Not wanting to get dragged in, I hustle upstairs to our back door, take my coat off the hook. The second I step outside, I’m blasted with the bitter cold. I run to our woodshed. As Grandpa always said, it’s important to be prepared. The nylon straps bundling the firewood cut into my palms. I hurry inside, and when I finally set the wood onto the fireplace hearth, red, painful lines dent my palms. I flex my fingers and it brings back a memory. Grandpa had a habit of holding up his callused hands and examining them as if they were a wonder to behold. It’s a miracle I didn’t lose them, I once heard him say as Nana rubbed her homemade cream into his palms. The pungent smells of ginger and chili pepper temporarily filled the air.

As I finish restocking the firewood in our parlor, my parents come down the hall, talking about credit cards and taking out a second mortgage. They turn the corner without noticing me. Dad straightens a landscape painting near the reception desk, and then they go into our apartment, shutting the door behind them.

I should tell them about the assignment. But tomorrow before school is soon enough. Or after. Better after, I think, since Nana will be baking at the crack of dawn, Dad will be leaving early for work, and Mom will be sewing or preparing for the monthly Riviere Junior Women’s League meeting we host in the community room. I stock wood in that room’s fireplace, too, bring out the lectern, and rearrange the tables.

With no chores left, I shut myself in my bedroom, plug my headphones into my dad’s old Discman, and crank up some classic Queen, my dad’s favorite band. I take out my calculus homework, but it’s hard to focus. Why should I say anything about the assignment? Logan and I aren’t in any trouble. It’s being handled. We don’t need my parents’ help. Most likely, they’ll tell me to work it out. With HPJ involved, I’m certain Principal McNeil will cancel the debate.

I really hope so, because these reasons are not why I can’t tell my parents. All my life I’ve been told not to make waves, to do whatever I can to resolve guests’ issues as quickly as possible because our reputation means everything. Will my parents see protesting the assignment as making waves? I’d say there’s better than a fifty-fifty chance. And now that Logan and I are doing the alternative assignment, would my parents want us to continue the fight to get the assignment canceled if Lissa Chen isn’t successful? I’m not sure.