“That's not for me to decide, missy.”
Mattie's panic grew. “Please. I promise not to go anywhere. Let me stay here until this mistake is cleared up.”
Both men smiled, seeming amused. “Just stay, huh? And we're supposed to believe you'll be here when we come back?” Officer Decker smirked.
“Yes. I have nowhere to go.”
“Enough,” officer Hewitt said, taking her arm. “Come with us.” He led her into the corridor and steered her toward the stairs.
Meryl closed the door and locked it, then followed. “I'm coming with you.”
“You're not allowed in the squad car,” Decker said. “You'll have to find your own way to the station.”
“I'll be there just as soon as I can,” Meryl promised Mattie. “Please don't lose hope.”
Mattie managed a tremulous smile before being maneuvered down the stairs and through the front doors. Officer Hewitt pushed her into the back seat of the car, closed the door, and took his place behind the wheel. Meryl remained on the sidewalk and watched as they pulled away.
“This is a terrible mistake. I'm not Japanese. I'm from Alaska.” Fighting tears, she added, “Please, you have to believe me.”
“We don't have to believe nothin',” Hewitt said. “Our job is to protect this city and this country, and any Jap roaming around free is a danger to the United States. There's a war going on. Remember?”
Knowing she would get nowhere with these men, Mattie sat back. She breathed slowly, hoping to quiet her nerves, and stared out the window. What was she going to do? Father, how could you let this happen? Mattie wanted to crawl inside herself, except even there she would find no solace. She hated who she was. Now she'd be forced to defend her identity, one she'd done her best to conceal. It was hard to imagine that she'd be forced to use her heritage as a provision for release.
After arriving at the police station, Mattie was photographed and fingerprinted. She felt like a criminal. No one spoke to her, except to give instructions. After all the procedures were completed, she was seated in front of a desk where a police officer sat at a typewriter, punching the keys with his index fingers. He ignored her.
When he stopped typing, he didn't look at her right away. Instead, he removed a pack of smokes from his pocket and thumped out a single cigarette. After tapping it on the corner of his desk, he lit it and took a long drag. Smoke swirled around him as he settled droopy eyes on Mattie. “So, what's your story? How did they miss you when the rest of the Japs were collared?”
“Miss me?”
“Yeah.” His eyes sparked with interest. “Were you hiding? What were you up to?”
“Nothing. I'm not Japanese. I'm an Alaska native. My family lives in Alaska. You can call my mother. She'll tell you.”
The policeman leaned toward Mattie, peering at her. “Well, I got to say, you don't look like a Jap.” He pulled open a drawer, lifted out a folded form, and slid it across the desk. “Fill this out.” He handed her a pencil.
After answering pages of questions, Mattie was locked in a cell that smelled of stale urine and unwashed bodies. She was sure the bedding was infested with insects, so she sat on a bench, arms folded over her chest and rested her head against the wall. She couldn't remember ever feeling more humiliated. God, this is so unfair. I don't understand. How could you let this happen? She heard a door open and close, then footsteps.
“Mattie? Oh, Mattie. How awful,” Meryl said, stepping up to the bars. “How could they do this to you?”
She moved from the bench to the iron barricade. “They still think I'm Japanese. I answered all their questions—pages of them. They said they would check it out, but I don't really know what they're doing. I'm afraid they're going to send me to one of those camps.”
“I'm sure they can't do that. Try not to worry. I contacted my parents, and my father said he would speak to his attorney right away. We'll have this straightened out in no time.” She wrapped her hand around Mattie's.
“I hope so.” Pressing her lips together and squeezing her eyes closed, she tried to hold back the tears. “Tell your father thank you.”
“I will.” Meryl forced a smile. “I brought you a magazine and a candy bar, but they wouldn't let me bring them in.”
“That's all right. I don't feel like candy or reading. I can't think. My mind just goes round and round. I wish Luke was here.”
Mattie spent that day and night in jail. The following morning Jasmine came to visit. “I heard you were here. I'm so sorry. I'm sure they'll figure this out. I feel like it's my fault. If you hadn't stood up for me, no one would have bothered you.”
“It's not your fault. It's just stupid people.”
Jasmine smiled. Her teeth looked very white against her black skin.
“How do you do it?” Mattie asked.
“Do what?”
“How do you live with the…injustice? I'm so mad!” Then more quietly she added, “And ashamed. I want to be anyone other than who I am.”
Jasmine smiled kindly. “Now that just won't do. You can't hate what God created.”
Mattie frowned. “I wish he had made us all the same.”
“The world would be pretty boring, don't you think?” jasmine crossed her arms. “I just don't listen to the voices, especially the ones inside my head that say I'm not as good as everyone else. God knew what he was doing when he made me. I'm special just the way I am.”
“I wish I could believe that. All my life I've felt inferior to other people, and someone has always been around who made sure to tell me I was. Kids teased, parents wouldn't allow me to play with their children—”
“I know, but you can't listen to that. It's not you or me they're mocking, but who they think we are.”
“I know, but it doesn't help.” Mattie looked at Jasmine. “When I came here, I thought I could be somebody, not an…outsider.”
“Do you think that just because you move people won't see the color of your skin? No matter where you go, you'll be there. You can't leave yourself behind.”
“But I want to. That's what I'm saying.”
