Page 78 of Didn't See That Coming

Mami looks like she’s going to be sick. “You mean Jonas Arifin—thatJonas—forced you to—”

“Kiki,” Papi interrupts, his face a mask of pain and rage, “did that boy do—? Did he make you—”

“No!” I shout quickly. “No, no. He was decent enough—ha, it’s weird calling Jonas decent—but he never made me do anything I wasn’t comfortable with physically. We never even kissed or anything. Well, he did request that we hold hands, which was not great, but…you know, on the whole, I could live with it.”

Papi squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, pain crossing his features, then he opens them and gazes at me with so much tenderness that I find myself getting all teary again. “I hope that you never again have to say ‘I can live with it’ when it comes to dating a guy.”

I manage to croak, “Thanks, Papi.” Then I clear my throat. “Anyway…” I fill them in on everything that happened last night, Jonas exposing me and Liam storming out and me running away, and I show them the videos on TikTok. Mamiwatches with a hand over her mouth the whole time, and Papi’s hands are clenched into white-knuckled fists.

“Good grief,” Mami says. “Kids are monsters.” Then she hurriedly adds, “Not you, of course.”

That gets a small smile out of me. “Of course not me. I’m a delight.”

At that, Mami utters a half sob, half laugh. “You are. You are a delight. And I can’t believe what these monstrous kids have done to you.”

“A little bit over the top, but I’ll accept it. To be fair, though, I think they’re just following Jonas’s cue.”

“God, I could kill that boy,” Mami growls. “But, sayang, why didn’t you report him and his cronies to the teachers? Or—I don’t know, the guidance counselor? Don’t they have one of those?”

“I tried, but the principal only blamed it on me and basically told me I should change myself to better fit in with the rest of the school.”

Papi nods solemnly. “The rice stalk that stands out gets the scythe. That’s a well-known Chinese proverb. Traditional Chinese culture values the cohesion of the group as a whole; individualism is not as encouraged as it is in modern times.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Pretty sure it’s a Japanese proverb.”

Papi shrugs, looking rather sheepish. “Well, I’m sure the Chinese have something similar.”

I can’t help smiling at him. “I’m sure our ancestors have something similar, yes.”

“Well,” Mami huffs, “I think we are all in agreement that there is no point in discussing rice stalks right now. I am readyto rain down hell on this awful school.” And sure enough, she really does look like she’s ready to march with all the bluster and indignation that only a Chinese mother can summon and tell Principal Lin exactly what she thinks of him and Xingfa.

For a moment, I’m tempted to let Mami do just that. “No, Mami.”

They both frown at me. “Why not? They think they can just bully our daughter because they—” Mami rants, while at the same time, Papi says, “I’m calling Seventh Aunt right now. She’ll know what to do; she’s a lawyer.”

I raise both hands and gesture at them to stop. “Okay, okay! And Papi, you don’t have to always say Seventh Aunt is a lawyer every time you mention her. She’s my auntie; I know she’s a lawyer.” I take a deep breath. “Anyway, I think I have a better idea of how to handle this. Because I’m very sure that Xingfa is used to parents complaining about this and that. They’re going to know exactly what to say to beat you down. But with my way, they’re not going to know how to react.”

Mami narrows her eyes at me. “It’s not illegal, is it?”

“No!” I gaze at them pleadingly. “Please trust me on this? Once I’m done, you can complain all you want to the school.”

Mami and Papi look at each other, and in that moment, I know that this is exactly the kind of relationship I want to have one day. One where we can convey an entire conversation with just one look. They nod at me at the same time, then Mami yawns and tells me to get out of their room so she can catch a few hours more of beauty sleep.

By the time I go back to my bedroom, the sun has fully risen, fresh morning sunlight streaming through my windows,bathing my room in sweet golden light. It feels hopeful somehow, a new start. I smile and utter a tired but happy sigh. After talking to Mami and Papi, the giant boulder of resentment that has been crushing our relationship for the past few months has lifted. I didn’t expect them—especially Mami—to be so horrified on my behalf. I was afraid that they would tell me it’s all my fault, and I’m so unbelievably grateful to find out that I’ve been wrong about my parents. But I’m not done talking and apologizing to people. I take out my phone once more and open up a video call on WhatsApp.

The call goes through, and the first words I hear are: “Excuse you, a lady simply does not answer calls before nine!”

I grin. “Eleanor Roosevelt, since when are you a lady?”

The video on the screen shifts to show Eleanor blinking blearily at me. Despite her sleepy state, her smile is as impish as ever. “Ci Kiki! I knew you’d call. That’s why I kept my phone on, you know.”

“You knew I’d call?”

Eleanor rolls her eyes so aggressively I wonder if it makes her dizzy doing that. “Please, of course I knew. I knew you’d feel bad about all the nasty things you said to me and Sarah Jessica last night and you’d be so overcome by guilt and you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you didn’t apologize, and I was right! Hey, Sarah Jessica, I was right.” The video swings around crazily, then it shows a mess of hair next to Eleanor. “I convinced Sarah Jessica to stay over last night so we could both witness you groveling for forgiveness.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or feel mortified by this. But when I pause to think about it, I realize that I shouldn’thave expected anything less from Eleanor. The only way out is through the tunnel. Gotta swallow whatever pride I have left and own up to my assholery. “I’m glad that you and Sarah Jessica are both willing to hear me out. I’m so, so sorry about all the things I said last night.”

Eleanor smiles smugly while, next to her, Sarah Jessica yawns.

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