Despite her desire to change the subject, his words brought her up short. Sumi turned, her mouth hanging open, not even remembering that she was meant to be filling it, her chopsticks hanging in space above her plate as she gaped in disbelief.
“I mean, don’t you think it’s better to just integrate everywhere?” he went on bullishly, seeing her expression.Why did you say anything at all?“We learned years ago that it doesn’t serve children on IEPs to be removed from their home classroom; that’s why we have integrated learning with classroom assistants.”
Deep breaths. Of course he would use something from the schools as his example, too used to being called noble for doing so.Just change the subject and eat your dinner. Let him keep talking about cell phones if it makes him happy. Unfortunately, at that moment, there seemed to be a misfire in the communication from her brain to her mouth, as she drew breath for her rebuttal.Fucking typical.
“Jordan, that is not the same thing at all. Thepointis integration. It’s not ‘human by default but you’re allowed to live here,’ the way literallyeverywhere is, including our school district. Be so for real. The entire teaching staff in my building is human, and more than half of them are white. I only ever have one or two non-human kids in my class every year. Youknow who their friends are? The other one or two non-human kids. It doesn’t matter if they’re even the same species. And I went through the same thing! When I was little, all the Asian kids stuck together. It doesn’t matter if there’s a difference in language or culture, especially in early education. They stick with whoever feels safe, and ‘safe’ is usuallynotthe majority.”
She was breathing hard when she cut off.
Othering those who were different was something at which humans excelled. Growing up as sometimes the only Asian student in the classroom meant a childhood of duality, a daily game of “one of these things is not like the others,” different facets of her personality she had learned to employ at different places and at different times. That was her experience, andshepresented as the majority species.
She had lived in the city for more than a decade, shopped in the same neighborhood as her students’ families. She knew how sparse the species-specific products were, had seen with her own two eyes how more often than not they were placed in the back of the store or else on a low, hard-to-reach shelf.
Sumi had no doubt that if multiple grades were given access to the cafeteria for one joint lunch period, she would find all of those nonhuman students sitting together, regardless of age. She knew the impetus behind those goblin and troll and mothfolk children banding together, for the same reason she had often found herself seeking out other Asian schoolmates — they were small fish in a pond of plentiful bigger fish, and there was safety and comfort in numbers.
“The benefit is accessibility,” she went on in a quieter voice. “The houses, the roads, the buildings — they’re all built to accommodatemorethan the majority. The schools are a mix of different species living together, not humans and one or two non-human kids. If you don’t think that sort of representation matters, consider that you’re a white human man and the wholeworld is built for you. I don’t know, maybe you ought to get into the classroom for a while, try subbing. It’s one of the many reasons why I’m not—“
She broke off again, her voice having risen without her notice.There you go. May as well say it. Let that cat out for good.
“That’s why I’m considering not going back next year. Anyway, that’s the reason for the housing prices. It’s a very competitive market with no sign of cooling.”
She backed out at the last moment, softening the sentiment, but at least she’d introduced the idea, Sumi told herself.There. Let him be offended.By the way, I hate teaching. I’ve hated it for as long as you’ve known me, and if you ever noticed anything you’d know that. I’m going to quit my job and open a flower shop. But thanks for dinner.
Jordan was quiet for a long moment.
“Well, good, that’s what you need,” he said at last.
Sumi blinked.That’s it? Just like that?
“Just make sure she lists highs so that you don’t wind up short changed. As far as the school . . . I don’t think you should be making hasty decisions right now. You’ve got so much on your plate with everything . . . but maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s time for something new.” He gave her what she knew was meant to be a supportive smile. “The high school always has openings. If you want to make the move, maybe nowisthe right time.”
Fucking unreal. Negative rizz. If you stay in this relationship for another week, you’re going to spend the summer having a nice menty b.
“Look, I know you’re in a hurry to be finished with everything and probate is taking forever, but it’s not worth cutting off your nose to spite your face, Sumi.”
She kept her eyes on her noodles, murmuring her agreement. There was no point in doing anything else. And, it was true. Cambric Creek seemed to be suspended in an ever-increasingreal estate bubble, and her listing agent did not think there was any danger of it popping.
“It’s not the kind of community that’s going to see a downturn anytime soon. You know, think of the big tech cities out on the West Coast. This is like a microcosm of that, only instead of developing software, they’re building a self-sustaining ecosystem. This was just another suburb two decades ago. Housing prices weren’t any higher than they were in the neighboring communities. Well, a little higher, because there have always been deeper pockets here, but this has all been in the last twenty years or so, ever since redeveloping the downtown became a focus. Excellent schools, very family oriented. You’re just outside of the city, so there’s never a want for anything that you can’t get. I think you will beveryhappy with this investment.”
A gift from your mom. No time like the present, Pinky.Sumi couldn’t agree more.
“Once this sale is through, I think you should definitely look into some investments,” Jordan went on, oblivious to her inner turmoil. “Did you talk to that financial planner I sent you?”
“I wound up setting up an appointment with the guy my dad suggested. He’s from that firm that does all the big ads during the Ketterling finals.” The look Jordan gave her was one of a disappointed parent. Her eyes narrowed, and Sumi forced herself to pick up another mouthful of noodles, jabbing her chopsticks at the plate. “I called the number you gave me, but it wasn’t a financial firm. Why would I talk to some tech company for this? To invest it in some fake online money I wind up losing in three months?”
Across the table, the offense was instant. “Crypto is the future! Sumi, be serious. Do you think we’re going to be reliant on something as outdated as the Federal Reserve forever?”
“I don’t want to lose my real, spendable money on game tokens!”
Jordan rolled his eyes, shaking his head as if she had brought home a report card with low marks. “You would be foolish not to invest at least a chunk of this inheritance in a future currency. You should call my guy before the rates go up.”
“Oh, so now it’s an act fast offer? I thought I wasn’t supposed to rush into anything and cut off my nose to spite my face, dad.”
Reaching for the peppered beef, Jordan went on, ignoring her dig entirely.
“Did you see my video? 60,000 views already. Kelley from the board was sharing it over to the union’s CrowdJounal page to give it an extra boost. Did you see it? I call out the governor, and I donothold back. Recess. Is. Over.”
And just like that, we’re done talking about me.Not rolling her own eyes at that moment was an exercise in self-control.Recess is overhad been the unofficial-official slogan of Jordan’s campaign for the state board of education. Hearing him use the phrase on its own in conversation was, as her students would say, high-key cringe. Kelley from the board. She’s probably the blonde. Perfect, your replacement is all lined up.She huffed at her internal monologue as the phone was pushed before her.
