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Back Parachutes
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

“Well, not all of them,” Ming sighs, tugging at the colorful braided bracelets on her wrists. “There is this one girl, Florence. She’s pretty nice.” Ming blushes. “And gorgeous,” she adds. “She asked me to give her violin lessons sometime. . . .”

“Are you going to do it? Give her lessons?” I smile.

“I dunno . . . ,” Ming says. “She’s from a totally different world.”

I understand Ming’s hesitation. I tell Ming about having to clean up Claire’s vomit last night.

Ming shakes her head. “That’s why I don’t want to ask her out . . . they’re so spoiled.”

But maybe Florence is different. I shouldn’t let my experience with Claire color Ming’s perception of her new crush.

“You should give her a chance,” I encourage Ming.

“Maybe,” Ming says. “First I have to get my violin back.”

I text her Mr. Rufus’s number as Rosa walks outside and shrieks at us to stop braiding our hair and get back to work.

Thirteen

Claire

After school, my mom picks me up out front by the entrance. The driver gets out of the car and opens the door.

“So how was it?” my mom asks, taking off her sunglasses.

Different from my school in Shanghai, but interesting. I really liked my psychology class. In China, we don’t get to take psychology until we’re in college. The only class I didn’t like was Mr. Harvey’s. I don’t care what Jess said, I’m totally testing out of his class.

“Did you make any friends?” my mom asks.

I tell her about Jess, Florence, and Nancy. It was clear by lunch from the way they carried themselves and the way the other parachutes looked at them that they were the queen bees. My mother smiles, proud that I’ve so quickly established myself with the crème de la crème of the parachutes hierarchy.

“And how about the guys?” she asks.

I shrug. I don’t tell her about Jay. Knowing her, she’ll probably start stalking him on WeChat. Besides, I have Teddy.

“They’re okay,” I say.

My mom tells the driver to take us to the mall. I furrow my eyebrows. More shopping?

“What?” My mother looks at me. “You don’t think I’m going to let you keep sleeping on that god-awful mattress, do you?”

“It’s fine. Plus they cleaned it.”

My mom takes a deep breath. “Look, I know I’m not the most hands-on mom in the world . . .”

You think?

“But what I lack in . . . handiness, I make up in spending power,” she says, patting her LV tote. She reaches for my school bag, peeling the heavy backpack off my shoulder, and I let her.