Ties That Bind, Ties That Break

Ailin, with the Warners, boards an ocean liner. She is placed in third class while the Warners are in second. Ailin has never realized before that the Warners aren’t rich. She starts to wave at the people below only to discover she is actually waving at someone she knows—Xueyan has come to see her off; she even went to the Tao residence to find out when the ship was going to leave. She says, “How I envy you! You’re embarking on a great adventure!” (122). As she leaves, she says she almost forgot, then hands Ailin her bag of money. She says Big Uncle wanted to make sure she had proper accommodations on the ship.

Ailin gets seasick and doesn’t go up on deck for four days. Then, she spends most of her time with the Warners in second class. She only has one bad experience when she goes to get a snack to feed Billy and the bartender orders her back to third class. She gets haughty, imitating her old teacher Miss Scott as she tells him that she is getting food for a boy she cares for who is in second class. He gives it to her.