“Actually, Lily and Bea do speak Chinese, but it’s a different dialect, right?” Hilary spoke up, glancing at me for confirmation. I nodded and smiled at Hilary.

Hilary’s father shot Hilary a steely glance and said, “It’s a village dialect, Hilary. Let’s not be rude to our guests.” He then asked Phillip about his day.

Uncle Sam’s remark made me want to slide off my chair and hide under the dinner table until everyone had finished. I already knew that Hokkien was a language few people knew about. Even Chinese people would look perplexed when I mentioned it, like I was telling them about some alien civilization.

Throughout dinner, Hilary tried to engage me in conversation, but I was too afraid to say anything more. Instead, I ate my bowl of rice and told Auntie Elizabeth her cooking was excellent.

After dinner, Hilary walked Bea and me across the street. We saw Father in the driveway, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, shovelling snow onto the lawn. He looked up at our approach and gave each of us a hug.

“And how is my long-lost daughter, Hilary?” Father asked.

“I’m fine, Uncle,” Hilary replied.

This friendly greeting lifted my spirits. I hugged my father tight, grasping at his warmth.

The next day, when the recess bell rang, Mrs Castelli asked me to stay behind. She showed me my assignment and asked me what the picture meant. I just stood there, staring at my shoes.

“Did you do your homework with Hilary?” Mrs Castelli asked.

I didn’t know what to say.

“Your assignment looks very similar to Hilary’s. Did you copy her work?”

I nodded, tears filling my eyes.

“Did you understand the assignment?”

I nodded again.

“The assignment required you to write a profile about your father and what he did for a living. Do you know what your father does for work?”

“No,” I said.

“I see. Well, it’s not permitted to copy another student’s work,” she said. “You should have come to me if you had trouble with this assignment, Lily. I’ve called your mother, and I’ll be meeting with both of you after school.” Mrs Castelli handed me a tissue and ushered me to the door.

I went to the washroom and stayed there until recess ended. Hilary came in and asked me what was wrong. I told her I wasn’t feeling well. She looked concerned but didn’t say anything else.

Mother came to the school that afternoon. Bea played in the playground with Hilary while we met with Mrs Castelli. My teacher explained that she suspected that I had copied Hilary’s work. Mother’s face flushed. She turned to me and asked me in Hokkien if what Mrs Castelli said was true. I nodded and tears streamed down my face. I didn’t know why Mother had to speak to me this way, with these words. There was no need to point out again that we were different. Mrs Castelli pushed a box of tissues towards me and reassured Mother that this was not a serious issue.