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
“She said she doesn’t want to dance with you,” she says. “Now fuck off.”
Eric’s eyes narrow in the blinking lights. He stands there a few seconds. Finally, he turns to his friends and says, “Let’s go. These hoes ain’t worth it.”
Nancy and Florence flip them off and yell, “Keep walking!” as they slink away.
We get plastered, drinking vodka tonics while dancing. When it comes time to settle the bill, the four of us can barely stand. The manager, an older Chinese businesswoman in a blazer, comes over to our table. “How old are you girls?” she asks as she slides the bill across the table. “Your mama know you here?”
Jess laughs in her face. “My mama put me here,” she says, slamming down her American Express card.
It’s late when I get home. I stumble drunkenly into the house after my Uber drops me off. Once inside my room, I kick off my heels and take out my contacts. One of the heels accidentally lands against the wall and makes a bang! sound.
“SHUT UP!” I hear Dani shout.
“Sorry!” I apologize.
I undress in the moonlight of my room, my silver dress halfway down my naked body when I hear Skype on my computer ring. It’s Teddy. I walk over, biting my lip as I smile and tap my finger lightly on the touchpad.
“Hey, I just wanted to say hi before I—” Teddy stops talking when he sees my half-naked body on the screen. The tiny silver sequins of my dress shine and blink. “Whoa.”
Quickly he closes the door to his room.
“Heyyyy, sexy,” I slur my words.
Eighteen
Dani
Mr. Connelly insists on taking me to lunch off campus on Monday to cheer me up from my loss at the tournament in Orange. I tell him I have band at 2:00 p.m., but he says he’ll write me a pass.
“It’ll be fun!” Mr. Connelly says as he grabs his keys.
I follow him as we walk down the hall, feeling a bit nervous but mostly special. Isn’t this what college kids do all the time? Go out to lunch with their professors? We pass Heather on the way out. She side-eyes me, shaking her head.
“Hey, Heather!” Mr. Connelly greets her. For a second, I’m petrified he’s going to invite her to come along, but instead, he says, “Killer job this weekend. Keep it up!”
We get into Mr. Connelly’s Volvo SUV, which I note has a car seat in the back. He never talks much about his personal life. I know he has two boys because sometimes they call him when we’re training and I can overhear their voices, but he’s not one of those teachers who constantly whips out their phones to show you their kids.
We drive over to Denny’s. Mr. Connelly orders the all-day breakfast while I order a pastrami sandwich.