The Dragon Lady of Hamilton High

  * * *

  4

  If you are paying attention, you can always hear it coming. Sometimes it’s footsteps while other times it’s breathing. Rita added a hiss that would have made a cat jealous. I did a move that has no definition in either gymnastics or any martial art that I know of. My body moved sideways, twisted, and rolled while hers kept going with her forward momentum. My energy brought me up into a ready crouch almost eight feet away. Her energy sent her sprawling on the floor. She screamed.

  All eyes in the room turned to look at her. Ms. Addison rushed to her side as did several of her team mates. Ms. Addison was trying to determine the source of her pain. “Rita! Enough already. Can you just tell me what hurts?”

  “Erin pushed me!”

  I hadn’t moved other than to stand up. I was more than ten feet away now. Ms. Addison looked at me in confusion. I shrugged. She turned back to Rita. “That’s not even possible. Erin was nowhere near you. You must have tripped over something.”

  A girl closer to me mumbled under her breath. “Her ego?”

  The girl next to her snickered. “Just like Rita. Blame the new girl for her mistakes.” Neither of them wore team colors. I hoped I hadn’t made something worse.

  Ms. Addison helped Rita to her feet and half carried her toward her office. “Keep working on your routines, girls.”

  I returned to the mat where the two other girls were talking quietly. Jill frowned. “Why didn’t you tell Ms. Addison what really happened?”

  I wasn’t really sure what it had looked like to anyone else. “I don’t like getting others in trouble. She did just fine on her own.”

  Carol chuckled. “That’s for sure. How did you do that?”

  The million dollar question. “I don’t know. When you know how your body works, it just does. I needed to get out of her way and I did.” I didn’t want to answer any more questions. “Am I up?” They both nodded and I repeated my routine using the newly added sequence. I got to do it a few more times before the end of class and decided I liked it.

  Rita had not rejoined the group. She sat in the office with ice bags on one ankle and the opposite wrist. Ms. Addison called me over at the end of class. “What really happened?”

  I dread that question. “Her own momentum carried her forward. She stumbled and tried to catch herself.”

  “I overheard a couple of the girls. Was Rita trying to attack you?”

  I was stuck. I hate lying. I know there are times when we lie to supposedly protect someone else but in the long run, it always turns out bad. I try avoiding having to answer questions that put me in that position. But this was a direct question. “She never actually touched me. I got out of her way.” That was the truth.

  Ms. Addison chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure what to do about this. That’s not the kind of behavior I expect from the senior students.” Her office phone rang. I was relieved. She dismissed me and I escaped.

  I left school and jogged to the dojo, letting go of the excess tension with the exertion. I was happy to enter the stillness of the dojo. I stood in the entry, listening to the calming trickle of the fountain until my nerves eased then went to change.

  Max had given me several smaller groups that needed special attention. I didn’t mind. They took all of my focus. We broke for dinner and I moved into the kitchen with the others. All of the junior masters were here tonight. Philip came over after I sat down at the table in the library. “How did things go with Jerry?”

  I knew what he was referring to. It hadn’t taken me long to discover his issue. “Jerry is directionally challenged. The fancy term for it is dyslexia. He had trouble reversing the motion in his head. I found that by working beside him, he was able to follow the kata.”

  Philip’s eyes went wide, which coupled with his dark face, was very dramatic. “Oh! I never considered that. I’m glad you were able to help him.”

  And older woman came in with Max and everyone shouted greetings to her. Max brought her around the table and seated her in the empty chair next to me. “Erin, this is my wife, Susan.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  She had an incredible smile. “Likewise. Max tells me you know a lot about dragons. I’m partial to them myself.” She pointed at her earrings. They were small golden dragons each clasping a tiny pearl.

  I recognized the form. “Ah, Shen Lung, Chinese symbol of prosperity and good luck.”

  Philip pointed at my plate. “Aren’t you going to eat? The fish is really amazing. Steven says it is Sockeye Salmon. I’ve not had this kind before.”

  I had been waiting until people were done talking to me. That was something I had learned from Fusan. Eat or talk but don’t do them both. I didn’t want to offend Philip. “I’m just waiting for everyone else.”

