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
Mrs. Mandalay puts a hand to her face. “I can’t believe you’re being so selfish. This isn’t just about you. Think of all the kids who need this school. Why do you think I’m always fund-raising? So I can find and help the next Dani.”
“So help me,” I say.
Mrs. Mandalay shakes her head. “Not like this.”
I feel the burning in my chest as I stare at her oak bookshelf. So many great books on education and justice, apparently none of them mean a thing. “No, but you will help Jay.” My eyes cut into Mrs. Mandalay’s. “I know his dad owns Phoenix Capital. He’s the one who took my email off the site.”
Mrs. Mandalay doesn’t answer. Tiny beads of sweat form on her forehead. She keeps her gaze steady on her hands, folded tightly on her desk.
“What’d he donate to get his son off the hook? A new wing to the library? Another football field?” Claire and I have been texting. I lean in and go for the kill. “This school has a culture of allowing sexual misconduct.”
“A culture?” Mrs. Mandalay erupts. She jumps up from her desk, looking like she’s about ready to hurl a paper weight at me. “You think it’s any different at Yale? Or any of the Ivy League schools?”
I freeze at the mention of Yale.
“Life’s ugly sometimes,” she yells. “You wanna build something great? You have to be willing to sacrifice!”
She jabs her finger into her fancy wooden desk, and I stare at her conviction. That’s what astounds me—she actually thinks she’s doing the right thing. As I get up to leave, I say, “Yeah. You sacrificed us.”
Later, I’m standing in front of Claire’s apartment. She answers the door in rubber dishwashing gloves. I stare down at the gloves—now there’s a sight I never thought I’d see.
“My mom’s here, she’s sleeping,” Claire says in a lowered voice, pointing toward the bedrooms. I follow her inside. Claire goes to the sink and takes off her dishwashing gloves, throwing chunks of a cut-up lemon down her sink.
“You’re running a lemon down your garbage disposal?” I ask, impressed.
She smiles at me. “I might have learned a thing or two from watching you.”
She joins me on the couch and puts her arms out. “Oh, Dani,” she says, hugging me. “I’m so sorry about what you went through. I wish I had known—”
“Me too,” I say to her, hugging her back. There’s so much I want to say to her, starting with I’m sorry too. “I wish I could take back all the mean things I said right before you moved out. You were going through hell, and I was too hung up on Zach to even see it. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”