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
“Why do you ask?” he says. Before I can answer, he says stiffly, “I think you should focus on preparing for your upcoming tournament.” He excuses himself and walks away.
Seventy-One
Claire
Jay’s making the rounds, going from table to table, talking to parachutes. They informed him yesterday about the ad board meeting that’s happening on Thursday and I guess he’s lobbying for character witnesses. At lunch, the other kids talk in hushed whispers, murmurs that dull when I get close and sharpen the minute I walk away. Jess sighs.
“Maybe you should back down,” she says, watching Jay out of the corner of her eye.
Florence stirs her soup, her eyes puffy and red. Apparently, she and Ming broke up.
“No way.” I shake my head. I look over at the ever-growing table of Jay sycophants, most of them guys, but also a couple of girls. What’d he promise them? A flight home on his private jet? “I’m not worried. I’ve got you guys, Zach, and Ms. Jones.”
Speaking of Ms. Jones, she catches up to me later that day and tells me she’s going to talk to Mrs. Mandalay and request that she be a part of the ad board.
“Now that I’m teaching here full-time, I’d like to be a part of the decision-making process of the school, especially on matters involving student safety,” she says. “I looked at the rules and there’s no requirement that ad board members needed to have taught at the school for a certain period of time. It just says faculty members.”
I throw my arms around her—it’s the best news I’ve heard all week! “Thank you so much!” I say. If Ms. Jones is in that room on Thursday, it would mean that I would have at least one adult on my side.
I wish her good luck as she goes and talks to Mrs. Mandalay. The smile on my face vanishes when I get back to my locker and see the Chinese words smeared on the front of my locker:
Cock Tease
Frantically, I try to rub it out, but it’s written in permanent marker. I scrub and I scrub, as the other students pass by and stare. The white kids thankfully can’t read it, but all the parachutes can. They shake their heads at me as they walk by.
Dani sees me and joins me in scrubbing, but I yell at her, “I don’t need your help!” She stops scrubbing and quietly walks away. Five minutes later, she comes back with a dry-erase whiteboard marker, which she tosses at me.
“Try tracing over it with this,” she says.