I took a crosstown cab that afternoon. I was already late for dance class. Then I saw Ruella. She was pretty. And I knew right away through the dance of our black skins that if I didn’t feel her full beauty, I’d never know my own. I thought about my mother. Jessica. Boys named after their mothers are different. But that doesn’t give any of us an exclusive right to feel pain, or to hurt others. I tried to say that to Rooms. She made me say “Ruella” first. I could let the name go. I wanted to tell Metro, but he made me take the fast train uptown before he would even listen.