Chapters (93)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Kelly Yang
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
Before I can finish, Mrs. Mandalay says, “You’re absolutely right. I was appalled myself when I received this email.” Mrs. Mandalay pulls out a copy of the student manual and turns to page 73. “American Prep has a zero tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination. We want every single student in our school to feel like they’re being culturally respected. Mrs. Wallace will be suspended at once.”
I look to Dani in surprise. Did she just say suspended? Dani gets up from her seat to shake Mrs. Mandalay’s hand.
“Thank you so much,” I say to Mrs. Mandalay, shaking her hand too.
Mrs. Mandalay beams at us and opens the door to her office.
“My pleasure. It’s my job,” she says.
Walking out of Mrs. Mandalay’s office, a smile sweeps across my face as I pull Dani in for a hug. I thought it was going to be like in China, where you walk in with a thorn up your ass and you walk out with a brick.
“Thanks so much,” I tell her. “I couldn’t have done it without you. That line about cultural imperialism—that was so great.”
She laughs.
Jess, Nancy, and Florence come running down the hall. Dani’s friend Ming walks over too, and Florence shyly introduces Ming to us—apparently, they know each other. Excitedly, I tell everyone the good news. The girls flip out. Jess starts jumping up and down and pulling me toward the cafeteria.
“This is huge! We have to tell the rest of the parachutes!” she says.
As the girls head toward the cafeteria, I turn to Dani and thank her again. “If there’s anything you’re ever going through that I can help you with . . .” My voice lingers.
Dani falls quiet for a minute, then shakes her head.
“I’m good,” she says.
Thirty-Six
Dani
Florence and I help Ming move out that weekend. I’m so happy Mrs. Mandalay agreed to up Ming’s housing stipend so she can switch host families. And I’m thrilled she did the right thing and suspended Mrs. Wallace for that ridiculous email. It’s funny, everyone’s always saying Mrs. Mandalay is such a hard-ass. But she can be surprisingly swift and decisive in difficult situations. Maybe I should tell her about Mr. Connelly—he still hasn’t replied.
“Careful with that picture frame,” Ming says. I look down at the small silver frame in my hands. It’s a picture of Ming as a little kid and a tall man. They’re both playing the violin.
“Is this your dad?” I ask Ming.
“Oh, let me see!” Florence says, walking over. Florence puts a finger over young Ming in the picture and coos. I smile. I’m glad those two made up. It’s clear how much Florence likes her. I hope she’ll invite Ming to her house parties from now on.