  He laughed. “My father used to say the man who stands on formality – goes hungry!”

  Several others laughed. I shrugged and picked up my plate. I was thankful when no one else asked me any questions.

  Our class was very different. We began with a set of Tai Chi, did several advanced Karate katas, worked through a few Judo moves, and discussed patterns of attack in Aikido. Then Max called us into a circle. “We have an open house coming up in a couple of weeks. We want to share some interesting things with our current members as well as encourage new members who might not understand what the various martial arts are about. Since there are now eight of you, I was wondering if you might be willing to learn some Sinawali dance forms. They look really cool and show that not all martial arts are about fighting. This one is a true art – a dance.”

  There were rumbles of agreement around the group. Max passed out some colorfully wrapped bastons. I noticed these were hollow. He taught us the first two sets – the over hand right and the over hand left. I liked the ringing sounds the bastons made when they connected. The three beat patterns were unique to Eskrima.

  We wrapped up a little after nine. I changed and headed for the door. Linda caught up with me. “Do you want a ride? I drove today.”

  “I only live a few blocks away but thanks for the offer.” I paused at the door. “See you tomorrow.” I watched her walk toward a small blue car and I headed for home.

  Mom met me at the door. “Are you just getting home?”

  I glanced at my watch. “It’s not even nine-thirty yet. Fridays and Saturdays I work until ten.”

  She frowned. “You’ll have to show me where your new dojo is.” She went up the stairs and I followed. She had a bag in her hands. I could smell the food inside. She went in and put it in the fridge. “I have the next two days off. Do you have anything else for the laundry?”

  “A few things.” I pulled them out and added them to the load. “Do you like your job?”

  She smiled. That was a good sign. “I do. The people I work for are nice and the customers are polite. Steffie warned me that they get cranky when it starts to rain. Everyone is talking about the lack of it. I guess it’s normally raining by now.”

  “Note taken. Have raincoat ready.” Mom laughed. That was a nice sound. I went over and hugged her. “You should do that more often.”

  I got up early and worked on some homework. I had my paper for Lit class done by the time I had to leave. The air was crisp and damp. I had rolled up my raincoat and added it to my backpack but this wasn’t enough to bother with it.

  There were groups of kids clustered on the stairs when I got to school. I tried to thread my way through them without getting too close. A girl from one of the groups stepped in front of me. “I heard you tripped Rita in gym class.” Her tone was snippy.

  I sidestepped to move around her. She grabbed my arm. I twisted it around quickly and dislodged her grip. “Don’t touch me.” I made a point to keep my voice quiet but even. I wasn’t looking for a confrontation, just making a statement.

  The other girl scowled. “You’re a bitch!”

  Kids from other groups all turned to see what was going on. I ignored her and took another step
toward the door. She grabbed my backpack and yanked. I let it roll off the closer shoulder and pivoted with the motion. Without resistance, she had no support. She let go, flailing her arms, and hit another girl in the face.

  Tony and his buddies broke into laughter. She started toward me again. I’d had more than enough for one morning. I walked away. Tony’s laughter was close. I glanced back and noticed he’d put himself between us. “Whoa there, Hailey. Just because you’re a klutz doesn’t give you the right to take it out on others.” The laughter echoed across the front steps.

  I went in and went to my locker. I noticed Kevin was there. His locker looked neat and orderly. He didn’t look at me. I didn’t mind. I made it through all of my morning classes without any issues. Tony and Davy had a fake punching match after Davy picked up Kevin’s books. It wasn’t a very big one because Mr. Craig showed up. Tony went off with a couple of his boys in tow.

  At lunch, I took up my spot and started eating. Rita and a couple of her girls came in the cafeteria. She was on crutches. I was amused. She also had her wrist wrapped in elastic bandage. That must make the crutches interesting. I was glad there was a large group between us. She was obviously looking for someone and I didn’t want to be the one she found. I waited until she moved toward the line and slipped out of the room.

  I almost walked right into Tony. He grinned. “I see you’re avoiding her, too.” I didn’t say anything but moved around him. He huffed. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

  I went to the library and worked on the culture map. I had it finished by the time class started. Only half the class had their paper done for Senior Lit. I was surprised that Tony was one of them.

