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 glance over at Ming, rubbing her puffy eyes as she gets out her sheet music. Last night, she finally talked to Florence about walking away at the concert. Ming asked Florence why she did that. Was it because she didn’t want her parents talking to Ming’s parents and finding out they weren’t exactly rich? When Florence couldn’t give her a straight answer, they broke up.
Zach turns away from me.
“How’s Claire?” I ask. Again, he doesn’t say anything. “I got a call from Jay. He knows about you guys . . .”
This gets Zach’s attention. He points his reed at me. “You’re still talking to him? Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage?” he asks me.
I stare at him. What’d I do?
Mr. Rufus walks up to the conductor’s stand and orders us all to sit down. He holds up his baton and nods to Ming, who lifts her bow. She takes a deep breath and plays the first soulful note.
I sneak glances at Zach as I lift my flute. I can’t believe I’m back to sneaking glances at him in band again. I deliberately play an off note, hoping to get his attention. But no matter what I do, he doesn’t look at me.
Claire lingers in the shadows of the hallway, like she’s hiding from someone. I’m glad she’s back in school. She peers into the big faculty conference room, the one Mrs. Mandalay only uses for special occasions, like an ad board meeting.
“Dani!” Mr. Matthews, my counselor, walks up to me in the hallway and greets me. “Everything okay? You feeling better?”
I muster a polite nod while looking over his shoulder at Claire. She catches me looking at her, frowns, and walks away.
I glance down at the file in Mr. Matthews’s hand. It reads: CONFIDENTIAL—BRIEFING MATERIALS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD ONLY.
“Is there going to be an ad board proceeding?” I ask.
Mr. Matthews sighs yes. I try to probe him for more details, but he moves the file sharply away from me. “Dani, you know I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation,” he says, changing the subject. “Hey, I’m sorry you didn’t make headmistress commendation. Maybe next year.”
I look down. “Yeah . . . maybe,” I say.
“But at least you get to go to Snider!” he says. “It’s in two days, isn’t it?”
I nod. My mom printed out the plane ticket this morning and set it on my bed.
My eyes slide back over to the ad board room. Now Jay’s standing in front of it, looking inside. His finger’s moving in the air, like he’s counting how many seats are inside. Something’s definitely up.
“Hey, Mr. Matthews, do you know anything about Li Incorporated?” I ask.
Mr. Matthews’s face hardens.