But I reset. I figured my best opportunity would come with the switching of the guard. I could pretend I was asleep when the night guard arrived, then sneak out when they thought I was tucked into bed.

So I laid low after the failure of Operation Shopping List. I did my part of the homework for my Advanced Character Design group assignment. I also squeezed in some pre-work on a few assignments that would be due on Monday. And when dinnertime rolled around, I ordered takeout just like I always did. Not that I was hungry. Homework, TV, eating, putting my braids up in an oversized sleep cap—it was excruciating to go through the usual routines. How could I do everyday stuff when my mom was in Texas, probably freaking out.

But eventually, night came along with the opportunity to sneak out.

I grabbed my official phone and texted someone from my project group. “Know I said I’d get those character sketches to you tonight, but I’m tired and worried this won’t be my best work. I’ll come back at them fresh tomorrow morning and get them to you then.”

The truth was, I’d finished the project earlier that afternoon. But I knew Victor monitored my phone, and this was the perfect cover story for me going to bed way earlier than usual. I probably would send the renderings bright and early tomorrow.

I’d just be at the airport.

After sending that text, I went upstairs and grabbed my old undergrad backpack, so that I could fill it with the few things I’d need to go to Texas.

An old memory from fifteen years ago hit me like a Mack truck.

I remembered packing just like this, my heart bouncing like a basketball inside my chest as I prepared to run away from home to be with Victor.

Regret soured my stomach in the present. What would have happened if I had stayed in our apartment that night? If I had taken my father’s punishment without question as I had for the eighteen years before that moment? It would all be so different now.

But I shook the thoughts away. No time… No time for bitterness and regret. I had to get out of here.

The master bedroom was right above the carport. So even though I was pretending to be asleep, I knew exactly when the time arrived to make my escape.

The buzz and electric rattle of the gate opening told me that the night guard had arrived. I held still while I listened to the voices below exchange a few lines in Cantonese. Just a few short lines. Good. Maybe the day guard wasn’t a total tattletale about what happened earlier.

Soon after that short discussion, there came the electric clamor of the gate opening again, along with the sound of a car backing out. The day guard leaving for the night.