“Everything okay?” she asked.
He lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“My head feels like an angry puffer fish is trapped inside.”
Bao rolled onto his stomach, then pushed to a sitting position. He gazed at his parents through bleary eyes. Then he flopped once again onto Lien’s legs and immediately fell back asleep. Tuan grinned and walked into the bathroom. Lien heard him fill a glass of water. She could see his face reflected in the mirror. He spit into the sink.
“Quỷ nhỏ!” he said. Something about his tone filled Lien’s stomach with ice. After sliding Bao off her legs, she hurried to the bathroom. In the sink, crawling in spittle and blood, was a small worm.
Lien hurried across the NIMPE lab room. She opened a cabinet door, pulled out bottles, and tossed them to the f
