averly Jong

        I rengt rategy for s, respect from otually, t at time, chess games.

        "Bite back your tongue," scolded my motoore t sold bags of salted plums. At ;ise guy,    go against     be seen."

        t    back my tongue as ered tore ly plucked a small bag of plums from t it on ter    of tems.

        My moted rutances. e lived in San Franciscos Co of taurants and curio s terious t    to knohe names of.

        e lived on averly Place, in a    t sat above a small Ceamed pastries and dim sum. In till quiet, I could smell fragrant red beans as to a pasty sness. By daybreak, our flat en as my fat ready for hree clicks.

        At t playground    bencry people sat crag roasted ermelon seeds eettering to an impatient gat playground, self. It eries and adventures. My broto tto a stiff s of    amount of i s leaves for omers. It    ral curse t    of Ameri doctors. o ter ions aive red banners.

        Fartreet    ank crourtles struggling to gain footing on tiled sides. A ten sign informed tourists, "itore, is all for food, not for pet." Ied ly gutted tomers cried out ted, "Give me your fres," On less cro days,    tes of live frogs and crabs o poke, boxes of dried cuttlefisime; ttened side and reminded me of my motory of a careless girl reet and ; reported my mother.

        At table caf?air t led to a door marked "tradesmen." My brot nigourists o ed only in Ces in front of taurant. o ture o ure ted duck s er ook ture, I told o    dinner.    ted, "Guts and ducks feet and octopus gizzards!" ter as ryto of t pounding    he would chase us.

        My moter treet t ant Ameri dots. But my family called me Meimei, "Little Sister." I , ter. Ead yank on my til sigails. One day, as sruggled to    .

        I asked ;Ma, ure?" My moted    it nicked s my scalp.

        "; s a trace of knoure."

        "C; s;g. Not lazy like Ameri people. e do torture. Best torture."

        My older brot ually got t. e o tmas party    t Cist C t togeta bag of gifts donated by members of anots e sacks for boys and girls of different ages.

        One of ta Claus e and a stiff paper beard ton balls glued to it. I t oo young to kno Santa Claus     came up, ta man asked me    it rick question; I o t by t seemed to satisfy    and obey my parents. I k. I nodded back y.

        cs, I already ks    necessarily t ones. One girl my age got a large c book of biblical cers, oilet er. tant. A ten-year-old boy    jangled    in globe of t for iing money.     it     ten pennies, ment t    of to t appreciate suc.

        As I peered into ts, testing t, imagining ained. I e t     t of ty arranging and rearranging tubes in tes. My broton c turned out to be a box of intricate plastic parts; trus on t ure replica of a orld ar II submarine.

        Vi got t,    to get at a cmas party, except it er, it ;too good. Cost too muc; At e, ling ;

        old Vio t a;S    it. e not    it," sossing iffly to tigru book.

        I d inston play during Cmas o e secrets ing to be unta cured aral curses. And my brot I    stake t er tradesmens door to hong Sings.

        "Let me! Let me!" I begged betory, to let go of te. Vi at first refused to let me play, but tons t filled in for ted.    for te knig both.

        As our mot small dougeamed dumplings t    nig explaiing to eac;You een pieces and so do I. One king and queen, tles, and eigep, except on t move. t take men by moving cross in take anot;

        "; I asked as I moved my pa; teps?"

        "Because t; he said.

        "But ake ot t;

        " you alupid questions?" asked Vi. "t make t; ;Pa yourself."

        My motted t;Let me see book," sly. S reading to searcely for noticular.

        "t; s last. "Every time people e out from fn try, must kno knooo bad, go back. t telling you    time. Better you take it, find out w; Sossed isfied smile.

        I found out about all ter. I read tionary. I borrooudied eag to absorb tained.

        I learned about opening moves and ant to trol ter early o distas is straig tactics beter    plans for bottag aing out of traps. I learned ial in to , a matical uanding of all possible moves, and patience; all ages bee evident to a strong adversary and are obscured to a tiring oppo. I discovered t fatrengthe game begins.

        I also found out o ottle kno advantage one sore for future use. t is t is a game of secrets in w sell.

        I loved ts I found y-four blad o t to my bed, tles. Soon I no longer lost any games or Life Savers, but I lost my adversaries. inston and Vi decided terested in roaming treets after scs.

        On a cold spring afternoon,    ted across a folding table playing a game of g peanuts, and cs c, o the game.

        "ant to play?" I asked    the box under my arm.

        "Little sister, been a long time since I play ; ly. I quickly put t to ort.

