Mismatch Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought we were citizens of the same country! We’re both Americans! Or have you forgotten?”
    Sue stared at Andy. Then she smiled that little crooked smile he liked so much. “You’re right. Whatever happened between China and Japan is history, and we shouldn’t let it bother us now.”
    “Does that mean you’ll go out with me?” Andy asked quickly.
    Sue’s smile disappeared. “Can’t we wait just a little longer?”
    Remembering his father’s anger, Andy had to agree that it might be a good idea to wait. But he hated waiting like this.
    As they came out the door of the sandwich shop, they moved aside to make room for a couple who was going in. “Sue!” cried the girl. “What are you doing here? I thought you had orchestra rehearsal!”
    Andy recognized the girl as the one he had seen with Sue at the bus stop, the one he suspected was Sue’s sister. “Oh, hi, Rochelle,” muttered Sue. “We finished rehearsal and got hungry, so we came here for a snack.”
    Rochelle’s eyes narrowed. “
We
got hungry. That doesn’t include the rest of the orchestra, obviously. Just you and . . .” She waited.
    Andy stepped forward. “Hi, I’m Andy, I’m a violinist. And you are . . .”
    “This is my sister, Rochelle,” said Sue.
    “Fancy not running into you before,” drawled Rochelle. “I didn’t even know that Sue had a friend.”
    “I have friends, and you know it!” said Sue. “You even met some of them. Or don’t girls count?”
    Andy hadn’t seen Sue angry before, and he liked her flash of spirit. When her eyes sparkled angrily, she looked beautiful—as beautiful as her sister.
    Rochelle raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, you don’t have to get mad!” She turned to Andy. “Have you two been coming here a lot?”
    Rochelle was obviously fishing for information, and Andy tried to think of a way to head her off without making her too suspicious. “Uh . . . you know how hungry you get after a hard rehearsal . . . ,” he began.
    Sue jumped in. She turned to the boy with Rochelle and flashed him a big smile. “Fancy not running into you before,” she said, in a perfect imitation of Rochelle’s drawl. “I didn’t even know that Rochelle had a friend.”
    “Hey, you’re pretty good,” the boy said to Sue, and laughed. “I’m Jake, by the way.”
    “Hi, Jake,” said Sue, and batted her lashes at him. It was very effective. Sue continued. “You’re on the football team, aren’t you? You look like an athlete.”
    “I play soccer,” said Jake. “Hey, we have a game—”
    “Come on, Jake, let’s eat!” said Rochelle, pulling at Jake’s arm. “I’m starved!”
    After Rochelle and Jake went into Hero’s, Andy grinned at Sue. “Your sister sees you as a real threat. She couldn’t get Jake away from you fast enough.”
    Sue gave Andy her usual shy smile, not the flashing one she gave Jake. “First time in my life she saw me as a threat.”
    “Of course you’re a threat!” Andy said as they walked toward the bus stop. “You did a great imitation of Rochelle. You have a good ear.”
    “I’m sure that’ll come in handy someday,” said Sue. “You know, I wish I could study some Japanese, now that we might be going to Tokyo. Though I’m still not sure what my mother will have to say about that. Do you speak Japanese at home?”
    Andy shook his head. “Not much. My parents tried to teach me and Tom. But Tom complained that he always had too much homework and couldn’t take the time, so they gave up.” He felt a rush of regret. “I wish they’d kept it up. At least we both learned to read the kana form of writing.”
    Sue looked excited. “Japanese writing is a lot like Chinese writing, isn’t it? I already know some of the characters!”
    “The writing that looks like Chinese is kanji, but Japanese also uses a lot of kana, the phonetic writing,” said Andy. Seeing Sue’s face fall, he added quickly, “I bet you can learn kana in no time. I’ll teach you