Race to the Sun

Nizhoni wakes up on the ground with her nose covered in blood and discovers that her team lost the game. Her teammates are irate; only Davery is sympathetic. Nizhoni’s dad didn’t answer the phone when her coach called him, so Nizhoni resigns herself to walking home. She and Davery discuss whether Nizhoni might achieve her goal of becoming “school famous” by trying a different sports team. Davery tries to be helpful even though he doesn’t understand her desire for fame, which Nizhoni privately attributes to his devoted parents. Nizhoni’s mother abandoned them when Nizhoni was a toddler, and her father works constantly, but talking about this feels too personal, so she quips that becoming a “school hero” would mean that the other students would finally learn how to pronounce her name.

Davery asks her what’s “‘really going on’” (27), and she considers telling him about the monsters but decides to keep it to herself, worrying that he won’t believe her. Instead, she talks about hunger and how to get the bloodstains out of her jersey; Davery eagerly explains that soda will do it, citing its scientific properties and urging Nizhoni to try reading and doing her homework more frequently. As they leave the gym, Nizhoni glances back and sees another pair of red eyes looking at her.

Nizhoni is happy to see her dad’s car outside the school and quibbles with her brother, Marcus (known as Mac), over who gets to sit in the front seat. Nizhoni’s dad, distracted on his cell phone, doesn’t even notice that she’s covered in blood. He tells them that he’s too busy to take them for frozen yogurt, as his potential new boss is coming to dinner. Nizhoni feels anxious at the mention of his boss since the new job with Landrush Oil and Gas is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will require them to move away from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her dad announces that he will accept the prestigious and high-paying position if they offer it to him.

Davery quietly confirms the many protests surrounding the Landrush pipeline, which only adds to Nizhoni’s misery since her dad remains unmoved by this information, only caring about the benefits to their family. Davery leaves, and Nizhoni whispers to Mac that she saw a “you-know-what” (32), but Mac is distracted by her bloody nose. She notes that Mac has a black eye, courtesy of his nemesis, Adrien Cuttlebush. Mac is bitter that Nizhoni can’t protect him as she keeps promising to do.

They discuss the monster, using coded language so that their dad doesn’t suspect anything; Nizhoni doesn’t want him to know about her ability. She worries that the monsters somehow know that she can detect them. Mac worries over the rising frequency of these monster sightings. They pull up in front of their house, where they find an enormous black car, which looks out of place in their neighborhood. Nizhoni has a bad feeling, which her dad dismisses, saying the car belongs to his new potential employer, Mr. Charles. Two bodyguards and then Mr. Charles himself emerge; he is the monster from the basketball game.

Inside the car, Nizhoni and Mac struggle not to panic as they watch their father shake hands with the monster. They fret that their dad, who believes that handshakes indicate respect, will make them touch Mr. Charles as well. Nizhoni urges Mac to “follow [her] lead” but warns him not to touch the monster (39), which she considers “common sense.” Mr. Charles is cheerful and sympathetic about each child’s injury, though he looks slightly repulsed by all the blood. Nizhoni uses the blood still on her hands to get out of the handshake. Their dad forces Mac to shake hands, and nothing appears to happen, but in the next chapter, Nizhoni will learn that Mr. Charles detected a latent power in Mac when they touched. Their dad urges them to quickly clean up, as Mr. Charles is taking them to Nizhoni’s favorite restaurant for dinner. Puzzled, Nizhoni wonders if her instincts about monsters are wrong.

After dressing in clean clothes, Nizhoni catches Mr. Charles standing alone in their living room and attempting to steal the only photograph they have of Nizhoni and Mac’s mother. When Nizhoni shouts to stop him, Mr. Charles smoothly explains that he and his “associates” know of her mother. Nizhoni calls them “monsters” before she can stop herself.

Mr. Charles comments that Nizhoni’s mother’s family goes all the way back to the Changing Woman, though Nizhoni corrects him when he erroneously refers to the figure as a “goddess” instead of a “Holy Person,” per Navajo tradition. Nizhoni recalls learning from her shimásání (her maternal grandmother) that the Changing Woman created the Navajo clan system, which indicates how Navajo families are interconnected. Mr. Charles asks if Nizhoni knows that her mother’s family is descended from one of the Changing Woman’s sons, which baffles Nizhoni; she hadn’t heard anything about the Holy Person’s sons. She feels discomfited by a white man trying to tell her about Navajo traditions.

Mr. Charles fiddles with a tiny black object (revealed at the end of the chapter to be an obsidian knife), expressing frustration that his billion-dollar corporation is being threatened by a girl who takes after her mother, possessing the ability to see monsters. He reveals that not only does he know what Nizhoni can do, but he also detected “unrealized potential” in Mac too—even if Mac can’t sense monsters. Mr. Charles says that he won’t hurt Mac, as he intends to use Mac’s abilities for his own gain, but he intends to kill Nizhoni with the obsidian knife he holds.

Without thinking, Nizhoni charges Mr. Charles, impressed that she effortlessly kicks the knife from his hand. She strikes him twice more before a shout from her father stops her. Nizhoni tells him about Mr. Charles’s knife, but when one of the bodyguards, Mr. Rock, picks up the item she indicates, it’s a mechanical pencil. Nizhoni sticks to her story, but her dad finds Mr. Charles’s explanation that he came in to use the bathroom more plausible and believes him. Mr. Charles claims that Nizhoni asked for an autograph.

Nizhoni’s dad sends Nizhoni to her room, forbidding her from joining them for dinner. Despite knowing that she’s right, Nizhoni wilts under her father’s shaming glare. She can hear Mr. Charles laughing the incident off and realizes that Mac has bought the monster’s act, too. Everyone except Ms. Bird, Mr. Charles’s other bodyguard, who stays behind to watch over Nizhoni, leaves for dinner.