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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 can’t help it if I’m all you guys got,” I say.

According to Tressy, after my mom had me, she tried to get pregnant again, but each time it always ended in miscarriage. I was too little to understand, but I remember once hearing my grandmother talking about it, how it was such a pity my mom couldn’t give my father a son. My mom dropped the teacup she was holding onto the ground. It was the only time I’d ever seen her publicly get mad at my grandmother.

Watching my mom grimace now, I know the pain has not entirely left.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I say. “I just . . . I don’t want to go to America.”

“I know,” she says. “I don’t want you to go either. You’re all I have.” She reaches and touches my cheek with her hand. When she speaks again, her voice is full of resolve. “Which is why you have to go.”

I shake my head. “What if something goes wrong?” I ask.

She takes her iPhone out from her purse. “I’m one phone call away. If something goes wrong, I’ll be right over,” she promises.

I glance at her phone, trying not to think about the fact that half the time when I’m here and I call her, I can’t find her because she’s getting a massage.

“Who am I even going to be living with?” I ask.

My mother smiles. “The De La Cruzes,” she says. “They have a daughter just your age. Her name is Dani.”

Six

Dani

At lunch the next day, I grab me and Ming some seats in the back. I can’t believe she never told me she’s gay. Does she have a girlfriend? Does anyone else know? But before I can ask her any of these questions, Zach walks over. It takes me a moment to process he’s here, standing in front of me.

“Hey,” he says, setting down his tray of food.

My mouth’s full of sandwich, so I can’t say hey back. I search the cafeteria for Ming and see her over by the sushi corner, pocketing soy sauce packets.

“You were great last night,” he says.

My cheeks preheat like a Thanksgiving oven. So he was there!

“Did you mean all that stuff you said?” he asks.

“What?”

“About how it’s wrong to track people. Just because someone’s dumb at one point doesn’t mean they’re always dumb. Do you really believe that?” He peers at me with wide blue eyes.

“It’s just not . . . like . . . ideal . . . is . . . I don’t know,” I say. Why is it that when I’m in front of a podium, I can come up with these eloquent lines and when I’m off the stage, I can’t seem to find the words and end up sounding like a frog?