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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

“I know because I knew it would be painful, and I didn’t want you to be hurt,” she says, looking down at her hands. “But then when you actually did it, and I know you didn’t win but still . . .” She shakes her head, blinking back the tears. She gives herself a minute to collect herself. “I asked myself if my daughter, a seventeen-year-old, is not afraid to do something so scary, what am I, a thirty-seven-year-old, so afraid of?”

I put a hand to my mouth. “Oh, Mom,” I say.

“Your nai nai thinks I’m crazy,” she adds.

“Well, I think she’s crazy,” I tell my mom.

My mom bursts out laughing.

She reaches out a hand and pulls me close to her. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come earlier,” she apologizes as she hugs me. “But I’m here for you now. Whatever you want to do.”

As she says the words, it sets off a flood of tears I’ve been desperately holding in. My mom holds me in her arms as I cry, and I feel my heart fill with the kind of love I thought I’d never be able to get.

Eighty-Two

Dani

The door to Mrs. Mandalay’s office swings open. I look up, and Mrs. Mandalay’s secretary informs me I can go in. She shakes her head as I walk inside, like I’ve just been busted for selling pot instead of winning a national debating tournament.

Mrs. Mandalay is standing at her desk, holding a copy of the Los Angeles Times, which she slams down on her table. The headline reads, “Local Girl Wins Snider Cup, Accuses Teacher of Sexual Misconduct.”

“You have some nerve,” Mrs. Mandalay says, taking off her reading glasses and flinging them on her desk.

“Every word I said was true,” I tell her.

Mrs. Mandalay points for me to sit down and pulls up her calendar. “Clear your schedule on Tuesday,” she says. “You’re going on air and taking it all back.”

“I’m not gonna do that!”

Mrs. Mandalay points at me with her newspaper-ink fingertip. “Dani, this is serious. I just got off the phone with the police. They want to interview you,” she says. “This is no longer just fun and games.”

I stare at her. When was it ever fun and games?

“You need to walk back what you said.”

I feel the room start to spin.

Mrs. Mandalay offers to lift my suspension if I go on air. “Just tell everyone the truth. That you wanted to win the tournament so bad, you got a little carried away . . .”

I shake my head. “But I didn’t get carried away!”