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
Zach pops a potato chip in his mouth.
“Me too,” he says, nodding as he chews. “What you said.”
I smile. Now we’re two frogs.
“Hey, would you like to tutor me sometime?” he asks.
My face crumbles like my mom’s puto seko that’s been left out.
“It’s just you’re really smart. You’re always reading when Mr. Rufus isn’t looking,” he says.
Victory! He’s been watching me too in band!
“And I need to maintain a 3.0 for my sports scholarship.”
“I’m on a scholarship too,” I say.
“But you’re like brilliant. And I’m . . .” He laughs nervously. “I guess you could say I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I’m more like a spoon.” He looks down at the plastic utensils on my tray. “I just thought because of what you said in your speech, maybe you’ll want to help me . . . but if you don’t want to . . . you know what, forget it!”
“No, no, no,” I say. My fingers reach for his tray. Stay. “I’d love to help you.”
“Really?” he asks.
“Yeah, of course.” I ask him what subjects he needs help with as Ming starts walking over to us. She sees us talking, stops walking, and turns and goes back to the sushi corner.
“Everything,” he confesses.
“That’s fine,” I tell him. I pull out my phone so we can exchange numbers. “We’ll make a schedule.”
“Thank you so much,” he says. He flashes me his dimpled smile, and I feel my dopamine pathways flood. “I can’t believe you’re being so nice.”
I want to tell him that’s not it. It’s because I like you. That’s why I look forward to band even though I hate band, just so I can sit next to you for forty-five minutes every other day. That I’ve been deliberately trying to get worse at flute just so I stay last chair and get to sit next to you. But I don’t tell him any of that today. Instead, I smile and say, “Of course.”
Later that day, I’m kneeling in a house in North Hills, blotting up the spilled wine from a dinner party, when I look up and see Heather, my teammate from debate. She’s standing in the living room, opening the door for an older guy. Is this her house? I pull up the surgical mask that Rosa makes me wear.
“Thanks so much for coming,” she tells the guy, letting him in. “I just need you to draft my speech. We’re debating on ‘this house will tax inheritance at one hundred percent.’”
My jaw drops. Who is this guy? She wants him to draft her speech? That’s the motion we’re debating on Wednesday.
“No problem,” he says. “I just did that one with my team last week. We beat UCLA at El Camino.”