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
I peer at the audience. Mr. Connelly is not there, thank goodness, and neither is Claire. Florence and her parents are in the back. Florence is recording Ming’s performance on her phone. So are two Chinese people in the front row. They must be Ming’s parents. I smile at them. I wish my own mother was in the audience. She was supposed to come, but at the last minute Rosa called her in to clean up a VIP client’s house party.
As Ming stands up to play her solo, filling the auditorium with the sound of heaven, Florence puts a hand to her heart.
After the concert, at the cocktail reception, Ming pulls her parents over toward Florence’s parents. Florence’s dad is dressed in an expensive suit and doesn’t seem to be saying much to anyone, while her mom makes small talk with Mrs. Mandalay. I walk over to join them.
“Florence!” Ming calls out. “I want to introduce you to my parents!”
Two reluctant Chinese people inch forward, but Florence’s eyes are glued to her own parents. Her dad is looking down at his watch, frowning. Her mom is scanning the crowd for someone more important to talk to.
As Florence’s parents reluctantly shake hands with Ming’s parents, Florence offers no explanation as to who Ming is and quickly pulls her parents away.
“Let’s go,” she says to her parents.
The look on Ming’s face as she watches Florence walk away from her is devastating. Ming’s dad frowns and scolds his daughter in Chinese. As her parents leave, Ming turns to me and tearfully translates what her dad said.
“He said, ‘That girl has the good sense not to embarrass her family.’”
Sixty-Five
Claire
For days, I don’t get up. Don’t leave the house, don’t switch on my phone, don’t move, except to go to the bathroom. Every time I think about what happened, my stomach twists into a knot so tight, I feel like I am going to hurl. I don’t ever want to go back to school, don’t ever want to see Jay again.
Gently, I massage my wrists. The bruises have mostly gone away. But the bigger wound, the one inside, is just starting. I curl into a ball, crying myself to sleep at night, thinking about my own stupidity. When I wake up, my eyes flit around my room, landing on this shirt and that bag—all the stuff that shithead bought me, that I allowed him to buy, as the bile inches up my throat.
Dani knocks on my door. I turn to my side and hide my head under the covers.
“It’s Wednesday. Are you just not going to go to school?” she asks. She informs me that technically, in California, it’s a crime not to go to school. “It’s called truancy. . . .”