Ann Liang

Never seen anyone as jumpy as you, she’d said. Must’ve been a mouse in your past life.

... I don’t know. I guess grades are the only thing I have power over. The only thing I have.”

and last shot at the American Dream over, the chapter unceremoniously closed. But I never stopped thinking about the sacrifices my parents made, the pleading look on Mama’s face when she said it, almost like a child—I want to go home—and how the only reason they left home in the first place was because of me.

Even now

My parents didn’t work this hard for me to only get this far

“You tend to stop being so scared when you’re angry,” he explains.

Confusion bubbles inside me. “How—how do you know that?”

“I notice,” he says simply.

“You tend to stop being so scared when you’re angry,” he explains.

Confusion bubbles inside me. “How—how do you know that?”

“I notice,” he says simply.

Still, it’s nice to have an adult tell me everything will be okay. Even if I’m not so sure that’s true

Years since I wasn’t so busy—always hustling, always striving to get further, do better—I could barely breathe

“It’s been ages since we last saw each other. I...” He clears his throat. “I’ve missed fighting with you at school.”

He shoots me a half exasperated, half affectionate look. “Don’t make me say it again.”