chocolate soccer balls
whistle candy gum
mini ramens
candy colas
teeny mochi squares
gummi-rope
even mini dango
Cora thinks and thinks
and picks up and puts down
every single type of candy
hurry up I say
or the adventure’s off
at last
she puts
her candies
with mine
in the mini basket
and we pay
the futon lady
then we stuff the candies
into our pockets
get on our bikes
and I lead the way to the port
thinking we can eat our candies
on the breakwater
watching the sea
as the sun drops
good plan, right?
Chapter 18
BREAKWATER
we ride past storage buildings
heaps of fish nets
and boats pulled up
onto wooden boards
on the concrete ramp
all the way out to the breakwater
where we park our bikes
Cora’s wary
we’re not supposed to be here
Dad said no water she says
we won’t be in the water I say
just near it
to get up onto the high part
of the breakwater
you have to charge at the wall
and keep running up
I show Cora
and make it up
on my second try
Cora runs hard
but slips
back
down
after three tries
I lie down on the
breakwater
and reach low
to pull her up
we walk along the top
of the sea wall above
the open water with waves
sloshing gently below us
the sky is pinkish gray
the sea fairly still
and all along the wall
people are fishing
we walk around and over
tackle boxes and coolers
rods and lines until
one fisherman grunts at us
then with cold eyes he says
you shouldn’t be here
and way too late I notice
standing beside him
Yuki
at first I think of the cousin
who set the fire
and wonder if it’s him
but then I remember he
was sent to jail
so this man must be
her father or brother
or another cousin
Yuki makes a face
at us, as cold
as the guy’s eyes
and says
nothing
the man points
with his chin
at a ladder
that goes down
to the lower level … huh?
we have the right to be up there
as much as they do, or rather
they’re not supposed to be there
as much as we’re not supposed to
but his eyes are like ice
so I lead Cora down the ladder
and direct her to the lighthouse
at the end of the lower wall
I don’t even pause at the lighthouse
just turn right around to go back
but we just got here! Cora says
you can’t rush an adventure!
I don’t care
I don’t want to be anywhere
near Yuki or her brother
or whoever he is
though I know Cora knows
I’m just making it up I say
we have one more thing to do
but we won’t have time if we stay here
Cora doesn’t argue
just follows me to our bikes
and we ride away from the port
and all the people fishing
I hate
that I can’t seem to get
away from school
even after school
I hate
that seeing Yuki
has ruined my day
I stop at a park
and do some pull-ups
and push-ups
to let off some steam
Cora does the trick
flipping over the metal bar
that little kids learn
in Japanese school
that I can’t do
and we ride the swings
and leap off
again and again
until I don’t care
about Yuki
then Cora squints, says
was this the one more thing?
while I’m thinking she says
there isn’t a one more thing, is there?
there is I say
we get back on our bikes
and as we ride I think
and think some more
up along the river
past the three bridges
then it hits me—
I take her to the section
with the earthen path
and we lock our bikes
beside the wall
what are we doing? she asks
visiting I say
who? she says
Takemura-san I say and ring the bell
Cora grabs my arm
do Mom and Dad know we’re here?
did you bring a gift?
you’re supposed to have a gift
if you visit someone!
shh! I say
when the door opens
he stands before us
scowling in the door frame
and Cora shrinks back
ah! he says, recognizing us
excuse me I say
I know when you said the other day
to visit again you didn’t mean
today, but …
Come in! he says … shōgi board …
in here … your first lesson?… sister, too?
I try to catch his words
tell him yes to shōgi
but a very quick lesson
since we have to be home
by five o’clock on the dot
right, well, young lady with me …
boy … against us
in the living room
I kneel down by the wooden board
while Takemura-san motions
for Cora to sit by him
he starts to hand her koma pieces
larger pieces … more power he says
in that slurring mumbly voice
this is ōshō … in English … king?
Cora, still standing beside him
reaches into her jeans pocket
and sets out three wrapped
whistle gum circles
these are for you she says
ah, thank you he says
and bows solemnly
later … shall we?
Cora nods and finally
sits down beside him
as he sets the gum candies
on a side table
Takemura-san points
to kanji characters
on each koma piece
kanji that I mostly know
the king goes here, middle … this row
I copy their setup
on my side of the shōgi grid
and when the board is ready
he explains the moves
except I can’t understand
quite what he’s saying
though it seems to be something
about building a castle
I figure we can look it up later
for now I’m just glad to listen
and try to understan
d
this shōgi world
ōshō, hisha, and ryūma—
king, flying chariot, dragon horse
I don’t look at Cora
I know I’ve tricked her
this isn’t what she had in mind
for an adventure
but when I finally
glance at her after I
try a move to outwit them
she looks up at me
smiling
now this is an adventure!
she whispers in English
and I smile back
relieved to be away
from Yuki, Shunta, and Gō
trying to build my castle
Chapter 19
EFFORT
it’s calmer in han six now
and I think it’s probably because
I didn’t rat on anyone about my
broom-smacked head
I hold my center in class
stay focused at my desk
on my work sheets
and on the members
of han six
always ready
to divert a punch
or duck a hit
Ōshima-sensei
is going on and on these days
about why he thinks judo
like kendo
is a good thing
because nowadays
they are holding judo classes
in middle schools
including our own
local middle school
I don’t say it out loud
but I want to know
why not aikido?
