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
Heather McLean’s face turns the same color as the podium—a deep burnish brown with the threat of exploding lava underneath.
“That was incredible!” Mr. Connelly claps. He looks around at my teammates and asks, “Wasn’t she incredible?”
A few mutter their assent. Most look at their feet. The doors in the back of the auditorium bang open, and Zach walks in. He must have heard the speech outside because he’s clapping too. Mr. Connelly glances at Zach.
“Hey!” I say, walking offstage and over to him. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to watch you practice,” Zach says, taking a seat. He looks to Mr. Connelly. “Is that okay?”
Mr. Connelly doesn’t say anything but doesn’t kick Zach out either. As Heather walks up to the podium, Zach nudges me with his elbow.
“Want me to boo her?” he whispers in my ear.
“No!” I whisper back. Mr. Connelly glances over at the two of us giggling.
“I’m booing her!” he insists.
He laughs and nudges me with his elbow as Heather clears her throat. No sooner does Heather start speaking then Mr. Connelly frowns at her to stop. “No, no, no. That was abysmal,” he says. “It almost sounds like you’re reading from the back of a cereal box.”
Zach muffles a laugh.
“You have to put your feeling into it, like what Dani did,” Mr. Connelly says, nodding at me.
Heather looks like she’s about ready to strangle me as Mr. Connelly explains to her how to improve her delivery. Zach turns to me after training’s over and gives me a high five.
“That was amazing!” he says.
I wait until all my teammates have left before answering, “Really?” I kind of wish Mr. Connelly hadn’t gone on and on about me. “You didn’t think it was too much?”
“The coach is giving you extra attention. That’s a good thing!” Zach says.
He puts his arm around me and smiles and waves at Mr. Connelly as we walk out.
Twenty-Three
Claire
Teddy dings bright and early at 6:00 a.m. I groan into my sheets, still sleepy. I’m tempted for a second to ignore the call and sleep in. I was up late talking to my dad, which is sort of a mood killer. But then I think about Teddy waiting eagerly on the other end, and I reach for my phone. I tap Accept Voice Call instead of Video.
“Morning,” I say to him.
“Hey!” he answers. “Can you see me? How come I can’t see you? Switch over to video!”
I glance down at my phone. I know what he wants, but I just want to talk. I miss talking to him.
“I’m not really feeling all that hot,” I say. “I’m kind of nervous about my English placement exam.”