The Pham girls looked forward to the growth and prosperity that was sure to come.
Chapter 6
A Night Out
Mai, I cannot continue to disobey your father’s wishes,” her mother warned her. Mr. Pham had left for a meeting with the largest chain of seafood restaurants in the area. It was Saturday. Mai knew her friends were all planning to go skating. If she didn’t go tonight, she knew that the chances of ever going were slim to none.
“Mom, come on. You know if I don’t go tonight, I may never get another chance.” Her mother studied the intricate flowers on the back of her hairbrush. It had been passed down from her own mother. She could remember her mother brushing her hair in the old two-bedroom home she and her five siblings grew up in.
Mai’s mother couldn’t imagine that one day the brush would be hers. That one day her parents’ old house could fit inside her bedroom suite.
She could remember longing to be a part of the culture that was around her, much like her daughter. Her mom had been different, though. She was not a woman who would even consider going against her husband for her children. Her father and her husband were very similar in their beliefs. That’s what she liked and admired about both men.
Mrs. Pham turned from her vanity to where her daughter was sitting on the massive bed. Mai looked extra small. My oldest child has grown up too fast, her mother thought. She wished she could cradle her daughter in her arms. Protect her from the world. But she knew it was important for her to learn her own way.
“Okay,” she said to her daughter. Mai’s scream stopped her from continuing. She waited for her daughter to finish celebrating. “Mai, listen. This is under one condition. Do not do anything to prove your father right. I cannot continue to fight with him to loosen control if you make bad choices.”
“I promise, Mom. I won’t disappoint you!”
Mai ran upstairs to call Carson and Emma. She was actually going skating. Oh my gosh, I don’t know how to skate, she thought. It didn’t matter. She was going out on a Saturday night—not to a church function—with her school friends.
She immediately opened her video chat and called her friends. “Hey, Mai. Hey, Emma,” Carson said sadly.
“What’s wrong, Carson?” Emma asked her. “Are you backing out?”
“No, I just want Mai to come too. I can’t get used to her not coming.”
“Well, turn that frown upside down,” Mai told her.
Carson’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you coming?”
“I’m so coming.”
The girls couldn’t contain themselves.
“Okay, we’ll pick you up too. This is going to be awesome.”
Emma and Carson jumped out of the car as soon as they pulled up to Mai’s house. They had never been inside. They had never met her family.
Carson recalled seeing Mai’s parents the day their clothing was stolen during PE. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most pleasant memory.
They were greeted at the door by Lan, who looked like a miniature version of Mai. She was fashionable and cute. “Hey, Emma! Hey, Carson!” she said, as if she had known them forever. “Mai is upstairs. I’ll show you where her room is.”
The Pham home was breathtaking and immaculate. The floors were travertine. Everything seemed to have a place. You could tell that Mai’s mother had an eye for detail. Even though everything was perfect, it still felt like a home.
They entered Mai’s bedroom and made themselves comfortable in the sitting area.
“I’m coming out in two seconds!” Mai yelled from the bathroom.
“You know that y’all are going to be in trouble when my dad finds out that Mai’s going out tonight,” Lan announced.
“Well then, don’t tell him,” Carson whispered.
Lan winked mischievously and said her goodbyes.
Mai came out shortly. The girls went downstairs. Mai kissed her mom and promised to be good.
Their driver for the evening was Mr. Victor. He had been a part of Emma’s life for as long as she could remember. When they arrived at the roller-skating rink, Mr. Victor told them to meet him at nine o’clock as Emma’s dad had requested.
The girls got their roller skates and stored their things in some lockers.
“You know that I can’t skate, right?” Mai warned her friends.
“Mai, surely you had a pair of skates growing up,” Carson responded.
“Yes, but it was only me rolling all over the house. I didn’t have tons of people coming at me or music playing like there is here. It’s intimidating.”
“Stay with me,” Emma told her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the rink. Carson slipped her hand into Mai’s free hand. They were off. The three girls were soon dancing and rounding the corners like professionals.
“This is so much fun!” Mai said, shouting over the music.
Screaming, holding hands, and skating proved to be quite a challenge as they rounded the corner closest to the concession stand. It was as if all eyes were on them as Mai lost her balance. They all started tumbling downward. Their limbs became tangled. They tried to maneuver and avoid falling. But it looked like they were going to hit the floor.
“Let go!” Mai could hear Carson screaming. But she was too afraid to let go.
“Whoa! Whoa!” Emma was saying, trying to remain upright. In the end, gravity won over skill, and they went crashing down. The entire Summit Middle School student body seemed to be watching them.
They could hear laughter. The girls joined in the laughs as they lay on the floor. Before they created a massive pileup, four of their friends came to help. Holden, Aiden, Finn, and Brent were right there. They helped them up and got them to the side. When they were safe, they erupted into more giggles.
“That must have been quite a sight,” Mai said to the guys.
“It was definitely interesting,” Aiden admitted to Mai.
