A Summer in Paris Read Online Free PDF

like.”
    “I just hope mine can cook American-style food,” Jennifer commented. “Hot dogs, hamburgers ... none of those weird sauces and funny-looking desserts for me.”
    She stood up quickly, banging her head on the luggage rack up above. “Oh, darn,” she cried, her voice filled with exasperation. “What I wouldn’t give for a Twinkie right about now.”
    “Well, I hope my host family is very, very French,” Nina said firmly. “I don’t intend to speak a word of English while I’m here—except to you two, of course. And if my family has even a single Twinkie in their house ...”
    “Just save it for me, will you?” Jennifer pleaded, rubbing the top of her head.
    The host families had already gathered inside the small auditorium as the students filed in, looking tired but hopeful as they dragged along their suitcases. Ms. Darcy, looking surprisingly fresh, immediately took charge.
    “All right, everybody,” she said, speaking in English. “I know you’re all exhausted from the flight, and I’m sure you’re eager to meet your host families and get settled. First I’ll call off the name of each student, and then I’ll call the name of the family with whom he or she will be staying. The student and the family can meet up front, right here.” She repeated her instructions in French.
    The girls held their breath as they waited for their names to be called. Kristy was first. Her family, she was glad to see, consisted of a youthful couple with two children, little girls aged about eight and ten. Madame and Monsieur LeBlanc spoke excellent English, and their daughters Nicole and Sophie, they announced, were looking forward to learning it over the summer.
    Next, Nina was matched up with a middle-aged couple who had no children but had spent some time living in America. They were pleased that they would have the chance to brush up on their English over the summer—even though Nina insisted right up front that she would prefer speaking nothing but French in their home.
    Finally, every name had been called except Jennifer’s. She stood alone, looking forlorn, watching her friends and classmates happily going off with their new “families.” A knot was forming in her stomach. A wave of homesickness—of fear—began to spread over her with alarming speed.
    I don’t want to be doing this, she thought, blinking hard, trying her hardest not to do anything as silly as start bawling like a baby. All I ever wanted to do was to stay at home where I’m safe and happy and—
    “Jennifer Johnson!” Ms. Darcy called. She was smiling as Jennifer looked over at her, blinking in surprise at finally having heard her name called. “Jennifer, you’re the last one on my list. You’ll be staying with Henri and Rose Cartier.”
    Anxiously Jennifer looked around, trying to catch sight of her new family. She hoped they would have children, like Kristy’s family, or that they would at least be cheerful and bubbly, like Nina’s.
    But her heart sank when she caught sight of the Cartiers. They were an older couple, dressed in rather shabby clothes that looked as if they hadn’t been in style for ages. Henri and Rose stood together holding on to each others’ arms, their eyes darting about as they searched for their new “daughter.”
    “Madame, Monsieur,” Ms. Darcy was saying, “I would like to introduce your houseguest for the summer, Jennifer Johnson.”
    Jennifer felt like bursting into tears. But instead, she blinked hard, picked up her suitcases, and forced a weak smile. Already she was counting the number of days she would have to stay here in Paris before she would be allowed to go back home again. And from the way things were going, it looked like it was going to be an even longer summer than she had expected.
    * * * *
    The Cartiers’ house, just as Jennifer had feared, was very much like the couple themselves. They lived in one of the more run-down sections of Paris, in a modest apartment that didn’t get