Front Desk

Still shaken by her encounter with the drunken guest, Mia comes up with three ways to improve safety for motel staff: install bulletproof glass in front of the desk, set up a security camera in the front office, or install a panic button under the desk to call the police. When Yao and Jason arrive, Yao rejects all Mia’s ideas because they cost money, though Jason confides that he thinks the security camera is a good idea. Yao tells Mia the difference between good and bad staff: “It’s not whether they’re hardworking or even whether they’re smart […] It’s whether they know their place” (62).

The next day as school, Mia is still depressed by the episode with the drunk as well as Yao’s rejection of her suggestions, so she wanders off to be alone. Entering the empty school auditorium, she sits down to play “Für Elise” on the piano and recalls asking her music teacher, “‘Why put a scary part in the middle of a beautiful piece?’ […] ‘Because life is scary sometimes, little one,’ he had said” (64). Mia becomes vaguely aware that someone has been listening to her performance. It’s Jason, and he’s amazed that she knows how to play so well.