“I’m just glad nobody else came barreling into the three of you,” Holden told them. “It happened to me once when I fell. That’s why I knew we had to come help you.”
“Thanks,” Carson said, nudging him playfully. “I need something to drink. Ladies, wanna roll?”
“I’m not rolling anywhere,” Mai informed them. “That was enough for me. I’ll walk, thank you very much.”
They got in line at the concession stand. “I’m so happy you are here,” Emma told Mai. “It would not be the same without you.”
Like an icky pimple, there stood Jessa McCain—the person who was responsible for making their lives miserable last semester. They hadn’t seen her since she had been sent to the alternative school after bullying Carson.
Jessa was not allowed to attend any school functions. She was not allowed on the Summit campus either. But the roller-skating rink was in town. So there she stood.
Her minions followed closely behind her, as if they were programmed. They were so annoying. They laughed loudly, like everything Jessa said was hilarious. They fussed over her as she was trying to decide what to eat. They talked loudly, trying to get all of her attention. Carson, Emma, and Mai wished her crew would go away.
“Oh, look. Holden’s over there with Finn, Brent, and Aiden. I’m going over to chat,” she said to her friends. “Monroe, come with me. The rest of y’all stay in line. We’ll be right back.”
They all followed her orders, exactly as she told them to do. The ones who stayed in line whispered to each other, trying to upset Carson.
Carson didn’t want to watch as Jessa boldly flirted with Holden. He looked uncomfortable, like he wanted her to go away. But he didn’t ask her to leave. Carson was mad at herself for being mad.
“Don’t let her get to you,” Emma whispered. “She’s just trying to make you mad.”
“She’s shameful. She’s just embarrassing herself,” Mai whispered.
“I know. Jessa is so much prettier than her,” one of the minions said, looking directly at Carson.
“We are definitely hanging out after this,” Jess
a said to them when she returned. “One good thing about our neighborhood is that we can hang out and talk all night. It’s not like growing up in the hood.”
Carson knew a slur when she heard it. They got their drinks and retreated to their table. She couldn’t shake the seeds that had been planted. Holden could tell. “Hey, let’s go talk over there,” he said.
Emma was in her element. She had once been so quiet around all of these people. She was finally coming into her own now that she had her very own besties. She put her skates back on and decided to hit the rink again. Brent and Finn joined her.
“You’re not going back to the rink?” Aiden asked Mai.
“Nooo,” she said, shaking her head. “That was enough for one night.”
“I’m not much of a skater either. I like to observe,” Aiden said. “Do you even remember me?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she lied, searching her brain.
“We were in the same kindergarten class. Mrs. Garlow, remember? I was that little mixed kid with the huge afro.”
She laughed when she put the two together. “That’s crazy! I never knew that was you.”
“I kinda figured that. I remember you, though. How could I forget? That was the only class we had together until we came to Summit.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“You always seemed to want to be alone,” Aiden said. “Until now.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she said, glancing at the skating rink. “My friends changed me. I’m just starting to know who I am.”
“Would you want to hang out some time? Like away from all this?” he asked shyly, looking at his hands.
She began to shake her head. “Aiden, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean … it’s not you … it’s just …”
“Nah, it’s cool. I understand.” He stood up quickly, leaving her at the table alone. She could tell that he was embarrassed. He’d stepped out on a limb and been rejected.
Mai didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. But hanging out with a boy was not going to fly in her house. Even her mother wouldn’t be on her side on that one. There was no way that she could have made Aiden understand without feeling embarrassed herself. No way.
Chapter 7
Practice Makes Perfect
So, you never told us what happened with you and Aiden the other night,” said Carson. “He looked like a lost puppy after y’all finished talking.”
“Nothing,” Mai said, not wanting to talk about it.
“Yeah, well, that’s not what he said to Holden,” Carson added. “He said that he asked you to hang out and it was an epic fail.”
“I must have missed all of this,” Emma told them, trying to catch up.
“There was nothing to miss,” Mai said, moving around the food on her tray.
“You know he likes you, right?” Carson said.
“You know my life isn’t set up that way. Right?”
“I don’t think the boy is trying to marry you. He just wants to get to know you. Besides, it’d be cool for us four to be able to do things together. Just think about it,” Carson begged.
“He is cute, Mai. In a Drake kind of way, ya know?” Emma told her.
Mai was annoyed. How many times did she have to explain her life to her friends? She now understood why she had been a loner all those years. She was trying to avoid talks like these. Now they seemed to pop up more. And she thought that after the first time, the girls would understand. Not so much. The closer they all became, the more her friends wanted her life to be like theirs. It just wasn’t.
“Look, I booked the auditorium for after school today.” Mai tried to change the subject.
“For what?” Carson asked her.
“To practice for the talent show. Duh,” Emma said, helping Mai out.
“I know my part already,” Carson said.
“I don’t think we need a lot of practice. But if we are going to do this, then we have to do it right. My name is on the line,” Mai said. “Trust me, they won’t be laughing at you if we don’t pull this thing off. The singer is always the most ridiculed.”