        Lau Po, as o call urned out to be a mucter player t many games and many Life Savers. But over ts. Lau Po gave me ttack from t a Sones on ting of t    Blood.

        ts of ciquette. Keep captured men i roended prisoners. Never announce "C; y, lest someone    your t. Never o ter you    a game, because t find ter apologizing to all around you. By taugter chess player.

        A small s ed my oppos one by one. My motdoor exion games. S proudly on telling my admirers y, "Is luck."

        A man    my moto play in local aments. My mot meant notely ed to go, but I bit back my tongue. I kne me play among strangers. So as     to play in tour. t, I would bring shame on my family.

        "Is s; said my mother.

        During my first tour, my mot    roed for my turn. I frequently bounced my legs to unstick tal seat of t up. My mot    of red jade ; sucked it into my dress pocket. I turo my oppo, a fifteen-year-old boy from Oakland.    me, wrinkling his nose.

        As I began to play, t of te pieces and ing on t    my ears. It ws only I could hear.

        "Blo; it murmured. "trail." I saraps to avoid. tled. "S; said tronger. "t to distract ; t came for;Blo;

        "C; I said, as ter. to little puffs, my oh.

        My mot trop to a neic c t tao society o me. As s clot;ime ;

        "Ma, its not ; I said. "Sometimes you o lose pieces to get a;

        "Better to lose less, see if you really need."

        At t tour, I    it riump grin.

        "Lost eigime. Last time ell you? Better off lose less!" I    I couldnt say anything.

        I attended more tours, eacairs from our flat displayed my groion of trops    t-covered cakes t er I ant regional tour, t cake ing and red script saying, "gratulations, averly Jong, Coer t, a floo sponsor me in national tours. ts on and Vi o do my chores.

        " to play and ; plained Vi.

        "Is ne; said my mot;Meimei play, squeeze all    for ;

        By my nintional cill some 429 points aer status, but I outed as t Ameri o boot. to of me in Life magazio a quote in er." "Your move, Bobby," said tion.

        took ture I ly plaited braids clipped ic barrettes trimmed ones. I    eced across from me    ty. I remember t y broo    my every move. . One of s uffed    we kerc flourish.

        In my crisp pink-and-c te points of my elboeient    its neening place, riump smile t my oppo food measure.

        I no longer played i to scly o learn neages, more escape routes.

        But I found it difficult to trate at    of standing over me    my games. I t of ective ally. iger eac "; would escape from her nose.

        "Ma, I t practice ," I said one day. Sreated to td pans. opped, I could see out of t sanding in t;; Only t of ig.

        My parents made many cessions to alloo practice. Oime I plai t I couldnt ter, my brot in a bed i. I said I couldnt finis    table    ty I couldnt avoid. I o apany my moturday market days    to play. My moting many stle. "ter ave-ly Jong," so whoever looked her way.

        One day, after    a s;I , telling everybody Im your daug; My motopped    us on to first one sher.

        "Aiii-ya. So s; Sig me.

        I looked do;Its not t, its just so obvious. Its just so embarrassing."

        "Embarrass you be my daug; h anger.

        "ts not . ts not ;

        " you say?"

        I kne ake to say anyt I ;o use me to s to s you learn to play c;

        My moturned into dangerous black slits. S sharp silence.

        I felt t ears. I jerked my    of my motigo an old he ground.

        "Aii-ya! Stupid girl!" my motin s careened doooped to ook off.

        I raced doreet, das looking back as my mot;Meimei! Meimei!" I fled do dark curtained ss , into a large street croourists examining tris and souvenirs. I ducked into a, up anotil it    and I realized I o go, t I    running from anytained no escape routes.

        My breat like angry smoke. It    dourned plastic pail o a stapty boxes, cupping my c reet or an o a my arrival. After two ood up on creaking legs and slowly walked home.

        t and I could see ts s like tigers eyes in t. I climbed teeo tly up eaake any ureps, turning—click! click! click!—and the door opened.

        "About time you got ; said Vi. "Boy, are you in trouble."

        o table. On a platter s flesill ected to bones sream in vain escape. Standing ting for my punis, I her speak in a dry voice.

        "e not ing t ;

        Nobody looked at me. Bone cicks ked against tied into hs.

        I o my room, closed time ligs.

        In my y-four blad e me , ts. Sriump smile. "Stro    be seen," she said.

        o eac. My o my edge, I felt myself gro tops of tiled roofs,    sky until everything below me disappeared and I was alone.

        I closed my eyes and pondered my    move.
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