in aikido we’re getting ready
to perform the moves we’ll do
next month in a full-day
demonstration
there aren’t really meets
or competitions in aikido
just a show of how far
we’ve advanced in a year
hundreds of kids
of all sizes in white gi
and all colored belts
holding their centers
so …
why not aikido?
they say you can’t start a fight
with aikido
only finish one
you can’t really attack
or punch
or kick
you just push
or pull
or twist
to turn the energy
and throw the other person
off center
at the dojo
some kids think
that the chanting
and the breathing
and the silence
at the beginning
is dull and boring
but that’s when I know
I’ve shed my problems
left them all
with my pile of clothes
in the changing room
when I tie the belt
when I kneel at the threshold
when I bow to the sensei
before the framed calligraphy for
ki—氣—life force, energy
when I’m prepared to practice the moves
all of Dragon’s Mouth
disappears
on weekends I can easily
get up early for aikido
get up early for family hikes
or a museum or watching Cora
but during the week
I hate getting out of bed
Mom says I’m uneven lately
asks me what’s going on
tries to talk to me
tells me to make a list
of the parts of my week
from best to worst
like days of the week? I ask
like activities, school
tutoring, English group
everything she says
so here’s my week
in a list
best to worst
aikido
weekend hikes and stuff
English group
Friday soccer
babysitting Cora
tutor time
dinner
breakfast
homework
school
then she says
now do the same with school
break it down
best to worst
so I do
and write
science
everything else
she says
explain
I shrug
what can I say?
it’s not like I have a choice
to go or not go
to that school
there’s nothing to explain I say
she sighs and gives up
on trying to get me to talk
and says I think you need to make
more effort, Jason Parker
on Monday after school
when Mom and Cora
pick me up for English group
Mom eyes me
before she puts the car
in drive
but nothing major happened
just a couple of head whacks
and one slam into a wall
so I look out the window
and soon fall asleep
at English group
I can forget it all
even if we’re learning
about entrepreneurs
their failures
their successes
at least we get to eat
chocolate bars
as we study
Milton Hershey
and chew on
milk caramels
as we study
Taichiro Morinaga
thinking about
benefits, costs
risks, and rewards
the English group homework
is to think like an entrepreneur
and come up with a good or service
and a complete business plan
Cora and Mom
talk all the way home
and all through dinner
Mom keeps saying
what about you, J?
what are your ideas?
but honestly
I’m thinking more like
an inventor
than an entrepreneur
thinking I need to create
an invisible helmet for my head
and special glasses
for seeing 360 degrees
my idea
I finally say
is a program for
aikido in every neighborhood
aikido in every school
Mom gives me a long look
I’m listening, J
whenever you want to talk
about what?
I quickly say
because I can’t imagine
life would get better
if Mom talked to
Ōshima-sensei
and stirred things up
in the Dragon’s Mouth
things are fine I say
I just need to make
more effort
Chapter 20
WAVES
sixth graders are in charge
of the bowling stall
at the Games and Play Day
coming up in mid-November
we’ve collected plastic bottles
decorated them with colored tape
so little kids can knock them
over with tennis balls, and now
we spend a whole class
arguing over the rules
while Ōshima-sensei
grades our homework
without thinking, I speak up
I suggest we create prizes
because that’s how it worked
at my school in the U.S. once
when the PTA held a fair
but Shunta whacks me
and Mika laughs too loud
saying we don’t need prizes
>
everyone just plays to play
so I keep quiet the rest of the day
we have two weeks to plan what to put
on the signs, how to arrange plastic bottles
and distances for lines for different age kids
all of which could be done in an hour
if everyone just stopped arguing
I’ve decided
I won’t contribute
won’t say a word
they can do without my help
at recess I don’t go outside
I just read manga in the library
this week it’s raining
when I pick up Cora
from the after-school center
and find her in the main room
throwing cushion blocks
at three other kids
she’s out of breath
from chasing kids
to whack them
and from escaping
being whacked
outside trudging up the hill
wrestling with our umbrellas
in wind that’s blowing rain
exactly sideways she says
she had to play that way
she’d tried drawing
but kids kept hitting her
I’m tired and thirsty she says
what’s our adventure?
this time I really don’t know
since it’s raining
and I didn’t plan on rain
only good weather
in which case I’d planned to
cross the bridge to the island
walk up to the shrine
maybe as far as the
supposed dragon cave
as we eat bananas and rice crackers
we watch TV weather
satellite images
precipitation projections
and warnings
about waves
when I see six meters for our coast
I watch the whole report again
paying close attention
because now I see a typhoon
in the corner of the screen
moving toward us
pushing rain, and wind, and waves—
and I know what our adventure will be
rain suits
I say to Cora
and she looks at me funny
I say six-meter waves
we’ve got to see them
we’re not supposed to go to the beach
even in good weather! she says
I pull on my rain pants and jacket
that Mom bought for our hikes
we won’t go onto the beach I say
just a high place for watching waves
boots she suggests
but neither of us has boots that fit
so we pull on the rain suits
and our already wet sneakers
we unlock our bikes
and coast downhill
with typhoon rain
pelting our faces
along the streetcar line
we are practically
the only ones