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
The cash lies cold on the table. “Now that that’s settled,” my mom says, turning to me, “I should be going back.”
It takes me a minute to register. She’s leaving. Like leaving leaving.
“But we just got here!” I say. It’s only been two days.
“Yeah and now you’re all settled in. Your classes are sorted. You’ve got a new bed. You have your Amex. And Dani and Maria here are going to take excellent care of you,” she says, nodding at Dani and Mrs. De La Cruz standing next to her. I can’t believe she’s doing this right in front of them.
She holds out her arms for a hug. “I gotta go back. Your dad’s in Shanghai all alone . . .” She doesn’t have to say it. We both know what that means. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
She looks at me with wet brown eyes. There are so many things I want to say to her. Like I need more than a bed. I need more than an Amex. But what’s the use? I take a deep breath and walk into her open arms. My mom kisses my hair and says all the things: Take good care of yourself. Don’t eat too much fried American food. Take Uber, don’t walk around by yourself. And all I can do is nod.
Later that day, after my mom leaves for the airport, I call Jess. We go to the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.
“I don’t know why they’re making you pay for their old bed. If it was so important to them, why’d they put it in your room?” Jess says, holding up an Alexander Wang lace camisole in front of a mirror.
“They didn’t make us pay for it,” I say. “We wanted to.”
Jess puts the top back and gives me a look. “You know they’re just taking advantage of you, right? I’ll bet the mattress wasn’t even special.” She walks toward the shoes section. “So why’d your mom leave so soon?”
I groan, looking down at my phone to see if her flight’s taken off. She’s probably boarding. “To keep an eye on my dad,” I mutter. I put a hand to my mouth. I can’t believe I just said that to Jess. I barely know her.
“You know you can hire someone for that,” Jess says, examining a pair of white crocodile-skin sandals.
I’ve never talked about it with anyone, not even to my best friends. I was always too embarrassed. Jess puts the shoes down and takes a seat next to me on the plush white chairs. In a low voice, she tells me her father too had wandering eyes for years, but her mom hired an agency and they took care of it.
“What do you mean ‘took care of it’?” I ask.