Key Player

Hank, Lupe, and Mia pick up Jason at his house. Hank offers to help Mr. Yao with the leak, but Mr. Yao snaps at him. Mia mentions that they are going to Mr. Yao’s old family restaurant, but Mr. Yao doesn’t react. Lupe updates Mia on the math team and her new friendship with Allie. Mia tries to convince Jason to come back to cook in the real kitchen, but Jason doesn’t want to be judged by his dad. They arrive at the restaurant in Pasadena, excited find it open.

The restaurant has a sign on the wall identifying it as an “American Chinese Restaurant.” Mia takes a picture to send to her cousin Shen. They ask to speak to the owner and meet the older couple who runs the restaurant—they remember Mr. Yao, who sold it to them. They show Jason the table in the back where Mr. Yao used to do his homework. Jason wishes he could go back in time and be friends with his dad. They find a message under the table pointing them to the flour sacks in the cabinet. They sift through the cabinet and find a hidden compartment with an envelope inside.

The envelope is full of many more diary entries. In one, Mr. Yao wishes his parents would express their love for him more. In another, Mr. Yao makes a doctor’s appointment for his dad and has to deal with a racist receptionist making fun of his dad’s name. Jason feels upset reading another entry where a customer calls Mr. Yao’s dad a bad name and Mr. Yao is forced to apologize for yelling at the customer. Jason walks out of the restaurant. Mia asks the new owners to look out for the Chinese soccer team. She and Lupe find Jason crying in the parking lot. Jason worries that he is going to turn out like his dad. Mia encourages Jason to try and connect with the person his father is in the diary entries.

Mia can’t stop reading Mr. Yao’s diary. She learns how Mr. Yao used to enjoy playing in band and hoped to lead a marching band one day. Mia shows her dad a line from the diary where Mr. Yao gives other people compliments. Josie, the realtor, calls to tell the Tangs that they got the house. Mia celebrates with her family and the whole math team, who is there for a coaching session with Mom. Mia feels like their American Dream is coming true. Dad brings out a gift for Mia: a soccer ball. He and Mia agree to kick around the ball together at their new house.

As the Tangs run around getting ready to move, Mia gets another call from the owners of Mr. Yao’s family restaurant informing her that they got an unusually large dumpling order to the Ambrose Hotel. Mia, Lupe, and Jason immediately set off to find the Chinese team.

They wait in the lobby hoping not to get in trouble. Mia wants to know if the players are proud to be in America. They spot a man in blazer and sweatpants. Mia introduces herself as a student journalist and learns that he is Coach Lu, the coach for Team China. He insists that the team is not taking interviews. Mia pushes back, emphasizing how important it is that the players share their inspiring story. Suddenly, Mia hears a group of women speaking Chinese and sees the team emerge from the elevator. She rushes up to Sun Wen, their star striker, and introduces herself. Coach Lu tries to stop her from talking to Mia, but Sun Wen insists that they have plenty of time. They head to the hotel shop to get donuts and grant Mia an interview.

Gao Hong, the goalie tells Mia about working in a factory. Gao encourages them to silence their inner critics and believe in themselves. Sun tells them about how she left home at 10 to go to soccer school. Though most fathers in China struggle to accept their daughters playing soccer, Sun’s father supported her. However, she had a coach who told her she would never be a great player, and she worked extra hard to prove him wrong. Liu Ailing, a midfielder explains that most of the players make very little money and they count on the prize winnings to support their families. They all want to prove that they can achieve anything they want and inspire Chinese girls. Mia realizes that she is crying. Jason asks them to name their favorite food. They respond in unison that their favorite food is roasted Peking duck.

Mia feels incredibly validated after talking to the players. She tells Dad all about them and he notes how similar Mia is to those inspiring players. Lupe can’t wait to tell Allie about the interview. Jason wants to try making American duck for the players. Mia decides to cheer for the Chinese team in the World Cup final.

Mia stays up late writing about the Chinese team. She thinks of all the little comments people have made to her and Lupe that diminish their confidence as girls. Mia hopes to share her article with the players. She reads one more entry from Mr. Yao and learns he had planned to go to Berklee College of Music to study trumpet. He wanted to get away from his family and never work in the family business since his parents did not believe in his music. Mia plans to ask Mr. Yao what happened.

Mia reads articles in the paper describing the high stakes of the US-China game. Mia bristles at the way they paint the Chinese players in a negative light. She also hates the way the US team receives comments about their appearances on the David Letterman Show. Mia and Lupe rage on the phone together. Mia supports Lupe, who is nervous about her first Math Cup competition that day. Lupe wonders if she might like Allie in a romantic way but worries that Allie might have a problem with it. Mia offers words of support and wishes she could hug Lupe through the phone.

During PE, Bethany and some of the other kids shout “Boo China” at Mia. Mia finds it wrong that they conflate her and the Chinese team and ignores them. Mr. Antwell is so impressed with Mia’s article that he agrees to change her grade and makes her goalie for the day in PE. Though Bethany makes fun of her, Mia imagines she’s Gao Hong and feels her fear evaporate.

Mia throws her body in front of the ball and no longer worries about getting hurt. Mr. Antwell declares her team the winner. He tells Mia how proud he is of her.

Mia brings the grade-change note from Mr. Antwell to Mr. Ingleton, the guidance counselor. When she shows him the article, he berates her for supporting Team China, whom he considers “the enemy.” Mia refuses to edit her article, and Mr. Ingleton calls her a traitor who should “go back to China” (190).

Mia storms out of the school and finally lets herself cry in the parking lot. Mia no longer feels proud of her article. Back at the motel, Mia hints to Hank that something happened at school and Hank offers to talk it over with her on the drive to the Pasadena Grill. She runs into Mr. Yao by the pool and asks him where he went to college. He won’t tell her specifically but reveals he went to school in Boston.

Mia wonders why Mr. Yao is miserable if he got to pursue his dream in Boston. Hank strongly opposes Mr. Ingleton’s comment and believes sports should bring people together. Hank reminds Mia that her joy, passion, and kindness are forms of resistance. They pull up to the Pasadena Grill with Hank’s lawyers, preparing for battle.

The Pasadena Grill is decorated with a poster of Team USA. Hank accuses Mr. Wamble of stealing a trade secret. Mr. Wamble immediately antagonizes Hank and accuses him of being an incapable chef. Mr. Wamble’s lawyers bring up a restaurant in China that has a similar crunch burger. Hank admits that he gave his recipe to that restaurant to help them. His argument about protecting his trade secret no longer seems so strong. Hank’s lawyers show their distaste for China and quickly give up the fight.