Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green

Author:Amy Lynn Green [Lynn Green, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction, Epistolary Fiction, FIC042030, FIC026000, FIC044000
ISBN: 9781493428199
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group

From Peter to Johanna

July 8, 1944

Happy Fourth of July to you as well. I’m sure you looked patriotic enough, with or without Mrs. Knutson’s hat. As for what I did on good ol’ Independence Day, I spent it working on my next strategy to reach out to the Hakujin students. I’d thought and thought about what to do, and I came upon my last possible strategy: food.

You laugh, but it’s true. We even teach it in interrogation class. A bribe of delicious food can look very promising to a captive used to rations of unseasoned rice, and a full stomach never hurts to get someone talking.

I’ve got a camp full of hardworking men in their late teens and early twenties. A cheap buffet in town might be the best weapon I have, and Herbie’s gives a good (slightly greasy) bang for the buck.

When I invited Kenneth Meyer to go with a group of students on our rare day off from classes, I expected him to ask why and taunt me into another verbal chess game. Instead, he immediately said, “I’m in.”

I sputtered, giving him time to add, “Listen, I made that speech last time because I needed to get it off my chest. I wanted you to know I’d tried. But that’s the thing. They’re always telling us during drills that in the army, the one who tries doesn’t count for anything. It’s the one who keeps trying and doesn’t give up who makes it.” He shrugged. “So whatever your plan is, I want in. Unless you say a chess team.”

“What makes you think I have a plan beyond getting dinner at Herbie’s?”

Kenneth drilled me with a look. “Sensei, you teach strategy.”

It was a fair point, and anyway, he was right. “What do you think about a baseball team?”

He considered that. “Don’t make me play shortstop, and we’ve got a deal.” We shook on it and everything.

So that’s how I got my first Hakujin ally. It’s odd, figuring out how to integrate a minority group that holds all the power and privilege. Not something I ever thought I’d need to do, and with less than six weeks until graduation, we’re running out of time.

We had our first practice Sunday night with Kenneth and two of his buddies on the team, along with Terry and Roy and others, and I realized maybe I didn’t need to. Maybe I just needed to let the boys play. Give them something to do where they have to work together and talk to each other.

They’ve taken to calling me coach instead of sensei. I like it. I got the idea from Helmut’s POW Potato Brigade article about football—you should tell him he’s an inspiration.

I’m glad to hear you and Annika are getting along better. I’ll pass on your own advice back to you: Don’t give up on people.

Your friend,

Peter

P.S. I notice you didn’t tell me what you wished for. Suspicious.

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