“Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” Chyna was already pulling me up and away from the crowd of girls before I managed to reply to her. She pulled me into a corner of the hall, right by the door. I remember seeing a reflection of the sunset on Chyna’s face—gold and orange and red.

“I think you should go.”

I frowned. “You invited me here.”

“It was a mistake. I thought it’d be okay but I think Catherine just said I could bring a friend to be nice.”

“But I’m already here.”

“Yeah, well, you can make up an excuse and leave. Tell Catherine you’re feeling sick, I’m sure she’ll get it.”

“What about you?” I asked. I didn’t think both of us could pretend to be sick and get away with it. “You’ll tell her you need to go with me, to make sure I’m okay?”

Something passed over Chyna’s face. A shadow, or maybe just the sunlight on its way down. But there was a shift. Not just in her expression, but in the air around us.

“I’m not coming with you.”

“Why not?” But even as I asked it, reality was dawning on me. Chyna had found her place, and her place here didn’t—and couldn’t—include me. I was being thrown out into the cold. Literally, because it was about thirty seven degrees outside despite it being September.

“I can’t go. That would be impolite.”

“Oh,” I said, even though it made no sense. “I guess I’ll call my mom and—”

But Chyna was already turning around, already slipping into the sitting room, already grinning like she was glad to be rid of me.

As I called Ammu to pick me up, I could hear Chyna recounting the story that made her fit right into that clique of girls.

“So why is your name Chyna?” It was redheaded Paulie that asked the question. “I’ve never met anyone with such a unique name before.”

I would have rolled my eyes into the back of my head if my hands weren’t shaking as the ring-ring-ring of the phone kept fading in and out with no indication of Ammu picking up anytime soon.

“My mom went to China after she finished university, to teach English. And that was where she met my dad. They stayed there for about a year, dating, so it was like the place where they fell in love, and they decided to name me after it.”

There was a round of awwws, and Chyna’s face lit up.

“Have you ever been?” Catherine asked.

“Not yet, but Mom and Dad promised that someday soon we’ll go so I can see for myself!”

“That’s so exciting.”