“And I can definitely get you in—so don’t worry about that, either,” the girl added, looking up at me. She kind of beamed, and it took me back a little. She looked so eager to bring me along. It made me both uncomfortable and something like… grateful, which I didn’t understand at all.

I was clearly outnumbered, so I gave in, hoping the payoff would be worth going this far out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t exactly used to meeting new people and spending time with strangers. I definitely wasn’t used to all this giddiness and excitement surrounding me and needling its way into my body.

The girl continued to look at me, her hands tinkering with a button pin. Something about the action made me shiver.

“Well, if it’s cool with you, I’d be game, I guess.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure.”

Fee slapped me on the back and practically ran back to their seat.

I’d never been great at branching out, letting myself tiptoe outside the box. Or the boxing ring, I suppose. I’d been a good student—Thatha made sure of that—and spent most of my time outside of school training. I hadn’t had a lot of opportunities for parties or hanging out or whatever. Seemed like a waste of time, anyway.

As with Priam and Vicki’s not-so-subtle proddings toward artistic pursuits, Amma did, on occasion, try to get me to make friends and have some fun. My dad and I didn’t see eye to eye with her on that, either.

But there were a few times, at least, when my mum and I managed to find the same page. When Dad was away on business, usually. Something about his absence opened up a small space for us to see each other more clearly. I got glimpses of her, not in reaction to my dad, or to my dad and me, but just her, acting on her own. And I felt at these times that she almost appreciated all the things that made me so different from her—my tomboyishness, my athleticism, the way I rarely hid my disdain for things that didn’t sit well with me. I’d catch her gazing at me with an expression that looked like pride. It wasn’t a look I was used to seeing on her face, so I couldn’t be sure that was what it was, but something about it made me feel like I was doing something she appreciated.

One time we’d even found ourselves in the backyard together—a rarity. Usually it was my dad and me back there, doing some kind of strength training or cardio. But in his absence, I’d work out by myself, progressing through a routine he’d put together for me to help me build my upper-body strength.