Chapter 43

When I was five years old, Mom bought some fish back home and kept a few lively ones in the tank. A scrawny young boy and I lay near the tank and happily watched the fish swim about. We wanted to raise them and then release them into the ocean.

When I was seven years old, I got really into movies depicting powerful, skilled female warriors riding on horses, roaming the world, and exacting justice with a sword in hand. So, I started practicing martial arts, wanting to become a famous, righteous Robin Hood-like vigilante.

But I ended up falling from a fence and hurting my kneecap. I wailed painfully on the ground.

Felix's brother, Colin, consoled me with a lollipop. He said, "Warriors never cry."

I looked up at him and asked, "Do warriors eat lollipops, then?"

Colin thought about it for a moment before nodding. "They do. Warriors love lollipops."

When I was ten years old, I skipped a grade. All my classmates called me a freak, someone who was more capable than them, even though I