I'm Not Who You Think I Am

by Felicitas Ivey

  Chapter Ten

  RAT AND I were getting back from our morning run when I spied someone sitting on the stoop of Uncle Yushua’s. I slowed down. I didn’t think the person was going to attack us. I hated that was my first thought on seeing them, before I recognized the person.

  That person was dressed in an acid-green Nehru jacket, a shirt almost the same shade, and black matador pants with a black fedora on their head and half boots on their feet, with a low heel. At a distance, you’d think it was a guy up to no good, but I knew who it was.

  “Shit.”

  Rat looked at me, concerned and impressed with my language. “What’s wrong?”

  “That’s Xiu,” I said, my stomach filling with butterflies, even though I was glad to see her. Because if she was with me, then everything was going to be all right in the world and together we could fix whatever was wrong. While that sounded like romantic mush, it wasn’t. Things were better when she was with me, because she was the sister I never had. “She…. What’s she doing here?”

  Xiu was brilliant and would be so useful hitting the books with me. But she also needed to be centered, since she seemed to be in her own little world most of the time. I had been doing that ever since I’d met her in first grade at Nightingale. I think I was part of the reason she wasn’t on some sort of ADHD medication. I should have known Xiu would show up sooner or later and planned for it.

  “Are you sure?” Rat demanded as he pulled me to a stop.

  “Why are you asking?” I frowned, looking at his hand on my arm.

  Rat hadn’t moved, studying Xiu like she was an unexploded bomb. His expression didn’t change as she walked closer to us. Xiu was bouncing, almost skipping. She stopped when she got to us, peering up at me from underneath her fedora perched on her neat bob cut.

  “You look terrible!” she exclaimed. “I’d hug you, but you’re all sweaty.”

  She glanced over at Rat, barely acknowledging him. “You must be one of the boyfriends.”

  “Why do you people think I’m dating Josh?” Rat ground out. “The man isn’t dating anyone. He lives like a blasted monk!”

  “You people?” Xiu echoed in Mandarin. “And what do you mean by that?”

  “Rat’s not dating my uncle. Nothing weird going on either,” I replied in the same language. Xiu looked at me. “Weird as in what we talked about before!”

  Okay, that sounded like there was something going on, and Xiu stared at me, trying to figure out what was bothering me, because she usually couldn’t fluster me this easily.

  Xiu was wearing makeup and looked great for a girl who must have taken the beyond red-eye train from New York City to get here at this time of the morning. But I could tell she hadn’t gotten any more sleep than I had this week. I was worried about her, because no sleep equaled crazy ideas butterflying around in her mind. Crazier ideas than she usually had.

  “You need to call your parents or Nainai to tell them you’re here,” I continued. “And where do they think you are? Because I know you didn’t tell them you were coming here.”

  “If I told them, they wouldn’t have let me come,” she said calmly in English. “So I didn’t tell them.”

  “Did you sneak out of the house in the middle of the night?” Rat demanded.

  Xiu shrugged. “Of course I did. That’s the sensible thing to do. I didn’t want to wait until a morning train, because I might not get a seat, due to vacation or business travel.”

  I sighed. “Please parse those sentences, Xiu, and tell me what’s wrong with them.”

  This was something I did for her a lot. She needed to listen to what she said sometimes to hear how crazy her plans were. Not that it stopped us most of the time—it just made us think things over better so we wouldn’t get into too much trouble if we were caught.

  “Nainai guessed I was going to come up here,” she said flatly, reverting to Mandarin. Which was impressive, since it’s a very tonal language. “She slipped a couple of hundred dollars in my bag, in case I needed it.”

  “That was smart of her,” I said in English, since my Mandarin was getting shaky. If Egyptian was pushing it out of my brain, I was going to punch Sutekhgen right on the nose. But the reason was more like I was just learning the language and needed to build my vocabulary. If I kept repeating that, it might be true.

  Rat was looking at us like we were insane.

  Xiu nodded, switching back to English. “I know she knows everything I do is on a credit card, so I don’t really need money. That was sweet of her.”

