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
Dani wakes us up the next morning. She raises a sharp eyebrow at Jess. “Is she slumming it here too from now on?” she asks.
I scrunch my eyebrows. What’s Dani talking about? Jess takes a slipper and throws it at Dani, who quickly closes the door before it hits her. Jess gets up, yawning. As the two of us change for school, she examines some of my new clothes, bought online. Not everything I’ve purchased has been amazing, but I haven’t quite figured out how to return things yet.
“That’s it, we’re going shopping after school,” Jess announces. She picks up my Amex card on the top of my bureau and smiles mischievously. “And guess whose money we’re going to spend?”
Oh, it’s on!
In English class, I try to block out the death stares from Emma and focus on what Mrs. Wallace is saying about Gatsby. Today we’re discussing Myrtle and how she’s always aspiring to be a part of the upper crest but she’ll never be fully accepted by Tom, who only uses her and takes pleasure in her powerlessness.
One of the white kids raises his hand and draws a parallel to colonialism. “Kind of like Britain and India. Or . . .” He tries to think up another pair. “The European powers and China in the 1800s.”
“China was Europe’s mistress?” the other kids ask.
The whole class looks at me, and I slide down in my seat.
“They were called concessions,” I say. “The French and the British forced China to open up after the Opium War.”
“Open up how?”
“I’ll force you to open up!” a boy cackles from the back.
Jess meets me after class. As we’re talking in Mandarin, Mrs. Wallace walks out of the classroom. She frowns at us.
“You should be speaking in English, Claire,” she scolds me.
I instantly stop talking, lips hot with humiliation. Jess gasps as Mrs. Wallace walks away. “Who the hell made her the language police?” Before I can stop her, she turns and yells at Mrs. Wallace in Mandarin, “Hey, woman, it’s a free country! Why you think we came here?”
Later, Jess drives us over to Plaza East Covina. I get a text from my mom.
Heard you gave your dad a hard time at dinner.
I text back, He walked out on ME at dinner.
She types back, He went all the way over there to see you, after he’d been on a flight for thirteen hours!
I put away my phone. Why is she always defending him? Jess pulls into the mall. We hit Nordstrom. Jess shops like my mother, picking me up jeans, tops, and shorts, with no regard for price. As we’re shopping, I see someone looking over at us from across the floor. It’s Jay. I poke Jess, who spins around.
“Hey!” she greets him in Mandarin.