register you as a lethal weapon soon.” His father chuckled quietly and leaned over to ruffle Eli’s hair. Eli stared back at him in shock.

“You… you aren’t mad?”   

“Eli. I hope you have realized by now that fighting can get you in a lot of trouble. Right now it’s just suspension, but when you are an adult the consequences can be much more severe. But we didn’t have you learn martial arts so you can impress girls. There are some things in life that are worth fighting for. Self-defense is one of those, and I hope that as you grow older you will find other things, other people, that are worth the risk.”

“The school didn’t believe me, that they struck first.”

“Well, they’re idiots. To think that you would go up against six…” His father’s voice trailed off as he placed an arm around Eli’s shoulders, and sighed. “I’m sorry, Eli.”

“For what!” It wasn’t his dad’s fault he got suspended.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I heard what those other kids said to you.”

“Oh.”

“They are wrong. What they said is wrong. Every person is a human being. It doesn’t matter if they look different than other people, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Unfortunately some people let hate rule their lives. Sometimes all we can do is make sure that we don’t do the same. If I ever see you looking down on someone because of the way they look, you won’t be sitting comfortably again for a week! I don’t care how old you are at the time.”

“I won’t, appa.”

“Good. Now let’s see if dinner is ready.” Eli’s father held onto him as they walked out. “Oh, and you’re grounded for a week for running away. No arguing, it comes straight from your mother. If she asks, I gave you a stern talking-to and you are very, very sorry.”

“But dad, we were going to the movies this weekend! It’s supposed to be the best movie of the whole year!”

“You should have thought about that before running away by yourself. But I’ll let you in on a secret. Your mom has a soft spot for ‘family bonding time.’ Why don’t we get up early and make her breakfast tomorrow morning. You turn on that cute smile and we will see if we can work her down.”