  “In case your parents cancel the card on you?” Rat asked.

  Xiu shook her head. “They wouldn’t do that,” she said confidently. “They’d be worried about me because I did this, but they’d be a lot more worried if I was stuck up here without any money. Your parents would be mad, My-My.” She paused. “Nainai believes in having a lot of cash on hand in case of trouble.” She grinned. “And she knows I’m trouble because I was born in the year of the dragon, just like her.”

  I shrugged because that would be true. The worry would come second, the mad first with my parents.

  “My-My?” Rat asked with a grin. “That’s adorable.”

  “Her name’s too long,” Xiu said, “and that seemed like a good nickname.”

  “Only to you,” I groaned.

  I’d gotten that nickname, like, five minutes after we met in first grade. But she was the only one who got to call me that. To everyone else, I was Mykayla. My parents didn’t believe in nicknames. I now had two, thanks to the people standing here.

  “You were born in the year of the dragon?” Rat asked.

  “If you let me inside,” Xiu said, “I promise I’ll tell you all about it.”

  “Those bathrooms are disgusting,” I said as I took out my key.

  Rat looked at me, a question in his eyes. I didn’t understand it, until I remembered my first night here. He wanted me to make sure this was Xiu. What did he deal with if he thought there were people… things who imitated friends to get to you?

  “What did you get in Greek this year?” I asked. Okay, that wasn’t subtle, but Xiu didn’t get subtle most of the time.

  Xiu rolled her eyes. “You know I dropped it for Calc III. Something your mother gave you grief about, since you preferred epic poetry to equations and she thought you should have taken the class with me.” She looked at Rat and me, suspicion and outrage in her eyes. “You had to make sure it was me? What did you get yourself into, my My-My?”

  WHILE XIU used the upstairs bathroom, Rat disappeared into the dining room to talk to Uncle Yushua and Harper out of earshot. I waited for her to get out of the bathroom. After stowing her backpack next to mine in the study, I ran downstairs and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. I drained it quickly, tossing it into the recycling bin before running back upstairs.

  Xiu emerged looking 100 percent better. “You need to shower,” she announced, wrinkling her nose.

  “Not taking a shower with you peeing,” I said, wrinkling my nose back at her. Sometimes Xiu had no concept of boundaries either. She might get along with Sutekhgen better than I would. “I can shower later. You need to call Nainai and your parents before that happens, so I know you did it.”

  Xiu sighed and pulled her phone out of her purse. She swiped it open and opened her contacts to call Nainai.

  “Grandmother,” she started in Mandarin when she answered. “I’m in Boston. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying.”

  Nainai’s voice was muffled, but she didn’t sound angry Xiu had run off in the night. I waved at Xiu.

  “My-My says hi,” Xiu continued. “And I haven’t met her uncle yet. All I’ve done since I got here is hit the bathroom.”

  Xiu was silent for a second. “Yeah, we’re all in agreement that the bathrooms on the train are the worst thing in the world.”

  Nainai spoke while Xiu nodded, knowing her grandmother couldn’t see her. “I’ll go talk to the cousins while I’m up here. Yes, I know it�
��s rude I didn’t tell anyone I was coming.” She paused. “Or even that I was leaving, although you knew it.”

  Nainai’s voice sounded strict and worried.

  “I promise if I’m any trouble, I’ll come home and drag My-My with me.”

  There was another pause, and I heard Xiu’s father talking to her, in English from the rhythm, even if I couldn’t make out the words.

  “I’m sorry,” Xiu apologized. “It’s just that Mykayla sounded a little weird, and I couldn’t sleep, so I came up here.” A beat. “I knew there was a two thirty train, and since I couldn’t sleep anyway…. You have that company-wide video conference with all the branch heads, that’s why I didn’t bother you.” She sighed as her father continued to talk. “I’ll try to be less considerate next time,” she promised.

  More murmurings from the phone. “Well, he’s in a meeting, which is why I haven’t talked to him yet.” Her father talked some more. “My-My was out running and let me in when she came back. I know, it’s amazing she was up this early in the morning.”

