Excerpt from Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Moss," said Javier, as if he was trying it out for the first time. "I get it! Man, that is cute."

Esperanza stood and bowed. "It is my very favorite story to tell, and now I am gonna leave you two alone because clearly this is a moment."

With that, she walked away from the two of them, drifting off toward the windows on the opposite side of the train. Javier gestured to the now-empty seat. "Mind if I sit?"

Another burst of nervous energy flushed through Moss's body. "Yes," he said. "I mean, no!" He blurted it out, then shook his head. "Please sit down," he finally said, certain he had embarrassed himself beyond repair.

Javier did, his mouth curled up in a grimace. "I made you uncomfortable, didn't I?"

"No, no, it's okay, I just—"

"You're probably straight," Javier said, defeat in his voice. "I'm sorry, it just … I dunno, it just came out."

Moss's mouth fell open again for the second time in a matter of minutes. Then the laughter followed, and it washed away the terror of the interaction. "Oh, honey," he said. "I could not be gayer."

The dejection that lined Javier's face disappeared, and it was replaced with a playful grin. "Well, you never know," said Javier. "You gotta be careful sometimes."

"Oh, most def," said Moss. "Though I've never hit on someone in public like that before. You're bold."

"Me? Bold?" Javier laughed. "My mother would have a word or two with you about that."

"You live in Oakland?" Moss asked, and he felt the train speed up a bit as it made its way through the tunnel underneath the bay.

"Yeah, closer to Fruitvale. You?"

"Next stop," he said. "West Oakland. Well, assuming we can even get to that station."

Lights from the outside world then filled the train car as it rose out of the ground and climbed the elevated track. As long as Moss had lived in West Oakland, he'd never tired of this specific view, so he pointed toward the windows. "Check it," he said, and the Port of Oakland began to pass by them. The sun was already setting beyond the San Francisco coast, so the cranes gleamed from the powerful lights that illuminated the structures. "They look so silly," he told Javier, "but I love them. They look like children's toys."

"Or like a kid built them."

"You know George Lucas modeled those AT-AT machines after them?"

"No way! You a Star Wars fan, too?"

"A li'l bit," admitted Moss. "Minus most of the prequels. And you know I got my boy Finn's back."

"Dude," said Javier. "Poe is my homeboy. Latinos in space, man! We made it!"

"That's dope, dude." Moss paused and gave Javier a once-over. "You all right, Javier. I admit this is not how I expected my afternoon to go."

"Well, mine's just starting. I'm going to that rally in West Oakland. Probably why there's a delay."

Moss let a beat go by, and he worried it was too obvious. The spike plunged into him, that familiar anxiety he worked so hard to keep at bay. A rally? That meant one thing.

"What for?" Moss asked, hoping to smooth over his reaction.

"You heard about Osner Young yet?" When Moss shook his head at that, Javier continued. "Older brother of some kid who goes to my school. Got shot a few blocks from the station, and police claim he had a gun pointed on them." Javier shook his head. "Of course he was unarmed. They usually are."

"Yeah," Moss said, struggling to find anything significant to say, but unsure he could. How would I even begin talking to him about this? Moss thought.

"So I'm going to show my support," Javier said. "I got some friends I'm meeting there." Javier put his hand on Moss's leg, and Moss wished this was all happening in a different context. "You should come!"

"Oh, I don't know," Moss said, his gaze dropping down.

Excerpted from Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro. Copyright © 2018 by Mark Oshiro. Excerpted by permission of Tor Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.