• The news is everywhere! The Japanese have attacked us. We will not hang back anymore. America will fight. I know this is true. Word is everywhere!
    This is not good news for us though. Mr. Katayama says the Americans will take their anger out on us, they will blame us. These are only the rantings and ravings of a mad man. We all know he is crazy. Why would they blame us? We had nothing to do with this attack. We left Japan years ago.
    I sense a change in the hearts of the Americans. They no longer trust us. I can feel their stares on my neck. I sense the tension in the air. On my way to school, people part for me on the sidewalk as if I have the plague. Even my friends cannot look me in the eyes. They see their slanted shape as a forbearer of judgment, an omen. Mama says this is dangerous. She says if the people’s attitudes change, their actions will too.

    Today it has all changed. I have no more friends. Their parents have forbidden them to talk to me. They act as if I do not exist. The teacher is not much better. Five times I raised my hand and five times she ignored me. Mr. Katayama was right. Mama was right. It has all changed.
    This hatred is growing, an unstoppable cancer. People in my community are getting worried. They do not laugh at Mr. Katayama as much now. They see the wisdom behind his rants, the meaning in his words. They do not think he is so crazy now.
    There is talk about Mr. and Mrs. Iwasaki, the owners of the local grocery store. Last night the police came to their store. Now they are gone. People all around me are in a state of panic. Mama is talking about going away soon. She says it is not safe here anymore because of what happened to the Iwasakis. I am scared.
    Two days ago there was a big fight at the train station. Five Japanese – Americans were brutally attacked. They say on the news that the fight started because the Japanese were trying to cut in line. We must all be very careful now. If any of us make even the slightest of mistakes we could get hurt or killed. My brother and I have begun to pack. Papa says that we are going to Canada. He thinks we will be safer there.
    More people are disappearing. Mr. Katayama tried to leave the country on one of the big ships in the Los Angeles Harbor. They stopped him and told him he could not leave. They even took his passport away. We are no longer allowed to leave our community. I have heard some of the Americans call us spies. I do not think this is fair. If there are spies among us, they should catch them, not stop all of us from living our lives.
    We have tried our escape and we were caught. Now they are keeping us in a police station. I think they are interrogating Papa. They think he is a spy. It is all a terrible mistake. Papa is a toymaker, not a seller of secrets.
    They have moved us to an old train station. I heard some of the guards say we will be gone by the end of the week. What does that mean? Are they going to kill us, or are they simply moving us to a new location? They tell us nothing. I do not like letting others control my fate.
    The train is rattling all around me. They did not kill us. No, instead they are sending us to a Japanese camp. They say it is for our safety, but it is not. It is for their safety. They are scared of us, so they will cage us. The gates to my future are closing, the gapping jaws of a crouching tiger. A snake coiled and waiting to strike. I close my eyes and sink into my future, accepting what lies ahead.