Jewel of the East Read Online Free Page B

kill you.”
    “Okay,” Felix said.
    He started to walk away, but Lily called after him. “Come back here,” she said.
    Felix did. When Lily moved to make space for him on the floor of the closet, he squeezed in next to her.
    “Maybe you’ll understand,” she said thoughtfully. “I mean, you had to leave New York, right?”
    Felix nodded.
    “See,” Lily said, her perplexed eyes gazing away from him, “I was born in China, you know? And my parents, the ones who adopted me, are great. They are. That’s why I come in here to cry, so they won’t hear me. I love them and everything. But I have this…” Her slender fingers plucked lightly at the front of her dress. “This
hole
in me. This
ache
.”
    Lily glanced at Felix as if to gauge his reaction. He nodded.
    “I just wish I could go back there. To China. And see where I came from, you know? Maybe even see my birth parents.” She paused. “You probably think that’s totally dumb, right?”
    “No,” Felix said. “Not at all. My father liveshalfway across the world, and every day I wish I could see him.”
    “He does?” Lily said.
    “Qatar,” Felix told her.
    She nodded, clearly impressed.
    “Want some help hanging your posters?” Lily asked softly.
    “Yes,” Felix said. He stood and held out his hand to help her to her feet.
    Side by side, they hung the posters along the sixth-grade corridor, outside the cafeteria, on the preapproved campaign bulletin board in the library, and on the gymnasium walls. They finished just as the first bell rang. By now, the school was awash with the sounds of students arriving, their voices and footsteps and locker doors slamming.
    “Well,” Lily said, slinging her backpack onto her shoulders. “See ya.”
    “Wait!” Felix said, not ready to let her go.
    She turned her perplexed face toward him.
    “We’re having a Christmas party at our house tomorrow. Want to come?”
    To his surprise, Lily didn’t take any time to consider. Instead, she just said, “Sure,” as casually as anything.

    “You did
what
?” Maisie said angrily to Felix.
    She couldn’t believe that her brother had invited someone to the VIP Christmas party without even asking her if it was okay. And Lily Goldberg of all people?
    “I like her,” Felix said.
    “Well maybe I don’t!” Maisie snapped. Now Felix would be fawning all over Lily Goldberg at the party, and Maisie would be all by herself, miserable.
    “She’s really nice,” Felix said.
    Maisie flopped onto the sofa, her skirt puffing out around her as she did. They were both dressed for the party, waiting for their mother to emerge before they went downstairs. Maisie had on the chocolate-colored silk skirt she’d worn to bar mitzvahs last year and a black cashmere T-shirt. Felix wore khakis and a white button-down shirt with a clip-on red bow tie and a slightly too big navy-blue blazer their father had bought for him for those same bar mitzvahs.
You’ll grow into it
, their father had said. Felix was still waiting for that to come true.
    “I cannot believe my life,” Maisie moaned.
    Their mother appeared in the living room doorway. Maisie had grown so used to her in her work clothes, slightly rumpled suits in neutralcolors and low heels, that she gasped when she saw her in a slinky black velvet dress, sheer black stockings, and high heels.
    “Come on,” their mother said. “I don’t look that bad, do I?”
    Felix grinned up at her. “You look gorgeous!”
    She smiled her shiny, lipsticked lips. “You two dress up pretty nice yourselves.”
    “Do you know that he invited someone?” Maisie said.
    “You could have asked someone, too,” their mother told her.
    “Like who? I don’t have even one friend here.”
    “You will soon, sweetie. I promise,” their mother said gently. “Come on. It’s time to go.”
    On their way downstairs, Felix stopped to pick up something shiny on the landing between the third and second floors. The shard! Maisie must have dropped it