Su is unable to reconcile the warmth and kindness he encounters outside his home with his parents’ detachment, Pa’s in particular. Pa mistrusts white people and insists Su only play with Asian children, but their games are too familiar to hold his interest. Ma gives birth to another baby, a girl named Bo. Su’s independence grows at the age of 12, after his father falls ill. He spends an increasing amount of time at a local pizza parlor, a favorite hangout for neighborhood kids. There, he becomes acquainted with an overweight bully named Javi and spends hours watching him play an arcade game called Spy Hunter.

Su also draws close to members of the Kingsley Street Gang, notably, a Hispanic boy named Frog. The gang members, who accept Su as one of their own, pressure him to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, but he puts them off by claiming that Asians prefer rice wine and opium. A disabled gang member named Sleepy notices Javi staring at them. Javi tries to walk away, but the Kingsley Boys stop him. Su steps in to diffuse the tension. Eager to show he belongs, Javi agrees to do push-ups and eat three bars of cheddar cheese.