Summary

In “Penny,” Penelope “Penny” Lee, an Asian-American, was embarrassed when a schoolmate asked Penny why her mother was such a “slut” (1). They were at the Apple Store for Penny to pick up her new iPhone. Celeste Yoon, Penny’s mother, was flirting with the schoolmate’s father. Penny hated the schoolmate because Penny thought she was ignorant. Penny chose to ignore her. Regardless, Penny had hoped that her mother might pay a little more attention to her.

In the car, Penny asked her mother why she always flirted with men. She did not tell her mother what was really bothering her. Celeste claimed she was not flirting and told Penny she needed to be nicer. Penny saw she had hurt her mother’s feelings when she asked how she could be so stupid as to think what she was doing did not qualify...