BooksBarbecue
Back Parachutes Save as PDF
Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Sixty-Six
  69. Sixty-Seven
  70. Sixty-Eight
  71. Sixty-Nine
  72. Seventy
  73. Seventy-One
  74. Seventy-Two
  75. Seventy-Three
  76. Seventy-Four
  77. Seventy-Five
  78. Seventy-Six
  79. Seventy-Seven
  80. Seventy-Eight
  81. Seventy-Nine
  82. Eighty
  83. Eighty-One
  84. Eighty-Two
  85. Eighty-Three
  86. Eighty-Four
  87. Eighty-Five
  88. Author’s Note
  89. Acknowledgments
  90. About the Author
  91. Books by Kelly Yang
  92. Back Ad
  93. About the Publisher

I wave as I throw my backpack in the car along with my box of condoms. “See ya,” I say, getting in. I roll the window down and flash one of the condoms at her. “I’ll be the one getting it on in the bathroom.”

Emma laughs as my ride drives away.

Fifty

Dani

Mrs. Mandalay walks up onto the stage of the auditorium, flashing a smile. It’s our annual headmistress commendation awards ceremony. I look over at Ming, wiping her palms on her jeans, her leg bouncing in the auditorium seat. I smile, we’re both expected to get headmistress commendation again this year, the only silver lining in this semester of hurricanes.

I look around and roll my eyes at Zach, who’s five rows behind me, making googly eyes at Claire. He should know she has a boyfriend. And judging by how often she’s over at Jay’s house—she usually texts me when she’s spending the night—I’d say things are going well with them. As Mrs. Mandalay welcomes us to the assembly, I scan the auditorium for Mr. Connelly. I still can’t believe he changed the time and day of practice without telling me. Has he always been this cruel?

Mrs. Mandalay clears her voice. “As you know, every year the faculty picks ten students from each year group to award the prestigious headmistress commendation to,” she begins. “Among the qualities we’re looking for are dedication to academic excellence, drive, perseverance, exceptional talent . . .”

Ming looks over at me, and I smile reassuringly at her. She’s going to get it again. If the school’s flying her parents out for the spring concert, that’s a sign of how much they value her. As for me, though I’m probably not high on Mrs. Mandalay’s fave list this year, the headmistress commendation has more to do with GPA. And I’m holding steady at 3.9 unweighted.

“Here to announce this year’s headmistress commendations is Mayor Stein,” Mrs. Mandalay says. The doors in the back open and Mayor Stein, our newly elected mayor, walks in. The crowd erupts in applause as the mayor takes the podium.

“It’s an honor to be here today,” he says. “American Prep isn’t just a school. It’s a local treasure, one that’s lifted this entire town to what it is today—a diverse, business-friendly community that warmly welcomes immigrants!”

There’s a round of applause from the parachutes.

As Mayor Stein gushes about American Prep’s many contributions to East Covina, I turn to Ming and whisper, “Why’s the mayor here for this?”

“Maybe he’s the xomegan.com mole!” Ming jokes.