Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,6

her head.

Good, Mary thought. That was a sign that Ba was feeling well today. Still, she made sure to walk around to the front so that Ba could see her. Mary learned a long time ago not to approach her from behind. "Hi Ba."

Ba looked up and smiled. "Hi Con," she answered, using the Vietnamese word for "child." "How was school today?"

"It's Saturday. I didn't go to school." She kissed her on the cheek before settling into the next chair.

Ba looked at her curiously. "What happened to your hands?"

Mary had tried to cover her injuries with a long sleeve shirt, but it didn't reach the bandages on her hands. She and Mom had agreed not to tell Ba about the accident. They didn't know how she would react. "I fell down in the street on the way to school."

Ba added some paint onto her brush. "The way you just said that sounded like you were hiding something."

That was one annoying thing about Ba. When she was in her right mind, you couldn't hide anything from her at all.

"Are you okay?" Ba asked.

"I'm fine." But of course Mary was fine. Carter was the one who wasn't okay. She started getting depressed just thinking about him again, so she quickly opened her portfolio to get her mind on something else. "I brought my nebula. You remember I told you about the picture I found on the NASA website?" She took out a canvas and placed it on the table. It wasn't finished yet, but this was Ba. She'd seen pretty much all of Mary's projects before they were finished.

"That's coming along wonderfully!" Ba said. "It's just like looking through your telescope on the roof."

Mary laughed. "I don't think the telescope is strong enough for that."

"Are you entering it in the school contest?" Ba asked. "You should also enter the one you did of the Northern Lights."

Mary unrolled her brush bag and took out a round brush. "I'd never win."

"You don't know that until you've tried," Ba said. "Paintings are meant to be seen, Con. You should let the world see the beautiful things you make."

Mary took the new tube of red paint and squeezed some onto an empty spot of Ba's palette. She mixed in a touch of black to make crimson. As the paint came together, she realized it was the same shade of blood she had seen on Carter's body at the accident.

No matter what she did, she couldn't get away from him.

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- 5 -

Reflections

"Are you sure you don't want to take another day off?" Mom asked on Monday morning.

"If I stay home any longer, I'll jump out the window," Mary said.

"Don't do that," Mom said. "Think of the property value. Rent is already a killer here."

Mary laughed. Her mother kinda had a messed up sense of humor. "Hey Mom? Can I make a large sculpture?"

"Is it for school?"

Mary shook her head. "I was talking to Ben at the art store. He just finished this cool phoenix that he's going to exhibit at an art show. He invited you, Ba, and me to it, actually. You wanna go?"

Mom took a slow sip of coffee. "I'll have to check. I might need to work."

"Okay," Mary said. "But if you can't, can I take Ba?"

Mom took another slow sip. "I don't see a problem with that. Just as long as you get her back in time for her curfew."

Mary nodded. "Anyway, about this sculpture. I'll need a big space and some tools. Ben said I could use his workshop and he can get me the materials at a discount."

Mom set her cup on the table. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't feel comfortable with you going over to a stranger's for hours."

Mary wrinkled her brow. "Ba and I have been buying stuff at his shop for years. He's not a stranger. Maybe it's because you've never met him. You should go there with me one day."

"There's also the matter of money," Mom said. "You remember how Ba was recently switched to a stronger medication? It's almost double the cost as before. I don't know if we can afford it, even at a discount."

"Oh," Mary said. She thought for a moment. "Mom? Do you ever think that maybe I should just go to public school?"

Mom looked at her. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, we'd have more money," Mary said. "We could live in a nicer place. Maybe Ba could come live with us again and we