  I went into the gym, wondering what to expect, and found Rita waiting. She was in the locker room. She’d given away her position by talking to one of her friends so I was against the other wall and paying attention. I easily dodged her attack. This was getting old. “Leave me alone.” I said it firmly. It echoed in the locker room.

  Ms. Addison came down the hall. “What’s going on in here?”

  Rita’s face went scarlet. She gave me a look. I didn’t say anything. Rita finally sputtered. “Nothing!” She hobbled away to join her friends.

  Ms. Addison looked like she was about to say something. I shook my head and went in to change. Jill came up to me. She looked uncertain. “Are you okay? I thought Rita was going to clobber you.”

  I sighed. “Nothing happened.” Jill walked away and I put on my leotard.

  There were several balance beams set up, a couple low ones and a couple at competition height. After warm-ups, Ms. Addison had all of us do a set on the low beam. She divided us into groups based on the results. I ended up with a couple of girls from the team. Kimberly and Heather were both working on routines for competition and seemed offended that I should take up their time on the beam.

  I love the balance beam. There’s an advantage to starting Tai Chi as a toddler. Balance becomes second nature. I had a routine that I just enjoyed doing. Others were more interested in how it looked but I liked the way it felt. I enjoyed the final run – round off, back walkover, back handspring, with a forward twist dismount. I landed solid.

  There was gasps around the room. Ms. Addison looked ready to faint. Jill had been working on the low beam not far from where I landed. Her eyes were wide. “How did you do that?”

  This one I could answer. “I’ve been practicing this routine for almost two years. It’s my favorite.”

  “Wow.” She looked a little pale.

  Ms. Addison called me over. She dropped her voice. “I realize after watching you that you are far more advanced than these students.” Her voice was shaking. “Please warn me if you are going to do that routine so I can spot you.”

  I was surprised. “I apologize if I worried you. I didn’t mean to. I just really like that routine. I’ve been doing it for over two years.”

  She shook her head. “And you’ve never slipped or fallen?”

  “No. I watch where my hands are. That’s the advantage of the two backward moves. I can see exactly where the end of the beam is.”

  “I so wish you’d reconsider and join the team.”

  I’d been offered spots on teams all over the country. “In all honesty, I don’t like competition. I’ve seen what it does to people. I find it disturbing. I do gymnastics to stay healthy and flexible.”

  She smiled. “You are definitely unique.” She let me go. I decided not to do any more exciting beam routines. I did a couple of smaller ones but let Kimberly and Heather focus on theirs.

  The talk in the locker room was exaggerated. Rita had obviously seen my routine. “She’s a reckless show-off.”

  Jill paused next to me on her way out. “Don’t mind Rita. She’s just jealous. She’s always dreamed of going to State and maybe even Nationals. But it hasn’t happened so far and this is her senior year.” She said bye and walked away.

  I managed to slip out before they noticed. I was in the hallway as the bell rung. I headed for the door. Kevin was headed up the stairs, probably toward his locker. I could hear Tony’s voice above. Kevin had a stack of books. I heard the clatter as they tumbled down the stairs. Everyone was laughing. Except for Kevin and me. I felt sorry for the kid.

  I noticed Davy running to help pick up the fallen books. He got in Tony’s face. “That was stupid. What if one of the books had hit someone on the head in the lower stairwell.”

  Tony made a face. “Well, excuse me. I didn’t invent gravity.” His boys roared.

  I was glad to get out of school. I jogged the two blocks to the dojo. It felt good to release the tension. Max was at the front desk when I walked in. I bowed at the front door, as always.

  He grinned. “You must have studied in a very traditional dojo somewhere.”

  “Several, actually. I even had a chance to study at a monastery in New York for a couple of months. They were very strict about traditions. We had to remove our shoes before entering the buildings.”

  “Things aren’t that formal here. We stay very relaxed.” The phone rang and he answered it. I moved off to change. Several of the Wednesday classes were continuations of Monday. I was already familiar with the students and we moved ahead with the lessons. A couple of the classes were different. One only happened on Wednesdays while the other would have another session on Friday.

  Mom was sitting at the table when I got home. She was mending a few things that she just couldn’t part with. We never had extra money to shop for clothes. Mine usually came from free boxes or lost and found give aways.

