Chapter 7

When it comes time for gym class, Kim is nervous about changing in front of the other girls. Luckily, she finds a bathroom stall she can change in. Then she had to do some physical tests, which she wasn’t the best at, but she also wasn’t the worst.

As part of the scholarship, Kim had to work in the library three times per week. The first time she goes in, she is surprised by how warm and inviting the library is. She asks Mr. Jamali if she can switch her hours to earlier to help her Ma at the factory, and he says he will see what he can do.

Kim has an English tudor at Harrison, a senior named Kerry. Kerry lets Kim decide what would be the most helpful, so she just talks to Kim, correcting the things that Kim says wrong. She is able to do well in the math and science classes, but she still has trouble with the current events in social studies.

One day, Kim is seen changing before gym, and the other kids begin to make fun of her underwear. She complains to Ma again, and Ma takes her shopping to buy panties and a bra. The story they first go to doesn’t have any bras in her size, so they have to go to Macy’s and get help from an attendant.

A few days later Aunt Paula invites them over for dinner. They had not been invited there in a long time, so Kim is skeptical about Paula’s intentions. Ma says that it’s likely Kim could be a good example for Nelson. When they arrive, Kim realizes it was just a way for Aunt Paula to show that Nelson also goes to a private school.

For the rest of seventh grade, Kim works hard to improve her English. The teachers are much more helpful than the ones at public school were, and they grade her on her improvement, not how she compares with the native-speakers. By the end of the year she had kept her scholarship and was beginning to feel talented in school again.

When eighth grade begins, the school says that Kim no longer needs an English tutor. One day, the other kids even invite her to a show in the city. Kim says she cannot go, but is pleased to have been invited.

There is a big test that is coming up, and all the other students are nervous. Tammy turns to ask Kim to borrow a pencil, and when she does, a yellow piece of paper falls out of her sleeve. Kim picks it up and the teacher catches her. It was a cheat sheet, and the teacher assumes that it was Kim’s. Luckily, Curt, one of the boys in the class, comes and says that he saw Kim pick up the piece of paper.

Chapter 8

When Tammy finds out that Kim didn’t tell on her, she is grateful and writes a thank you note. Kim is still worried about being expelled, but when she gets the test back and has a 96% without the cheat sheet, she feels like her position at the school is much safer than it was.

As winter came again, the apartment was getting cold. Ma asked Aunt Paula about a new place again, and Aunt Paula was not kind. They did not have time to find a new apartment on their own since they were always busy with work and with school.

When summer came again, Kim worked at the factory full time. Kim spent this summer learning better tactics to bag the garments so that she was able to work faster than she had before. By the end of the summer, she was able to bag almost five hundred skirts per hour.

Sometimes Matt would stay and help Kim finish up. One day, he invited Kim and Ma to see Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, or “the Liberty Goddess”, as they called her. While they were talking about this, one man slams his hand in one of the steamers and has to be taken away. This stresses out Aunt Paula, and when she comes back she tells Kim and Ma that she is dropping the rate for bagging skirts. Kim is furious about this and tells Aunt Paula that it isn’t fair. Matt tries to step into the argument, and Ma gets mad at Kim for speaking up.

Matt still takes them to see the Liberty Goddess, but he also shows them Times Square. When they are there, they go into a music store and Kim encourages Ma to play the piano, which she does beautifully.

They then take the Staten Island Ferry so they can see the Liberty Goddess. Matt is very nice and considerate to Ma, and Ma tells Kim later on that she thinks he has a good heart.

Kim begins ninth grade, which is the start of high school. They take placement tests for math and science, but Dr. Copeland, the director of the science and math department, hadn’t forgotten about the cheat sheet and is concerned that Kim might be cheating again, since no student has gotten that high of results on the placement tests. She says that Kim will have to take an oral exam where the faculty asks her questions.