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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

“Call him,” the girls urge. Before I know it, my hands are on my phone and I’m scrolling my contacts. I listen while it rings and rings. The girls huddle beside me. With each ring, I feel the words in my heart hardening, like a bulb that could have grown into something but now lies as shriveled as a toasted seed.

And then I hear it. The phone’s ringing. In the room.

I look up. It’s Jay. He’s standing in the middle of the karaoke bar.

Florence, Jess, and Nancy look equally shocked. “We’ll give you two some privacy,” they say, and leave us.

Jay walks over to me.

“I’m sorry, I messed up,” he says, taking my hand in his.

Cautiously, I look up at him.

“I need you,” he says.

“Why?” I ask.

Jay searches for the words. “You’re not like the other girls. You’re the only one who sees beyond all this crap.” He waves his hand at the crystal chandelier hanging above the opulent karaoke bar. He pulls me into his arms and says, “You see me.”

But do you see me? I want to ask. I needed you to text me back that night.

He kisses me lightly on the lips. “Don’t you see what you do to me?” he asks. “I’m crazy about you.”

He rubs my runny mascara with his finger. As he hugs me tight, he breathes into my hair, “Please, Claire, I’m sorry. Give me another chance.”

Fifty-Four

Dani

Zach calls me while I’m cleaning, says he needs help with his history homework. He can’t wait until Friday, when I’m supposed to tutor him. I’m in one of the houses in North Hills.

“Where are you? Can I swing by?” Zach offers.

“Um . . .” I glance around the big, empty house. Ming’s at extra violin practice for her solo, so it’s just me cleaning. “Okay.” I give him the address.

Twenty minutes later, I answer the door in my maid’s uniform. Zach’s eyebrows shoot up when he sees me.

“I feel like I’m stepping into a porno . . . ,” he jokes.

I jab him lightly in the ribs and pull him inside before any of the neighbors see us. Zach puts his backpack down and whistles at the size of the house.

“Hot damn,” he says, marveling at the size of the pool.

He follows me up the stairs to the bedrooms. While I change the sheets, he asks me questions about American history. The time goes by faster with him here. Zach helps me tuck in the sheets and gets extra rolls of toilet paper for me from the downstairs supply closet. He asks me how debate’s going.