Teresa

"Jennifer loved being a Vaquero," Mrs. Phan cooed. "She was on student government, and the varsity tennis and volleyball teams. What about you, con?"

She'd prepared thịt kho--braised pork belly and hard-boiled eggs in a caramel sauce over steamed rice--with a side of mustard greens.

When Huong introduced us, Phung smiled joyfully and called me em--Vietnamese for "sister"--even though we'd just met.

The room exploded in laughter. Harsha grabbed Milo's beanie and threw it across the room, but the jerk continued to flap his arms, his mouth open and snarling. My eyes returned to the desk in front of me and the tiny, faint pencil and pen graffiti on the chair.

Stop talking. You need to stop talking.

I looked back at Lana, surprised she'd say that aloud. "Excuse me?"

[Jolie is looking at and describing her grandpa's mythology book]
There was no text on the cover or spine, similar to a blank journal. When I was little, Ong Noi said that it made the book more special: only those who knew could read and discover what lay in these pages.

One time in fifth grade when Daphne was over after swim, I tried to show her the book. After turning a few pages, she said the stories sounded unbelievable, even for Vietnamese folktales. [...] I never showed her the book again.

When I first opened the mythology book, it appeared blank. I frowned, turning the pages. Maybe I'd mistaken an unused journal for Ong Noi's book [...]

(Jolie) "Thanks for defending me, but you didn't have to.
"Why not?" [Huong] asked.
"You barely know me."
"But I really like what I do know." (pg. 80)
[I shit you not, their 2ND EVER interaction with each other and they've spoken a total of THREE PARAGRAPHS TOGETHER!!!]

"How are you?" Huong asked [on the phone].
"Fine," I said, smiling. "Why are you calling?"
"You don't want to talk to me?"
"Why don't you just text?"
"I like hearing your voice. It feels good."
I understood what she meant. Huong sounded warm and comforting inside my ear. (pg. 104)
[After their first and only hangout together. BRUH!!!!!]