On the Back Burner Read Online Free Page A

one!”

    “Awesome!” Shawn exclaimed. She, Peichi, and Natasha grabbed the brightly colored tubes and rushed off to the twins’ bathroom to try them out. As Shawn left the room, Amanda sighed heavily. She couldn’t stop thinking about Sonia’s prediction—about losing Shawn.
    “Don’t worry, Manda,” Molly said, putting her hand on Amanda’s arm. “You’re right, it’s all make-believe. And no matter what, you’ll never lose me.”

Chapter 3
    O n Sunday afternoon, Peichi walked home from the sleepover. She yawned. The girls had been up really late, talking until four o’clock in the morning, and even though they’d slept in past noon, she still felt tired. As she hiked up the sloping city block, she thought about how much she was looking forward to Chinese New Year. The fact that her parents were treating her like a grown-up—involving her in their plans, letting her invite her friends—made it seem even more special. She couldn’t wait to have her friends experience all the fun of Chinese New Year, too. And she couldn’t wait to receive ly-cee— red envelopes stuffed with money for good luck!
    “I’m home!” she called as she walked in the front door of her house.
    “So am I,” called her slim, stylish mother, coming up the front hall to her. Smiling warmly, she hugged Peichi. “How was the sleepover?”
    “It was great! Natasha was completely surprised. And I told everybody about Chinese New Year. They’re all really excited about it. They’re going to help cook and everything.”
    “I’m glad,” Mrs. Cheng said, putting her arm around Peichi’s shoulders. “I think the holiday will be extra fun this year. Homework?”
    “A little.”
    “Go upstairs and do it now while you’re still awake,” her mother said. “I’m guessing you’ll conk out early tonight.”
    “I’m not tired,” Peichi said. Then she yawned so wide that she realized she must be more tired than she thought. She and her mother both laughed. “I guess I am a little tired,” she admitted.
    “Get that homework done,” her mother urged.
    Peichi went upstairs to her bedroom. She loved her bedroom, with its ivory chenille rug, sheer ivory drapes, fun pink Lava Lamp, and comfy, aqua leopard-print pillows. Peichi pulled her long, shiny black hair into a ponytail so it wouldn’t fall in her face while she worked. She took her social studies book out of her school backpack.

    Holding it to her chest, she bounced onto her large sleigh bed and opened the book to the assigned chapter: “British Rule in India.” The assignment was to read the chapter and answer some questions.
    Peichi got out her notebook but instead of starting on the questions, she started doodling and drew the dragon dancers that always led the Chinese New Year parades to the sounds of drums. They danced in front of shops to bring the shops good luck for the new year.
    Before I start answering these questions. I’ll just make a list of things I need to do to get ready for Chinese New Year, she decided. She pictured the crowd in Chinatown as people gathered to watch dancers performing a dragon dance. People dressed in the large costume of an Asian dragon would perform inside the suit. Exotic Chinese music would blast from speakers mounted on the buildings.

    Another image formed in her mind. She was with her friends at a market in Chinatown. Peichi saw herself pointing out the foods they wouldn’t be familiar with, like bok choy, litchi nuts, catfish, and dried bean curd. In the picture she was smiling, feeling proud. Her friends were impressed and excited to be there.
    From somewhere, Chinese music filled the street. Peichi imagined herself listening to it, being lulled by its sweet sounds...and soon she was sound asleep.

    “How was I supposed to know that we’d have a pop quiz on the British rule in India?” Peichi complained to her friends the next day at lunch. “And even if I had known, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It just kind of