  “Best time to run here,” I said. “Before the crazies come out.”

  It wasn’t because I couldn’t sleep anymore. I know I looked less than my best from a couple of nights spent catnapping more than any real sleep.

  Xiu rolled her eyes. “She’s a morning person, which is one of the reasons we’ll never date.”

  Xiu had been teasing me about dating for a couple of months, so it was a running joke between us. Her parents thought she was serious and didn’t know how to react. They hadn’t been as accepting of Xiu’s coming out as she’d wished.

  “No, I’m not skipping out on meeting those nice boys you have lined up for me. That can be one of my projects for July. You know, like cleaning out my room and organizing my cross-stitch books.”

  “Don’t be a brat.” I grinned at Xiu.

  Her parents meant well. And the road to hell might be paved with good intentions, but at least it showed someone had cared enough to try, even if it had been the wrong thing.

  “Most nice Chinese boys have hot sisters chaperoning their dates, so we both get some eye candy,” Xiu continued.

  The squawk on the other end was louder, and Xiu grinned. I rolled my eyes, because she shouldn’t tease her family like this. Plus, it might make things a little harder for her brothers in the future.

  “So I’m going to introduce myself to My-My’s uncle, and you need to prepare for that conference. If I get into trouble, I’ll call.” She paused. “Actually that’s a total lie, I’ll call Nainai. She’ll call you.”

  Xiu shut off the phone and smiled at me. “And now you should tell me what’s going on.”

  “Nothing’s going on,” I protested.

  Xiu sighed and rolled her eyes, drawling out, “Girlfriend. We got matching bags under our eyes. I know why I’m not sleeping. Why aren’t you?”

  It was cute when she tried to be ghetto and hip. We’re both protected by money more than our skin color, and so we are about as ghetto as a pampered housecat.

  “My parents…,” I started.

  Xiu snorted. “Please. You’re worried about them, and you’d brood about it, but it isn’t causing you to lose too much sleep. You know they’ll do what they need to do, and you’ll adjust.”

  I winced, but she was right. I was worried about my parents and the “reevaluation” they were doing. It gnawed at me, but I wasn’t obsessing about it. Because all this was happening, I really hadn’t had time to think about it much. I might have to thank Sutekhgen for distracting me from their drama, but the man was a jerk with too high an opinion of himself already, so, no, I was not going to.

  “It’s something I don’t want to talk about.”

  Xiu grabbed my hand and tugged, pulling me forward a couple of steps. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  I resisted once I got my balance back. “No. Seriously. You can’t even imagine how mad my parents would be because I’ve taken off with you.”

  Where would she be taking me? Back home so her parents could see how bad I was, or to her cousins’ place? Would that stop the dreams or make things worse? Why was I even considering this? Xiu being this close was going to put a giant target on her back from the unknown bad guy.

  Xiu tugged again, but I was ready for her and braced against her pull. “He’s doing—”

  “Nothing!” I exclaimed, blushing.

  Why did her brain go there? Why did she think I would put up with that crap? Or was I overreacting, and it was my brain that needed to be bleached because of Sutekhgen’s flirting with me?

  “Then why do you look like you haven’t slept since I saw you on Saturday?” she demanded.

  “It’s not what you think,” I protested. “I can’t talk about it.”

  Xiu shook her head. “You’ve sounded weird ever since Tuesday night. What happened?”

  “I…. Not what you think,” I blurted out. “It was sort of a mugging.”

  I needed to tell her something, and that was the first thing I could think of. A mugging was normal. Xiu could probably quote the last ten years’ statistics on muggings in New York City and nationwide if she thought about it.

  “A mugging?” Xiu repeated. “One that leaves you still in possession of your expensive phone and no bruises? I didn’t believe you the first time, and I’m not believing you now.”

  “It was after my leftovers,” I said weakly. But only after I threw them at Fido, so maybe that was a little white lie.

  “Even the homeless people in New York aren’t that aggressive, and we’re both used to panhandlers. You can’t move around in the city most of the time without running into a horde of them,” Xiu said. “So think of a better lie. What do you mean by ‘it’?”

