Front Desk

During the altercation over the stolen jeans, Mia’s parents have snuck the immigrant couple out of their room. Jason observed the entire episode but never says a word to his father. When Yao inspects the room, he finds it empty. Mia later writes Jason a thank you note but stops to ponder a comment her grandmother once made: “My grandmother used to say that people don’t change. Our heart is like a rubber band. It might stretch a little, but eventually it snaps right back” (235). Mia thinks her grandmother might be wrong because she believes that Jason might be able to change. She keeps the note but never gets around to giving it to him. By springtime, Mia is still waiting for a response from the Vermont essay contest. Meanwhile, Yao announces that he’s going to sell the Calivista, which causes Mia’s parents to worry about the family’s future. Mia asks her father if he ever dreams of owning a motel himself. He seems pleased at the prospect, and Mia uses this opening to tell her parents about her essay contest.

Once Mia breaks the news, her mother says that the contest is rigged. Mrs. Tang insists that nobody in America does anything out of kindness. Mia reminds her of the doctor who refused to charge them for medical treatment. Mia’s mother relents, but Mia secretly fears that she might be right about the contest.

Yao comes over the next day to review the motel’s books. When he sees the baseball cap on the counter, he reminisces about a previous manager who owned the cap. Yao praises the man as a good worker. Mia would like to believe that Yao might say something nice about her family one day too. The following week, a letter arrives from the contest committee. All the weeklies gather in the motel office to hear the verdict. Hank opens the letter and starts to read it aloud. After the first sentence, everyone realizes that it’s a rejection of Mia’s entry.

Mia absorbs the shock of the rejection as everyone around tries to console her. She begins to doubt her abilities and thinks, “You’re a bike. The other kids are cars. You’ll never be as good as the white kids in their language. I tried to stop it, but it was no use. Doubt came in through every pore” (246). Mia feels like a complete failure and confesses that she spent her father’s lucky pennies to pay for the entry fee. He tells her that she’s going to win some and lose some. He reminds her how much she helped Zhang and Hank with her writing. Mia refuses to be comforted because she wanted to do something to help her own family this time.

Back at school, Mia confides to Lupe that she’ll never get off the roller coaster of poverty. Lupe says they’re both going to get off of it together. In class that afternoon, Mia’s teacher says that all the faculty read Mia’s essay, and they were touched by her story about coming to America. Mrs. Douglas asks Mia to read the composition to the whole class. Afterward, everyone applauds. Then Mia is presented with a gift certificate to Pizza Hut in recognition of her writing skill.

Mia’s mother drives Lupe and Mia to Pizza Hut to enjoy the free pizzas that Mia’s essay earned. They all savor the delicious food as Mia jokingly reminds her mother of the bicycle analogy: “‘Not bad for a bicycle, right?’ I asked with a grin. I couldn’t resist. My mom put the pizza down and turned to me. ‘You’re not a bicycle,’ she said. ‘The truth is, I’m the bicycle’” (253). Mia’s mother explains that she always feared she couldn’t help her daughter master English. Mia reassures her by saying that she’s been able to figure it out for herself. 

Mia decides it’s time to write to her favorite cousin Shen in China. She wants to share all her good news with him. Just as she’s about to post her letter, the mailman delivers one for Mia from Shen. She forgets all about mailing her correspondence and sits down to read her cousin’s letter instead. His family is doing very well because his father got a promotion at work. They’ve moved into a spacious apartment and even bought a new car. Mia feels a stab of jealousy. She reminds herself that she ought to be happy that her family in China is prosperous. Then, she gets a brainstorm.

Mia rushes to tell her parents that they should call their wealthy relatives in China and ask for enough money to buy the Calivista. Her parents think the idea is ridiculous. Crestfallen, Mia confides in Hank. He tells her to leave the matter in his hands. Hank tells her parents a story about his youthful dreams of becoming a champion swimmer. He abandoned that dream after losing his first meet because his wounded pride got in the way. He tells the Tangs, “The point I’m trying to make is you can’t let a useless thing like pride get in the way of your dreams” (262). Mia’s mother finally swallows her pride and calls her elder sister to ask for a loan. Her sister gently refuses. Everyone else in the family does too because they’re all trying to save up to buy their own apartments in Beijing. 

Mia’s mother is inconsolable after her family fails to help her. Mr. Tang and Mia are equally depressed until Mia gets another one of her brainstorms. She thinks, “What if we didn’t need one rich relative? What if what we needed instead was a lot of poor people? My mom said it herself—everybody could each put in a little” (267). Mia spreads the word among the weeklies, hotel guests, and her friends. Soon a little cash starts trickling in. A venture capitalist who stays at the motel offers to put in $50,000. Lupe’s parents commit their entire emergency fund. Because the Tangs will need $300,000 to buy the Calivista, Mia writes a letter to the Vermont essay organizers asking them to forward her appeal to everyone who entered the contest and lost. They agree and, within a month, checks start pouring in. The Tangs now have all the money they need to buy the motel.

When Yao arrives the next day, the Tangs offer him all the money they’ve raised. He scoffs and says another buyer has offered $50,000 more. After he leaves, Mia tearfully announces that she’s going to return the money to all the investors. Her parents tell her to wait because they have another idea.

Mia’s parents say that they’re going to contact a loan shark for the rest of the cash. Knowing how other Chinese immigrants have been victimized by these underworld lenders, Mia is terrified of the plan, but she doesn’t protest. When three loan sharks arrive, they say the Tangs must put up collateral—their passports and IDs. Mia is even more frightened now because this reminds her of Zhang’s awful experience when his papers were stolen by his employer.

The next day at school, Mia can’t concentrate because the loan sharks are supposed to meet her parents again and take their documentation in exchange for the $50,000. She runs into Jason, who returns her shiny green pencil. He apologizes for taking it, and Mia apologizes for her own unkind behavior. She gives him the note she wrote months earlier but never delivered. Jason seems touched by her words. Before they part, he tells Mia a secret about his father: “He’s bluffing. There’s no other buyer. It’s just you guys. He’ll take a lot less for the motel” (282).

Mia races home to stop her parents from making a deal with the loan sharks. She reveals what Jason told her, and her parents politely send the loan sharks away. The Tangs then call Yao and tell him flatly that they won’t offer a penny more than $300,000, and he agrees to the price. After all the paperwork has been signed to transfer ownership, the Tangs and their friends have a pool party. Yao leaves in disgust, but Jason stays to celebrate. Mia’s mother suggests they all take a picture of this happy moment. Hank volunteers and jumps out of the pool to click an imaginary camera. Mia thinks, “As he held his hand up and clicked, I looked around at my new family and smiled. It was a picture I’d been waiting a long, long time for” (286).