BooksBarbecue
Back Parachutes
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

As Jay proceeds to paint a picture of me as some sort of selfish, cruel tease who preys on the innocent and vulnerable hearts of young heirs, I lunge from my seat, feeling a homicidal rage I’ve never felt before.

“You bastard!” I say to him.

Mrs. Mandalay orders me to sit down. But I don’t. I’ve heard enough.

Seventy-Six

Dani

Three debates in at Snider, I’m holding my own, raking in best speaker points, even as my teammate, Josh, refuses to prep with me. I get a text from Zach.

Dani, the ad board screwed Claire! he writes. I don’t know what to do!

Three dots appear.

I glance at my watch—I have less than a minute before my next debate. Call me! I type.

My phone rings right as the organizer walks into the room. “Dani, Josh, you’re up next!” he calls.

I tap Ignore Call.

The organizer tells us our motion and puts us in a prep room to prepare. As Josh and I sit down to prep, I pull out my phone to call Zach.

Josh frowns at me.

“You’re not supposed to get any outside help,” he says.

“I’m not getting outside help, asshole. I am helping the outside,” I say, texting Zach.

Zach doesn’t respond. I try Claire as Josh gets up and goes outside. I assume he’s going to the bathroom, but he comes back with the organizer who frowns at me and confiscates my phone. Did Josh just tell on me?

“No phones please,” the organizer says, reminding me of the tournament rules.

“Please, just one call!” I beg, but he shakes a finger at me and walks out.

I glare at Josh, who smiles smugly at me.

When prep time is over, Josh and I walk into the main debating room. I’m first. I step up to the podium and begin my speech. The whole time I’m debating, I’m trying not to look at Mr. Connelly, who claps and cheers. He’s putting on a big show for the other coaches. When they announce that I’m the winner of the round, Mr. Connelly whistles.

“My girl!” Mr. Connelly hollers.

It’s so gross how he’s trying to “claim” me, marking his territory around me like I’m a tree, when privately he offers not a single word of support. The opposing team shakes my hand, while their coach offers Mr. Connelly his congratulations. The organizers usher us back down to the banquet hall.

“Wow! What a start, Dani!” the head organizer compliments me. “You did an amazing job.”

Mr. Connelly smiles. “We’re all so proud of her,” he says, putting his hand on my back.