Sweating, I climb off the unfamiliar king-sized bed and walk out of the bedroom. Mother, father, aunt, uncle, and a cousin I never met before today. I walk back to the bedroom that isn't mine, curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep. Everyday I sit in the classroom, not understanding a word anyone around me is saying. I just sit there and Be Quiet, hoping no one will notice me.
Recess is harder, though.
A Korean girl in my class who speaks perfect English pushes me until I am standing on a manhole in the middle of the playground. I don't belong here. I close my eyes and wait for the recess bell to ring. When I get to my parent's store after school, I know I have to stay quiet when mommy and daddy comes finish working, because they are always too tired from working at the shop all day and most of the night. I find mommy lying on the thin mattress in the room at the back of the store.