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
I follow her gaze to the house and see a skinny girl with thick wavy hair and glasses, holding a book, standing behind the screen door. Mrs. De La Cruz, meanwhile, picks up one of our suitcases and starts moving it inside the house.
“C’mon, let me show you to your room,” she says. “I have it all ready for you!”
We follow Mrs. De La Cruz inside. I mumble hi to the girl as we pass, and she mumbles hi back. Clearly she’s as psyched about me being here as I am.
The living room is tiny and sparsely furnished. There’s a gray couch, a coffee table, a cabinet with a cross hanging above it, and a TV. That’s it. It’s so bare, it reminds me of the inside of Tressy’s room. I still remember the first time I stumbled inside. I was six. I remember looking around, at her small bed and wardrobe, and being confused. I asked her why she didn’t sleep in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs, and she answered because she’s not a member of the family.
“Of course you are,” I had insisted. She spent more time taking care of me than my own mother did.
Tressy bent down and put her warm hands around my small cheeks. “Oh, sweet child,” she said.
Later that night, I asked my mother if it would be all right if Tressy moved in to the room next to mine.
“No way! She’s a maid. She needs to sleep in the maid’s quarters,” my mom said.
“But her room’s so small,” I said.
My mother crouched down in front of me and looked in my eyes. “It’s small for us, but it’s big for her.”
The memory weighs in my mind as my mom stands in the De La Cruzes’ living room.
“How long have you guys lived here?” she asks Mrs. De La Cruz. Dani sits down on the couch.
“Oh, a long time, madam. Since before Dani was born. It was her father’s house,” Mrs. De La Cruz explains.
My mom looks around the room. “And where is Mr. De La Cruz?” she asks.
Mrs. De La Cruz gazes down into her hands. “He left us, madam . . . a long time ago.”
My mother stiffens. Mrs. De La Cruz has just uttered her literal worst nightmare. Now she really can’t stop staring at her.
“So it’ll just be us girls,” Mrs. De La Cruz says brightly. “Would you like to see your room, Claire?”
I nod.
Dani gets up from the couch and leads me down the hallway. She asks me what grade I’m in, and I say eleventh. She’s also a junior at American Prep.
“Oh, that’s great,” I say.
She compliments me on my English, and I shake my head shyly as she opens the door to my room.