As Adam hurried to the gas station, he ignored the house on the corner where Ben the Torturer lived. Ben the Cruel and Beautiful with his light blue eyes, blond hair and wild athleticism. He put gawky Adam to shame, taunting him on his bicycle and ridiculing Adam for their black front door or any other differences he could find. Dismissing the thought, he looked both ways, crossed the street and barreled into the gas station shop.

Adam had change for two Good Humors, one for himself and one for his sister, Elaine. He would buy his favorite orange Dreamsicle. Elaine got one of those Chip and Dales, a chipmunk head on a stick. Girls were disgusting, his sister particularly, but he’d already told her he was going to the gas station. The shop had an ice-cream box, cigarettes, gum, Bic lighters, and little extras.

Gasoline made him woozy; he loved the smell. His mother bussed to work. Everyone in the neighborhood had a car except his family. Like the black door, it made Adam feel uncomfortable, but station shop made him feel better. He put the exact change on the counter and asked the clerk for the ice creams. The clerk put them in a brown paper bag, the kind his mother used for his lunch. As he re-crossed the street, Adam’s stomach lurched.

“Hey, doggy! Hey, dog!”

Ben stood in the neighbor’s driveway with a black dog tied to a rope.

“This your dog, Adam?”

The dog belonged to the lady next door. Adam knew Ben knew the animal. Dora wagged her tail. Adam didn’t say anything.

Ben jerked the rope, popping it. “Yeah? How about I hang this dog?”

Adam tightened his grip on the bag with the ice creams, considering.

“Okay! Watch this!”

Ben threw the rope over a low branch of a tree and began yanking the dog upwards. The dog dug its nails in the dirt and tried to back up.

“Wait,” said Adam, “I have Good Humor bars!”

Mr. Hou came out of his house. He held a machete. His eyes narrowed and he stared at Adam and Ben and the dog.

“You three are trespassing.”

“Uh…,” said Ben, who lost his courage when confronted. He loosened the rope. Dora sat back on her haunches and panted.

“I’m not in your yard, exactly,” said Adam.

Words were Adam’s strength, something Ben didn’t have. He pointed at Ben and raised his voice. “He’s in your yard and that’s Miss Carol’s Labrador, Dora. He’s a torturer and he’s going to hang Dora and then call the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and say that you killed Dora to make dog soup. They’ll send you back to Yulin where you’ll have to slaughter dogs, hawk zori and pots and pans on the street. To make ends meet, you’ll have to sell your two daughters into the sex slave trade. At least you’ll get good money for them because they’re both cute.”

Mr. Hou’s jaw nosedived and then he laughed. “That’s quite a defense.”

Raising the machete, he glared at Ben and the dog.

“Drop that rope, Benjamin, and get off my property.

Ben shot the finger at Adam and hauled out of the drive. Mr. Hou took the dog by the rope and laid the machete on a tree stump. “Dog chop-chop,” he said. “Dog good Korean dinner!”

Adam took a deep breath. “You’re not Korean! My mother said you’re Chinese.”

“Taiwanese, actually,” said Mr. Hou. “There’s a difference, you know.”

“My mother says you’re all the same,” said Adam, feeling bad for betraying his mother but compelled to tell the truth. “What are you really going to do with Dora?”

Mr. Hou patted the dog. “Keep her until Carol gets home from work.”

“I’ll bet she’s hungry.” Adam opened his bag. The ice creams inside were soft. He ripped opened the bag and placed it on the ground. “Don’t worry, neither one has chocolate.”

The dog lapped up the ice creams.

Mr. Hou smiled. “You’re a good kid, Adam. What are you going to tell your sister?”

Surprised, Adam examined his neighbor. “How’d you know about Elaine?”

“I keep watch on the goings on in the neighborhood.”

“I guess I’ll make something up,” Adam said, but his expression sank. Elaine would accuse him of eating both ice creams.

Mr. Hou handed Adam a ten-dollar bill. “For doing a good deed and tell your mother I said to read up on Asia.”

Adam nodded then smiled. “I almost forgot the ice cream!” he said loud as if he were making an announcement. He ran back to the station and bought a Fudgesicle for himself and a vanilla with chocolate coating for Elaine. He couldn’t wait until his mother came home to tell her about his adventure. She said he was a very fine teller of tales. Later, he would read up on Asia and inform his mother gently she was wrong. He’d never make that mistake again. It was terrible to be misjudged, and he was happy Mr. Hou lived next door.