Games of Chance

Thirteen

In honor of the introduction of my first Asian female character, Commander Anusha Dev, what do you think of representation in literature? As an Asian girl myself, I love it when we're represented as smart and capable! (Like Commander Dev, who's a genius materials scientist, and Chase's future mentor, Lieutenant Commander Luna Chu). But I also understand when people say that sometimes, representation seems 'one-sided' or 'forced,' as if the author is putting it there just for the sake of seeming 'current' and it's not meaningfully contributing to the story. 

Chapter poll:

All representation in literature is good and helps previously ignored demographics of readers feel like books are written for them, too! 

or 

No representation is better than bad representation, which only reinforces stereotypes. If you don't know enough about a group to write about them accurately, don't write about them at all.  

I'm really curious to see the results of this one, because I see both points! Hope this isn't too controversial :/

.....................................

It seemed as if nothing Meg did could stop the school day from feeling like an eternity. As she went through the motions, sitting through her classes without doing much else, her mind continued to drift back to the mysterious Mr. M and his henchmen, who still occupied her house. She'd heard a few noises downstairs while she slept the previous night, but other than that, she had absolutely no idea what they were doing there. She'd run panicked into the restroom during lunch and locked herself in a stall, dialing 911 and spending a solid five minutes staring down at the three softly glowing numbers on her screens as her thumb hovered over the green talk button. Then, Mr. M's warning rushed back into her head, sending a shiver down her spine. She recalled how easily he'd broken her free will, forcing her to do his bidding. Something told her the authorities wouldn't be of much help in this situation. 

It took all of her willpower to pretend that everything was alright as she clutched her backpack to her chest, digging her fingernails into it as she made her way to the nondescript black car that Mr. M said he'd send to pick her up once school was over. As she approached it, making a move to pull open the back door, an idea struck her. She leaned backward, trying to get a glimpse of the license plate. Maybe, if she could memorize the number, it would help the police find M and his men! 

"Come on, Meg, you're going to be late for your piano lesson," she heard from inside the car. She turned around to see Mr. M in the driver's seat, turned around and staring at her intensely. He'd seen. Letting out a puff of air, Meg slipped quickly into the car, slamming the door behind her.  

"What a smart, smart kid. Nice try, but I'll have you know the plate's fake," M mused as he let his foot off the brake and began to drive away from the school. "Oh, don't look at me like you've never seen a fake plate before! It's common in the business. Oh, what am I saying, for all I know you've never seen a normal car... your family probably travels in the friggin' Batmobile!" 

"I don't know who you think I am, but you have the wrong person," Meg replied, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to sound convincing. Ever since he'd arrived, M had been making snarky comments about her 'class' as if she were some kind of spoiled heiress. Perhaps he'd been sent to hold the daughter of some celebrity or politician hostage... perhaps he really did have the wrong person. It was a long shot based on more than a little bit of inference, but it was the best hope Meg had. 

"Oh, you clueless little thing. If only you knew... If only I had permission to tell you... just so I could see the look on your face when you realize what you're entitled to- what they've been hiding you from," M answered as he pulled into the Hewkins' driveway.