(Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I just started graduate school. I'm working on getting my Master's of Arts in English, so I have a lot of writing to do for class, and not as much time as I would like to have for writing this story. I'm also sorry that this chapter is short. It's more of a transition to set up what happens in the next chapter. Even if my updates are less frequent, I am still going to finish this story and I am considering writing a continuation of it when the characters are older, either in high school or college or both. Thank you for reading!)

Riley's POV

In history class, we were learning about World War II and the internment of Japanese Americans.

"After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor," my father explained, "President Roosevelt authorized military commanders to decide where to exclude people of Japanese ancestry from. This resulted in all Japanese Americans being excluded from the entire West Coast. Those who didn't leave willingly, were forced out of their homes and relocated into internment camps."

Farkle stood up. "Japanese Americans who stayed behind tried to hide their ethnicity. They wore buttons that said 'I'm Chinese'. They had to pretend to be something they weren't to avoid being taken away," he explained.

"They were afraid of being persecuted for being themselves," I added. I could relate to that feeling.

"Yes, Riley. It certainly wasn't one of our nation's finest moments," My father said. Lucas suddenly spoke up. "What about the guy who was dating a Chinese girl, but she was really lying to him the whole time?" Maya turned around in her chair to face him. "What happens to him when he finds out that she's Japanese, and he loses her?" His eyes were staring daggers into her. Her eyes were full of regret. Then Lucas turned to me. "And maybe he used to like another seemingly Chinese girl, and she seemed to genuinely like him too, but she was really also hiding her true Japanese identity all along?"

"You couldn't tell?" I responded. "C'mon Lucas, I was a Harajuku girl for an entire week." I made an attempt at lightening the mood. Lucas looked at Maya and then back at me. He threw his arms up in the air and exclaimed, "I wasn't even in that episode!" Maya and I looked at each other and let out a collective "Oh".

"Yeah, he really wasn't," Maya remembered.

"I forgot you weren't here to see that." I said to Lucas.

"But did you forget the lesson, Riley?" my father asked me. I tried to remember but I was drawing a blank. I looked at Maya for help.

"Maya?" my father called on her.

Maya looked at me. "Being what other people want you to be is just a sword hanging over your head," she reminded me.

Huh. "I guess I can't pretend to be Chinese forever," I said.

Zay chimed in, "This is like a metaphor right? Either that or I have been seriously misinformed about your races."

Maya looked at Lucas. "We should talk about everything," she looked at me and then back at him. "All three of us, but not here."

I looked at Lucas and agreed with Maya. "Yeah, we can't keep talking in metaphors."

Lucas replied, "Why? You afraid somebody's gonna figure out what Japanese really means?"

The bell rang.