  I just looked at her, because I couldn’t tell her how crazy things had gotten for me. I just grabbed her and hugged Xiu tightly and tried not to cry.

  “We can get out of here right now,” she promised me, stroking my back.

  “That isn’t going to help,” I murmured. “There are….”

  “You must be Xiu,” Uncle Yushua said behind us, trying to sound cheerful.

  I let go of Xiu and turned to face him, trying to summon up a smile on my face. It came out as more of a grimace, I guessed from the look on Harper’s face as he trailed behind my uncle. He didn’t seem happy that Xiu was here, as he had plastered on a fake smile.

  “Uncle Yushua, Harper, this is my friend, Xiu. Xiu, my Uncle Yushua and Harper,” I said.

  “He does have the family nose,” Xiu pronounced, studying them.

  Uncle Yushua smiled. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, trying not to laugh.

  Harper just shook his head. I wasn’t going to tell him Xiu was being polite; she just wasn’t remembering to look for any kind of internal filter before she said anything.

  “Your articles on Old Kingdom kingship lists are fascinating,” Xiu continued, studying him. “But your dissertation on burial procedures in the Old Kingdom was more interesting to me. Have you thought to update it with what has been discovered over the last couple of decades and maybe publish it?”

  “You read all that?” Harper asked, looking at her like she was insane.

  Xiu shrugged. “It’s been a couple of days and a long ride up here from New York. I had to have something to keep myself occupied while My-My abandoned me.”

  “Trust me, this wasn’t my idea,” I muttered. “I’m sorry, Uncle Yushua! It’s not that—”

  “Your mother being herself.” He smiled. “I do understand.”

  “Don’t do the hug thing until she showers,” Xiu said, breaking the mood. “She needs one. I’m probably going to have to change now because she’s so sweaty.”

  “Like you’re a rose after a game,” I snarked.

  Xiu played basketball. I’d gone to all her games, just like she’d gone to all my meets. She wasn’t good at the game, not being a team player, but the coach kept her around to freak out the opposition. Xiu’s staring and her hab
it of very odd observations during games had gotten us more than one win.

  “I glow, like a lady should,” she sniffed. “Nainai wouldn’t let me do anything else.”

  “We all know we’re not supposed to cross her.” I smiled. “A quick shower and then breakfast.”

  “Go.” Xiu waved imperiously. “I want to ask Uncle about his work.”

  She looked at Uncle Yushua. “You don’t mind, do you? My-My’s been my best friend forever, and she’s part of my family. So I should call you Uncle.”

  “You can call me that.” Uncle Yushua smiled indulgently. “More family is always welcome.”

  I ran upstairs, wondering if I was doing the right thing when I heard Xiu say, “Really. So what do you think about me marrying her? You don’t have to say anything now, because your interpretation of Petrie’s work is what I’m more interested in….”

  I CAME back downstairs, freshly washed and dressed in a dark blue tunic that fell to my knees, with matching long blue knit skirt, ready to help make breakfast. My hair was in a loose bun, and I was humming underneath my breath. I stopped short when I got to the kitchen. Xiu and Mafdet were in some sort of staring contest, neither one of them giving an inch. Xiu was seated at the bar, her eyes level with the cat’s and looking like she could stay there all day.

  Uncle Yushua was sipping at his coffee, being entertained by the two of them, and still in a caftan. Harper was working on something at the bar and muttering underneath his breath. Rat was starting to cook breakfast, and the only one who was dressed for work.

  “You have any food issues?” Rat asked, glancing back at the contestants.

  “Just cheese, but I have my pills, so I can handle it,” Xiu said. “Nainai swears I’m a boy with the way I eat.”

  “I’ll do the toast,” I offered cheerfully.

  I wasn’t going to get involved in Xiu’s problem with Mafdet, or if it was the other way around. They needed to work it out on their own.

  I grabbed the bread and then the butter out of the fridge. While I worked I started singing a tune instead of humming it. The tune had taken root in my brain during my shower, and I hoped singing it would stop it from becoming a full-fledged ear worm.