  Thursday was just tiresome. I spent most of my day avoiding Rita. She was stalking me. It looked like Tony was doing the same thing. He actually turned down a chance to slap Kevin’s books because Rita was close-by. He’d made a comment in my direction at lunch but I ignored him. His boys had given him a hard time.

  The classes at the dojo were continuations of Tuesday. The junior masters continued learning Sinawali patterns and Max paired us off at the end and stepped us through a set of actual dance moves. It was slow but I could see where it was headed. It was going to look cool!

  Friday was gray and gloomy. I kept waiting for it to rain. Mr. Yenny gave a lecture on weather forecasting and explained how Doppler radar worked.

  Art class is usually my favorite but the light had changed and the highlights looked wrong on the vase. I was working on detail, bringing out the sharp edges and the white areas. I could almost see a dragon swirling in the shadows of the vase. Without really intending to, he slipped into the picture.

  Ms. Gilbert stopped beside me. She didn’t say anything for a moment. I was worried she was going to tell me to stick to reality. She leaned over my board. “The effect is amazing. It’s almost surreal. I like your style. I look forward to seeing how you play with that concept.”

  I remembered to breathe. And I smiled. I was so relieved. She liked it. One of the other girls that had been sitting at my table paused to look. “Oh! That’s cool.” Sh
e looked at me. “You draw dragons so well. You should exhibit your work at the dragon shop up in Pike Place Market.”

  I had no idea where that was. It lifted my mood. I finished the picture and put a top coat of sealant on it. There wasn’t enough time left in class to matte it. I left it in my slot when the bell rang.

  I grabbed my math book and homework from my locker. I was just closing the door when Tony slapped the books out of Kevin’s hands. This was getting old. I frowned at him. He looked hurt. I didn’t care. I turned to walk away and had to do a quick sidestep to keep from tripping over David. It saved me from something worse. I’m not sure what it was but I could tell the direction it came from and looked up to see Rita’s mixed expression.

  A small balloon filled with something noxious had exploded on the lockers. I had been far enough away not to get splattered. Tony, David, and Kevin had taken the worst of it. They looked miserable.

  Tony scowled at Rita. “Really? Ugh! What is this?”

  Rita looked horrified. She turned and hobbled away. The other students were fleeing from the smell. Kevin started to retch. Tony was a moment too late in his retreat. Kevin puked on him. David started to laugh.

  “You think this is funny?” Tony roared and launched at David.

  I did the logical thing and went to our classroom. “Mr. Craig. Can you call a custodian? There’s a seriously bad mess in the hallway. And maybe the nurse. Kevin lost it.”

  “Oh, my. Just a moment.” He went to his desk and made some calls.

  The other students had gone to the door and were watching the scene. I didn’t even want to think about it. A couple of janitors came running. Even they weren’t prepared. They managed to separate Tony and David. The older one told the boys to go to the locker room and get cleaned up. The nurse managed to pull Kevin down the stairs. He was still heaving. She looked pale.

  Mr. Craig motioned for me to come to his desk. “Do you know what happened?”

  I prefer simple answers. “A student threw something at the locker and it exploded on the three boys. The smell made Kevin sick and he heaved.”

  Mr. Craig shook his head. “Thank god it’s Friday.” He managed to get the class focused. Neither Kevin nor Davy came to class. I felt bad. I had been Rita’s intended target.

  The janitors were still scrubbing on the floor, wall, and locker doors when the bell rang. I wondered if anything had gotten into the locker. The only thing in mine was school books. They were on the shelf, which should have been above the splash zone. The smell was still pretty bad. One of the janitors was using full strength bleach on the floor. “There must be some kind of dye in this. It’s not coming off.”

  I gave up any idea of eating and went straight to the library. All I had with me was my math book. I made a logical guess on the next few assignments and worked ahead. The janitors had given up by the end of lunch. I found a few spatters in the locker but the books were clean. The smell lingered.

  Soc-Ec was buzzing with gossip. I didn’t say anything. Ms. Green reminded the class of the cost of this kind of practical joke. Not just for the school but for the three students who had to be sent home. Their clothes had been completely ruined. And Kevin had been made physically ill. The kids quieted. I was thinking about the dye. If the janitors were struggling to get it off of the nonporous surfaces, what was it going to take to get it off of skin?

