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
Jess and I are the only ones still in the school parking lot after Dani leaves with her debate team. Nancy and Florence left shortly after Dani, looking rattled. They should be rattled. I’m rattled. What was Jess thinking? It took the janitor three trips to the dumpster to get rid of all that rice. In the end, we had to help him. Emma glared at me as she got into her mom’s car. “You’re going to pay for this.”
Jess gazes at the blazing afternoon sun and pulls out a thin pollution mask from her purse. She offers one to me, and I smack it onto the ground.
“You could have gotten us both in so much trouble!” I say to her.
Jess rolls her eyes. “Don’t be such a wuss. That bitch deserved it. Now she’ll know never to mess with you again.” She runs a hand through her hair and examines her tinted roots in the sun. “A thank-you would be nice.”
A thank-you? “You don’t get it, do you? We’re juniors. Our grades, the decisions we make—they count toward college!” Quietly, I blow out the words from the rawest part of me. “You may not care about that, but I do.”
Jess turns and walks to her car. “Whatever,” she says, unlocking her Porsche. She gets in, doesn’t offer me a ride, and speeds off.
I fume all the way home. There are no Ubers available nearby, so I’m forced to walk. With each step, I think about how much I miss my friends back home. None of them would do such a thing.
Worries and anxiety swirl through my head that weekend. What if my dad doesn’t show? What if he does show and Mrs. Mandalay called him about what happened? I think about calling Emma to apologize, only to put back the phone. I’m so shaken that when the doorbell rings on Sunday night and Dani announces my dad’s here, I look down in a panic. I’m not ready!
My dad frowns at me standing in the middle of my room in my The Future Is Female sweatshirt.
“You’re wearing that?” he asks.
“Hi, Dad!” I exclaim. I hold up a finger. “Give me one minute to change!”
One minute, of course, turns into twenty as I slip into an evening dress, heels, throw on some foundation and lipstick. The whole time, my dad’s tapping his feet outside my door, talking in Mandarin. “I told you I was going to be here at six thirty to pick you up. Our reservation’s at seven, and now there’s going to be traffic. You have school tomorrow. I have to get you home by nine. I sent you two reminders. I don’t know how you’re going to function in college if you’re like this!”