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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

Jess gets up, on behalf of the parachutes, and starts getting into it with Emma. “How do you know it’s ours?” she asks.

“Uhhh . . . gold Bentley?” Emma responds. “Our parents would never buy us something so tacky.”

Jess’s face reddens even though it’s not her car. “No, they’re too busy clipping coupons for Walmart!” she yells.

The whole cafeteria erupts “OH!” as Nancy and I yank Jess down by her shirt and plead with her to let it go.

“It’s not worth it,” we urge in Mandarin.

“I need some water,” Jess says, fuming.

I get Jess some water as Nancy and Florence try to calm her down. As I’m grabbing a couple of Smartwaters, I notice Jay standing in line. Casually, I get in line behind him and wait as he pays for his Coca-Cola, trying not to stare—he’s even hotter up close.

My phone dings. It’s a text from Teddy.

Hey babe. I had another dream about you and this time we were—

I click my phone shut before I can read the rest and stand there, face flushing. Lately, our Skype sessions have been getting a little . . . intense. It started accidentally, when Teddy sleepily described what he wanted to do to me if we were right next to each other. I think he was actually half asleep when he said it, but it was kind of hot. We’ve been Skyping ever since, sharing our fantasies. I tell myself it’s not real. It’s just on Skype. It’s not like we’re taking our clothes off or actually going to do any of the things we say we are when I get back to Shanghai. Still, my overactive imagination heats my skin.

When I look up, Jay’s gone. I hand the cashier my waters and ten dollars. The cashier shakes her head at me.

“You’re all good,” she says.

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

She points her finger toward Jay. “He already paid for you.”

Sixteen

Dani

I can’t believe Heather took my point in a public tournament. That’s debate equivalent to sitting on my head and taking a shit. She grinned so hard when they announced she got thirty-seven more speaker points than me. In shock, I couldn’t come up with a new point on the spot, and the judges marked me down big-time.

Afterward, Mr. Connelly pulls me aside. It takes every ounce of effort not to cry when he comforts me, “Hey, it’s okay, we all have an off day sometimes.”

I want to say to him, No, I’m not having an off day! I’m having an on day, but she just took all my ons!

“Get some rest,” he says. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”

I nod, biting the inside of my cheek. I won’t give Heather the satisfaction of seeing me cry.