Chinese Cinderella: The true story of an unwanted daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

Author:Adeline Yen Mah [Mah, Adeline Yen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2009-05-05T16:00:00+00:00

“What happened to you yesterday?” Wu Chun-mei whispered as we took our seats in the classroom to begin our lessons. ‘We waited and waited for you to cut the cake, only to find out from your mother that you weren’t coming back.”

My face was still smarting from Niang’s slaps. Was it my imagination or was my friend looking at me strangely? I couldn’t help wondering if my face was bruised or swollen. Did she suspect something?

I opened my book and hid behind it as I muttered, “Sorry. My mother wanted me to help around the house. You know how mothers are.” I was searching desperately for a plausible excuse when Teacher Wong inadvertently came to my rescue.

“Yen Jun-ling () Wu Chun-mei! Stop talking at once and start paying attention!” she commanded in a loud voice. “Now, I want all of you to listen carefully. Tomorrow is a very special day because it is election day. Tomorrow is the day when you will cast your votes to choose your class president. Do you remember what your headmistress told you at general assembly two weeks ago? To refresh your memory, she has instructed me to read that part of her speech again.

“‘Being class president of your grade, the sixth form, is a rare honor. To begin with, this year will be your final year at Sheng Xin Primary School. On graduation, most of you will go on to the first form at Aurora Middle School next door. Yours is the only class permitted to elect its president democratically, the same as in the United States of America. The head girls of all the lower grades are chosen by their form mistresses. Only in your form, the sixth and highest form, do we allow a free election to be held. Instead of suggesting names to you, we grant you the right to nominate your own candidates. The winner will be president not only of your class, but the head girl of our entire school!’

“The election will be held in our classroom during the first period tomorrow. I have brought some colored balloons and large sheets of scrap paper. During recess and for one hour after school today, you are permitted to stay in your classroom and blow up balloons or work on your campaign posters if you so desire. Let this be your first experience of ‘democracy in action.’”

On hearing this, Wu Chun-mei and I looked at each other with dismay. When our headmistress had first made the announcement two weeks earlier, my friend had immediately nominated me as a candidate and volunteered to be my campaign manager. However, her birthday had driven all else from our minds, and we had forgotten all about it.

Unfortunately Chen Lei-lei, our chief rival, had not forgotten. Her father was a military general in the Nationalist army. She came to school every morning in a chauffeured black Cadillac complete with bulletproof glass, escorted by an armed white Russian bodyguard.

Between periods, Chen Lei-lei handed out chocolate bars, beef jerky, pencils and bookmarks to the whole class.

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