Lu

“She just be talking about electric…moments…in life. And I, clearly, was the most electric-est moment in hers. One in seventeen thousand. Albino. Born with no melanin, which means born with no brown. And honestly, I wasn’t supposed to be born at all, because my mom wasn’t supposed to be able to have kids. So a two-time special one-in-a-lifetime-thing.”

This early quote sets up the importance of lightning to Lu’s identity. Born with albinism to a mother who was not supposed to be able to bear children at all, Lu holds onto these rare statistics as important markers of his identity. He also describes himself as lightning to cast himself in a positive light, as at times during his youth his albinism was a source of insecurity for him.

“According to them, I was a miracle. I wasn’t supposed to even be born. So another baby was almost impossible. A miracle with some extra miracle-ness sprinkled on it. Magic. Lightning. Striking twice.”

Upon hearing that his mother is expecting a second baby, Lu’s identity as special or a miracle feels threatened. He describes this new baby as magic or lightning striking twice, which is known to be an incredibly rare occurrence. While Lu often thinks of himself as lightning, suddenly he feels less special or like his existence somehow means less because of the new baby or “miracle.”

“Here’s the thing. When you look at a hurdle, it don’t really seem like that big of a deal until you get right up on it. You gotta time it just right, and pump your heart big enough to get your leg up and over the bar. You can’t just hop it like you hop over everything else.”

Although Lu is a successful track runner, his new event, the 110-meter hurdle, challenges him. Lu struggles to successfully jump the hurdles for much of the text, even with the help of Coach. Lu feels anxious to jump the hurdles and fall in front of people, to embarrass himself in front of a crowd of onlookers. Hurdles also serve a metaphorical function in the text, symbolizing obstacles in life that are difficult to overcome.