Chapter 9

As their friendship develops, Annette begins to ask more and more questions about Kim’s home and the fact that Kim is never home after school. Eventually Kim confesses that she has to help her mother with work, and it seems like Annette may try to make this a political cause, despite Kim’s protests. Then the time comes for Kim to take her test to prove she wasn’t cheating. Kim does so well that she gets to skip ahead two years into the accelerated science and math program.

Matt offers to take Kim to where his father works. This comes as a surprise to Kim, since she had been told his father was dead. After they bike across the town at top speed, they get to the hidden gambling hut that Matt’s father was in. Matt gives his father more money to bet, and reveals to Kim that his father lives with a new girlfriend. After this happens, Kim feels much closer to Matt than she had before.

Chapter 10

When 10th grade begins, Kim is feeling much more comfortable in America. She still isn’t friends with too many of the students, but she has strong feelings for Matt, and those feelings are intensified whenever he comes close to her. Still, she doesn’t ever let him get too close, and eventually he begins dating another girl, Vivian.

Curt broke his leg on a ski trip, and when he returns he’s confined to bed. He calls Kim, asking if she will help him stay up to date on math and science. After he returns to school, they hang out more often. That popularity leads to other boys showing an interest in her, and many phone calls to her house.

Ma and Kim go to a debate tournament that Nelson is in. Both Nelson and his brother speak disrespectfully to their parents, and Kim avoids saying anything that could get Aunt Paula mad. His debate team loses badly.

When winter sets in again, the oven breaks. Kim and Ma call a man to fix it, but he says he is unable to and tries to cheat them out of money. Kim threatens to call the police, which leads to the man running away.