Page 27 (2/2)

She followed Janie into the backroofabric beneath the sewing foot with quick efficiency, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose

Stella’s muscles tensed, and her heart thundered It was time to do this She hoped she didn’t screw it up She hoped she said the right thing

Janiein Vietnaaze jued ahead "I caht I knoas rude I’ood with people I wanted to thank you for inviting me over to your house" She held out the flowers and chocolates "I got these for you I hope you like chocolate"

Janie snatched the truffles before her mother could touch the box "I do"

Michael’s hed "We still have a lot of food left over froain"

Stella looked down at her feet Michael would be horrified if he saw her at his ht Thank you again"

She turned around to leave but caught sight of Michael’s tiny grandma at the couch The old wo that was half curtsy, half bow before she left

• • •

Michael walked into the studio and tossed his duffel bag on the blue hters in the middle of the room broke apart, took five steps back, switched their swords to their left hands, and bowed

"Look what the cat dragged in," said the fighter on the right It was Quan A helmet obscured his cousin’s face, but Michael kneas him by his voice and the naear Also, Quan was an inch shorter than his baby brother

Khai waved a gloved hand at hi his reflection in the mirror Ten whip-fast head strikes, ten wrist strikes, ten rib strikes Then back to the beginning Ten more head strikesWhen Khai worked out, he worked out There wasn’t downtile-minded focus was impressive And reh

"Don’t usually see you Saturdays What’s up?" Quan asked

"I wanted to get so in," Michael said as he scratched an ear He usually spent Saturdays running and lifting weights--things he could do alone since he was tired of people after what he did on Friday nights Today, however, he didn’t want to be by himself He knew he’d just think about Stella the whole tiht and s off without hurting her It had to happen, though And soon He should call her after he finished sparring and arrange aFace to face was best

"Suit up, then," Quan said "Class starts in an hour Teacher took the day off, so loser leads class--little kids’ class"

That was the perfect incentive to win Children brandishing sticks were horrifying You’d think serous, but they were actually the worst They spun around the studio like tornadoes, hitting beneath your ar you in the balls, all by accident They didn’t know any better Kind of like Stella in social situations

And Khai

As Michael put his gear on, his eyes kept gravitating toward Khai as he h all his strikes ten at a time Always the same number and always the same order If Stella ever took up kendo, Michael could see her doing the exact saht, there were a lot inally thought Khai never noticed when he tripped upon sensitive conversation topics, either He was also horribly honest, creative in strange ways, and

His gaze jumped to Quan as an unexpected suspicion rose "You asked if I thought Stella was like Khai"

Quan undid the laces behind his head and pulled his helarded him steadily "Yeah, I did"