They arrived at the auditorium. Mai had the whole practice mapped out. It was a ministage play when Mai was done with it.
“Wait, there’s going to be dry ice? Are you serious, Mai?” Emma asked. “I’m definitely serious. I told you, we are going to do this the right way.”
They each had their own script. It had been blocked perfectly. They knew where to go and what to do. They knew at what point the song would climax. They knew what was expected of them. Carson and Emma were both talented actors. Each had been in their school plays the year before. Carson at Carver Middle School. Emma right here at Summit.
“Dang, y’all are better than I even imagined. You make the song so much better.”
“I told you that I knew what I was going to do,” Carson said proudly. “You know I felt that song from the gate!”
“For real,” Emma agreed. “That was so much fun. I can’t wait until our actual performance.”
Holden showed up at the auditorium door with his friends to get a sneak peek at their performance. “Hey, hey, hey!” Finn yelled as they entered.
“No boys!” Mai yelled at them.
“We just wanted to see if we could help. Y’all may need some muscle in your skit.” Finn rolled up his shirtsleeves. He showed off his biceps, giving the right one a kiss. He offered the left one to Emma.
“I think I’ll pass,” she said, declining a chance to kiss his muscles.
“Well, they are both here if you need them,” he said flirtatiously. He made her blush. But she knew he was joking.
“Put those things away. Those duck lips too!” Emmatold Finn as she playfully pushed him.
Mai was feeling awkward. She wanted to avoid having to talk to Aiden again. “Seriously, guys, we were just about to wrap up.”
“We are wrapped up,” Carson said, slipping her arm into Holden’s.
The two of them had made up after Jessa’s attempt to pull them apart. “Don’t believe anything she says, Carson,” he had said. “I’m telling you. You can’t. Her days at the alternative center will be over soon. She’s going to do whatever she can to get at you. Don’t let her.”
“No. You don’t let her,” Carson had warned him.
They left the auditorium and headed to Jean’s to grab a burger. There, they waited for their parents or drivers or whoever was in charge for the day. When everyone went to get their food, Mai’s fear became her reality. She was alone with Aiden again.
“Hey, about the other night. I wasn’t trying to diss you. It’s just my father … He’s really strict. He doesn’t let me talk to anyone.” Mai was automatically embarrassed by her life.
“I understand.”
“You can’t. Nobody does. Why do you think I’ve been so standoffish in the past? I still would be if it wasn’t for Carson.”
“So if you could hang out with me, you would want to?”
She hadn’t really thought that out yet. She just knew she couldn’t. It wasn’t worth even loading her head up with it.
“I don’t know.” She regretted saying it. His face looked hurt. Again.
By this time, everyone came back with their food. She never got to finish her conversation with Aiden. He was a really sweet guy. And she hated that his feelings were hurt.
Chapter 8
Get it Right or Else
It was the day of the show. All of the participants had already been pulled out of class for the last-minute preparations. Mai, Carson, and Emma were in the dance room practicing their routine. When they arrived at Emma’s solo, she missed her cue and Mai snapped.
“Emma, get it right! You’re not focused.” “I’m trying, Mai. Lighten up.” “Look, I told you both that if we were
going to do this, then it wasn’t going to be half-done. I’m the singer. I’m the one who will be the laughingstock of the school if we don’t pull this off.” She stormed out of the room to g
et a drink of water.
“We know!” Emma snapped back. “She needs to calm down,” Carson said. “I’ll go talk to her. You practice. You have to know when to enter the stage.”
“I do! I just made a little mistake,” Emma yelled as Carson left to meet Mai.
“Hey, you okay?” Carson asked Mai, who was cooling off next to the water fountain.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Or on us. It’s a school talent show for God’s sake, not Broadway.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Your mom made our costumes. I had to hide the fact that I was even in a talent show. There’s a big difference.”
“I see your point. But you are going to have to chill out. Or you may be the one to choke up there.”
Mai studied the floor. “Let’s go back in,” she said.
Emma was practicing her heart out when the girls went back into the dance studio.
“That was really good,” Mai said, complimenting her friend.
Emma was out of breath. But she felt good about her performance too. “I told you both that I had this.”
“I’m just stressed, Emma. You know I didn’t tell Mother or Father that I was doing this, right?”
“What’s to tell?”
“Nothing.” Mai rolled her eyes. “You still don’t get it. If it’s not about math, science, or English, they aren’t supporting it.”
“Social studies?” Carson asked, shaking her head.
“You know what I mean.”
“It’s okay. We are going to do just fine,” Emma said.
Holden came rushing in. “Hey, I can’t make the fog machine work. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Get Mister Blanton and ask him. He works in the shop room. He can fix anything,” Mai told him.
“Got it! I’ll make it work. I promise …” his voice trailed off as he ran back down the hall.
If something could go wrong, it usually did. That’s why Mai was happy singing in the shower. All of this was just too much. Too stressful. And somehow, some way, she had to keep it hidden from her father.
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