Classroom fans ruffle Ming-Zhou\u2019s bangs, normally parted down the middle like a Korean celebrity. Today, as he scratches the answer sheet with a No.2 pencil, his unruly hair sways like the banyan trees\u2019 aerial roots outside the window. The motion distracts him. His pencil hovers a second too long. A glance at his watch, worn only for entrance exams, tells him: twelve minutes until the bell, a washroom break, then math, his strongest subject. But now, he must wrestle with history.<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou reads the next question, chest clenching, brain whirls to process each word. The ceiling fans don\u2019t help, their outdated parts click like a rifle being cocked. He steadies his breath, adjusts his glasses.<\/p>\n
In 1960, US presidential candidate Richard Nixon stated:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chinese Communist Party declares that attacks on Taiwan\u2019s offshore islands are a prelude to taking over. Once the CCP launches an attack, the US will stand by its allies, just as it would support a certain city in Europe.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Which offshore island and European city was Nixon referring to?<\/p>\n
1960. Not Now. Get it together.<\/em> Ming-Zhou tightens his grip on the pencil, nails digging into palm. The pain there releases the tension in his chest, but something else lingers\u2014the weight, the press of an air rifle at his school defense class. He remembers its heft, heavier than his friend\u2019s PlayStation Sharp Shooter. The trigger, less sensitive, required a decisive pull\u2014firm, final. When it recoiled, it left a coin-sized bruise.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow were you holding the rifle?\u201d his dad asked when he got home from the shooting range.<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou demonstrated reluctantly. He didn\u2019t want to relive that moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo loose, here, watch,\u201d his dad raised his hands, mimicking the grip of an invisible rifle. \u201cNo gap between the butt and your shoulder. Hold firm. Lean forward. Elbows slightly bent. Now\u2014\u201d he jerked his lips, imitating the sound of a shot.<\/p>\n
Click\u2014Pah!<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cFive minutes,\u201d the examiner barks from the podium, jolting Ming-Zhou back to the classroom. He speed-reads the last questions and blacks out the rest with Cs, a statistically sound trick that rarely fails him.<\/p>\n
When the final bell clangs, signaling the end of his university entrance exam, he hands in his bubble sheet, slings on his backpack, and walks out feeling lighter than when he arrived that morning. In the hallway, his best friend stands, waiting, hands in his pockets, no doubt fumbling for a cigarette.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot here, Beardy Man,\u201d Ming-Zhou says. \u201cYou know the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beardy Man, real name Hong-Yu, earned his nickname from his unshaven winter months, trimming only when the Kaohsiung heat sends sweat trickling down. “Not even I want to kiss myself\u2014let alone my girlfriend,” he once mused, scratching his goatee. So when Ming-Zhou pointed out a month before exams that it was already June, Beardy Man just stroked the scruff covering half his cheeks. \u201cFor luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, did you get lucky?\u201d Ming-Zhou asks, his thermos halfway to his lips. \u201cThat probability distribution question I taught you\u2014on the test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it? I knew it. Question sixteen looked familiar, but for the smoke of me, I couldn\u2019t figure out, B or C.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your pick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2014first tell me the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cB.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beardy Man swears, loud enough to draw glances from passing students.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me when in doubt, go with C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou pats his shoulder as they stroll out of the building. \u201cLooks like you\u2019re gonna have to retake the exams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, bro, this was my third round. I\u2019ve wasted enough of my gorgeous youth at that cram school\u2014actually, not wasted,\u201d he raises a finger. \u201cI met Yi-Shin there. Best decision I ever made. Time well spent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou peers at his friend, unsure if what he feels is admiration or envy. Beardy Man has delayed university for two years, splitting his time between cram school and a part-time job at an American steakhouse. That\u2019s where they met\u2014when Ming-Zhou\u2019s family celebrated his mom\u2019s CFO promotion. Beardy Man, a professional server, had eavesdropped on the occasion and slid a flourless chocolate cake onto their table, the plate scripted with Congratulations.<\/em> Impressed, Ming-Zhou\u2019s mother invited him into the conversation. Through much awkwardness on Ming-Zhou\u2019s end, she paired them as tutors. Beardy Man would teach him to socialize, and in return, Ming-Zhou would help him with math.<\/p>\n
They arranged to study at the McDonald\u2019s downstairs before Beardy Man\u2019s shifts. At first, Ming-Zhou resisted, downplaying the need for friends and resenting his mother for sticking him with a guy who reeked of cigarettes. Later, when Beardy Man opened up, whispering about his Down syndrome sister at the foundation, something shifted.<\/p>\n
Behind that nonchalance, he is just as fragile.<\/p>\n
\u201cShift today?\u201d Ming-Zhou asks as they approach Beardy Man\u2019s beaten-up scooter, its paint chipping from too many tight parking spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, not till six though. Hop on. I\u2019ll give you a lift home.\u201d Beardy Man pops the trunk and tosses Ming-Zhou a helmet covered in Hello Kitty vinyl stickers.<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou turns the helmet in his hands. \u201cNice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t\u2014Yi-Shin met my sister. She was happy to surrender her helmet\u2019s artistic freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
They ride along the shimmering Love River, from one city end to the cloudless horizon. With the wind, stifled heat diminishes, but Ming-Zhou feels it, the salt and moisture trapped between his scalp and the helmet\u2019s lining. He parts his bangs for ventilation, just as Beardy Man shouts his name over traffic.<\/p>\n
\u201cMing-Zhou, I think\u2026 I will join the military this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Ming-Zhou shouts back, his voice a pitch too high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe military!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s a whole year! What about your girlfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n
They stop at a red. Beardy Man watches the countdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cYi-Shin understands. Well, she thinks it\u2019s hot to have a boyfriend in military, and who can blame her?\u201d He chuckles, then stops, sensing Ming-Zhou\u2019s gone rigid. \u201cOkay, I mean. We all have to do it sooner or later. Why not now? Maybe I\u2019ll get a stroke of inspiration for what I wanna study at university.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we\u2019d do it together,\u201d Ming-Zhou says, a hint of cold fury. He hates this about Beardy Man, always making plans without him. These decisions need careful planning. Not only that. They are best friends. Supposed to do things together.<\/em> And here he is, making big decisions. So independent, so annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d Beardy Man grips the handlebars, veins surfacing across his arms. He stares at the helmet ahead, a cartoonized Taiwan black bear. \u201cYou know question forty-five, the one on history, about CCP?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou\u2019s breath catches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 I can\u2019t just sit here and\u2014\u201d Beardy Man swallows. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of all this studying if I can\u2019t protect the people I love? What was the point of all those stupid exams if\u2014when the PLA comes, I\u2019ll be holding a pencil, not a rifle? Look, your parents have money. They can prob get you out if shit hits the fan. I don\u2019t have that option. I don\u2019t wanna fight. I\u2019m scared to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll join if you got the answer right,\u201d Ming-Zhou blurts out, too fast, like hesitation would make him regret.<\/p>\n
Light turns green. Beardy Man stays rooted, feet planted on the pavement. Around them, engines grumble, riders roar past.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou serious?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ming-Zhou nods.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Kinmen and Ukraine. That combo was too obvious. A trap. Ber\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.<\/em><\/p>\n
Car horns blare, a chain reaction sweeping the street.<\/p>\n
Neither flinch. They both know the answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He hates this about Beardy Man, always making plans without him. These decisions need careful planning. Not only that. They are best friends. Supposed to do things together. And here he is, making big decisions. So independent, so annoying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":23922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","writer-ya-ting-yu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23045"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23923,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23045\/revisions\/23923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}