it more seriously than most Although he spends more time training his crickets than I do they rarely win That's why he doesn't have nearly as many as I have I use a cardboard box to make a housing complex for my crickets I separate the insects in walled cardboard compartments with a screen covering the top of the box so they can get air but won't escape I feed them pieces of banana lettuce and grass and train them to act aggressively by taunting them with a dead cricket's head mounted on the end of a toothpick Lâm and I have always lived next door to each other We're both eleven years old and have been best friends for as long as I can remember We're opposites and that's why we get along so well I'm the shortest in the class and he's the tallest Lâm is a jokester who doesn't pay attention in school The only things he's serious about are cricket fighting which he never wins and soccer which he's amazing at I am quieter and do well in school and some of the things my mother wishes that I didn't do well in like cricket fighting Each day after school we either play soccer or fight crickets Lâm doesn't usually complain when his crickets lose to mine and I never grumble when he scores on me in soccer With cricket fighting the rules never change The winner gains the loser's cricket And if the losing cricket dies in battle as sometimes happens the loser gives the winner another of his crickets Resting between Lâm and me sits a small box in which the war will take place
I examine my crickets and select my prized fighter from my collection and put him in the small box Then Lâm carefully takes his cricket out of his matchbox While he takes his time placing it in the box next to mine I pluck a hair out of my head that I plan to dangle in front of the insects tickling them in an attempt to aggravate them and make them want to fight Instead of using the hair to provoke the crickets I reach over and tickle Lâm's cheek This startles him and he drops his cricket into the box Hey But he doesn't have time to get mad as the two crickets puff their wings and chirp frantically Then Lâm's hops toward mine and bites him Mine bites right back harder and more vicious Bite Bite Chirp Chirp The insects lock their bodies in a feisty embrace Suddenly thirty seconds into the fight Lâm's cricket flees from my champion and seeks protection in a corner of the box My cricket flutters his wings and chirps a victorious cry Yes I punch my fists into the air What did I tell you That's six in a row I quickly retrieve the crickets placing them one at a time in separate stalls in my cardboard complex rewarding each of them with a piece of lettuce You cheated Lâm whines My cricket wasn't ready when I dropped him into the box Lâm looks disappointed as he picks up his empty matchbox I'm running out of crickets I'm going to have to buy some more at this rate I'm running out of room in my cardboard box I'm going to have to make another box at this rate I tease Lâm gives me a friendly slug I'd better head home Thọ
My mother will have dinner ready Mine too Do you want to have another cricket battle on Monday Let's play soccer instead I need to stock up and train some crickets before we have another battle I could always sell you one of my crickets I've got so many I joke as I pick up my cardboard box Have a good weekend I add before entering my house My front door opens into a living room with only a three seater couch and a matching chair My brother Vũ and two sisters Thảo and Tiên are sitting on the couch talking about typical teenager things that don't interest me They ignore me as I crouch down and place my box of crickets in the corner My mother will make me move it at bedtime because the sound of the crickets chirping drives her crazy when she tries to sleep As I stand up Vũ looks over at me How'd you do Vũ asks I won That's great That's five in a row isn't it No it's six I boast Since you keep winning Lâm must almost be out of crickets He's definitely getting low I told him he could buy some from me if he wanted We both laugh Stretched along the far wall is a narrow staircase leading up to a small room that I have only visited a handful of times This is my father's room My mother calls it his escape and lets us kids know that we're not allowed up there under any
condition without his permission The first time my father invited me to his room I was so excited I thought it had treasures or gold or something special But I was completely disappointed the room only has a desk and chair a radio some books and a sleeping mat for my father I leave my siblings in the living room and walk into the dining room Our dining room used to have a table and chairs After the Communists captured Sài Gòn and all of South Vietnam in the spring of 1975 my father lost his well paying job at the bank Although my mother didn't work beforehand after that she and my father both got jobs But they didn't make nearly enough To make ends meet they started selling household items including the dining room furniture Now the room remains empty At night the dining room transforms into a bedroom where I sleep beside my mother my brother and two sisters on mats on the cool ceramic floor Past the dining room is a tiny open courtyard On one side of the courtyard is the washroom A large tank on top of the washroom collects rainwater from the roof If there hasn't been any rain for a while we get water from our neighbor's well and carry it home in buckets one bucket in each hand Beyond the washroom is the kitchen Delicious smells drift from the clay stove in the kitchen where my mother has been cooking dinner You're almost late she says handing me a pair of chopsticks and a bowl of rice and pork chops with lemongrass I bow my head and sheepishly join her with the rest of the family to eat