  Senior Lit Class was also talking about the mess but Professor Linton began talking about the way the land owners had driven the dust bowl farmers off the land. Everyone forgot all about the mess in the hall. Linton would have made Steinbeck proud.

  I was dreading gym class. I hadn’t seen Rita since she threw the bomb. I noticed there were only mats out today. I went to the locker room, cautiously, almost waiting for Rita to ambush me. I could hear soft voices ahead and slowed down. None of them sounded like Rita. I peered around the corner. She wasn’t with the other girls. Heather looked up. She scowled. “You don’t have to creep around. Rita isn’t here. She went home sick.” They all stared at me.

  I moved off to a different section and changed. We worked floor routines again. I learned from listening that Rita had been horrified to the point of illness because of Tony. She’d gone home shortly after the incident. I also learned that the reason only the mats were down was because there was a basketball game that night. Apparently there were jocks at Hamilton. Tony just wasn’t one of them.

  I was so relieved to get out of school that afternoon that I didn’t care that the sky was the color of the inside of an empty tin can. It still wasn’t exactly raining. It was more like a clinging mist. I was damp by the time I got to the dojo.

  Philip was my breath of fresh air. He actually made me laugh. I wanted to hug him but I didn’t feel it was appropriate. All I could do was say thank you. My last class of the night was my struggling Karate kids. There were seven of them, two boys and the rest girls. Debra was the drama queen of the class. “I’m never going to get this!”

  But she did. By the end of the class period, all of them had the kata down. They went off to change. Someone called my name. I turned and found one of the girls from Soc-Ec class standing in the doorway. “So, you’re Robert’s new instructor that he’s been raving about. Wow. I was watching the last few minutes of class. You’re really as good as he claims.” She was smiling.

  I didn’t know her name and I wasn’t sure what to say. “Robert is doing well.”

  She tilted her head to one side and gasped. “Is there a dragon on your gee, too?” She came into the room. “That’s amazing. Do you have dragons on all your clothes?”

  I was tired. Physically from the last six hours of classes. Mentally and emotionally from the challenging day at school. I really didn’t want to have a conversation. “Yes.”

  “You are such an amazing artist. And dragons are so cool.”

  Max was watching me from outside the classroom. He must be tired, too. “I really should go change. I’m sure Robert will be out soon.” She looked disappointed. I headed for the locker room and got into my street clothes.

  Everyone had left by the time I came out. Max was cleaning up the kitchen. I put my backpack down and went in to help him. He looked over at me. “You could have talked to Rebecca. Classes were over.”

  I washed the dishes and stacked them in the drainer. At least I knew her name now. “It was late. I didn’t want to take too much time. I’m guessing you’d like to go home, too.”

  He smiled. It was one of those soft and gentle ones. “I’ve noticed that it takes you a while to warm up to people.”

  I washed the last dish and emptied the pan of water. “I’ve never had a lot of friends. It doesn’t feel fair to them. I never know how long I’m going to stay. I learned that it hurts people when you suddenly disappear. I’m just saving them the grief.”

  He chuckled. “An interesting way to rationalize it.” He poured a cup of tea and handed it to me. He poured one for himself. “You are trying to protect others from separation sorrow by not getting attached in the first place.” He raised an eyebrow.

  “I suppose so.”

  “Have you considered that you might be hurting both you and others by not having friendships with them? You are a special person, Erin. One with many talents and gifts. I feel blessed to know you, even if it might be for only a short time.”

  “It’s not easy when we move around all the time. And I never know how long we’ll be in one place.”

  “How long have you and your mom been moving around like that?”

  I thought about it. “Since I was six. We lived with Fusan and his family until then.”

  “What is your mother running from?”

  The dreaded question. “I don’t know.”

  Max studied his tea. “When faced with unknown shadows, the best course of action is to turn on the light.”

  I knew what he was saying. I finished the tea and washed the cup. Max was studying me. “I’ll consider what you said. Thank you, Max. Good night.??
?

  I picked up my backpack and walked out of the dojo. All of my senses tensed. A shadow was standing in the entry way.