Full Cicada Moon

Flying to Vermont-January 1,1969

I’m stuck at the Ethnicity part.
Check only one, it says. The choices are:
White
Black
Puerto Rican
Portuguese
Hispanic
Oriental
Other

I am
half Mama,
half Papa,
and all me.
Isn’t that all anyone needs to know?
But the form says All items must be completed,
so I ask, “Other?”
Mama pushes her brows together, making what Papa calls her Toshiro-Mifune face.
“Check all that apply,” she says.
“But it says just one.”
“Do you listen to your mother or a piece of paper?”
I check off Black,
cross out Oriental,
and write Japanese with a check mark.

Getting to Know You

In homeroom, I look for someone like Marciela, Yu-Lin, Poornima, even creepy Eiji or the boy from next door. I don’t want to stick out, don’t want to be different or scared.
Mr. Pease shows me an empty seat in the first row. My name is written on the chalkboard and underlined.
Mr. Pease smiles, and I like him. “Stand up, Mimi,” he says. “Do you have a real name?”
“Mimi is my real name.”
Then he tells the class they can me ask three questions. Michael, with blond hair and braces, goes first. “Where did you come from?” he asks. “Berkeley, California.” Michael looks puzzled.
I look at Mr. Pease,
“It’s near San Francisco,” I say, but he still looks confused. who nods to a girl with glasses and a brunette flip. “Vicky.” “What do you want to be when you grow-”
“An astronaut,” I answer quickly. I don’t have to think about that.
I look around, expecting nods or smiles, but everyone laughs. Even Mr. Pease. “Maybe you should be a comedienne,” he says, and right away I don’t like him as much.
“Last question-Carl,” he says to a boy reaching his hand so
high
he could pull the tiles out of the ceiling. “What nationality are you?”
“I’m… American.”
“I mean… what are you?”
And then I understand what Michael had really been asking. If everyone was laughing before, they’re all quiet now, as if they all had the same question and made Carl ask it. But how do I answer that? I look at Mr. Pease for help, but his eyes tell me he has the same question.
It’s up to me to solve the puzzle of how to answer the question
What am I?
When I know the real question begins with Who.