Everyday - Tina Brown (children's books read aloud .TXT) 📗

months left. I wasn't planning to ask you today.'
     'We have to decide on something. I'm going to have to buy the plane ticket soon.'
     'Do you think you can, maybe, just stay for another semester?'
     'You know I can't do that. At some point, you're going back .'

     ' I can keep on studying. I can tell my parents I still need to study more. Even if I pass the test and get a certificate, I can still keep on studying, get a job here -'
     'That's stupid. You can't do that.'
     'If you just tell me you can stay here -'
     'You know my parents want me back home. You'd have a good idea what parents are like. They're not that different.'
     'Hey, I know you better. It wouldn't be just family pressure. You'd at least try to fight for it if you really cared. '
     'Okay. Okay. You know what? It's like this. I don't even know if it's going to be worth the effort.'
     'What do you mean?'
     'I mean...I mean, I can't just drop everything and stay here forever. I had a life somewhere else too.'
    
     'I know, I know, but I was already in the middle of something there. If I decide to stay here, I'll have to start new for real, and...and this was...I was only supposed to be here for a year. Everything has been great, everything good and bad, but I've just never thought that...that...do you see?'
     'Look, I'm just...I don't know.'
     'You know you're not going to stay in Beijing forever either, and...and I just don't see the point.'
     'So what do we do? We just visit each other?'
     'I don't know, all right? I don't know.'
     'All right, there's still two months anyway.'
     'All right.'
     'Are you done with your plate?'
     'Yeah. Thanks. Hey...come here. I'm sorry. You know we'd have to go home sooner or later.'
    
*

That is why we write stories of it so we won't forget. That is why my friend's story cannot have a happy ending.
     If I had found a home in Beijing, where I am disguised by my skin, where I am a nameless unit in a sea of faces, where I am finally part of the majority until I speak and the accent reveals everything, I would have forgotten all my wonder.

    
*


     'We could always call each other everyday.'
     'Yeah, but for how long?'
     She didn't answer immediately. She sat down on the couch and looked at the ceiling. 'He won't be leading me on. I understand how difficult this all is. I mean, if it all just falls apart in the future, it won't be completely unexpected.'
     'When do you think he'll tell you?'
     'I don't know. Hopefully not on the day I leave because then I'll be bawling my way to the airport.' She had crossed her arms and was staring at the floor. 'What do you think I should do?'
     I slung my bag on my shoulders and moved towards the couch. 'I don't know. If you think he wants to break up, there's nothing much you can do. You still have a few days left. Just make the most of it.'
     'You'll have to go back to the storm, won't you?'
     'Yeah, I have to start packing now. You're done with yours, right?'
     'I'm halfway through. Anyway, in case I don't see you again before I leave.' She rose and hugged me. 'Write me when you get home.'
     'Of course.' I hugged her back. 'And thanks for the Polaroid. That was pretty random.'
     She laughed, a little more quietly than she used to. 'Just get out of here.'
     'Tell me what happens afterwards, all right?' I said as I opened the door.
     I went down the stairs and twisted the knob. The gate gave a metal clang and I left the building. Then I opened my umbrella and started walking into the sand. Imprint

Publication Date: 03-21-2010

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