Chapter Four: Who Was Missing When the Applause Ended

The lights died. When they returned, only the spray can rolled across the floor. The host announced, “All fifteen qualifiers have been chosen!” Twenty-four becoming sixteen had quietly become twenty-three becoming fifteen. A fluorescent star decorated the can, a gift from Zhou Ning's little sister. Lin Wu grabbed Tang Li. “Who was standing here?” Tang Li shook her head, but her left foot tapped a syncopated rhythm—the warm-up Zhou Ning performed every day. Lin Wu wrote on the sole of Tang Li's shoe: ZHOU NING. LOCKING. ONE CROOKED TOOTH WHEN HE SMILES. She copied it onto her own ribs. Files and paper could be rewritten. Only a body that sweated and hurt with its owner briefly escaped the ballroom.