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Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
  6. 3
  7. The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
  20. 13
  21. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
  33. 23
  34. 24
  35. 25
  36. A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
  37. 26
  38. 27
  39. 28
  40. A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
  41. 29
  42. 30
  43. 31
  44. 32
  45. 33
  46. 34
  47. 35
  48. 36
  49. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
  50. 37
  51. 38
  52. 39
  53. 40
  54. 41
  55. 42
  56. 43
  57. 44
  58. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
  59. 45
  60. 46
  61. 47
  62. 48
  63. 49
  64. 50
  65. 51
  66. 52
  67. 53
  68. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
  69. 54
  70. A Note from the Author
  71. Index of Flowers and their Meanings
  72. Acknowledgments
  73. About the Author
  74. Praise for This Time Will Be Different
  75. Books by Misa Sugiura
  76. Back Ad
  77. About the Publisher

I try not to feel like Emily’s rubbing my own insignificance in my face. On the other hand, there’s no denying that Brynn could be an important piece. Whatever. It’s fine. This is bigger than Emily’s new lacrosse-fan/AP-English squad, bigger than her crush on Brynn, bigger than Brynn’s increasingly obvious crush on Emily. I can focus on the big picture. I am not jealous. I don’t need to be Emily’s protector. I trust our friendship.

28

I EXPECT SCHOOL TO BE A NIGHTMARE, SINCE the Katsuyama-McAllister-Motohara story will be the latest, hottest news, but apart from a couple of teachers pulling me aside to ask me about it, nothing happens. I guess I overestimated how many people know me or care about the news. “That’s okay,” says Owen at lunch. “It gives us more space to plan.”

When Owen and I arrive at Heart’s Desire after school, totally ready to take on the world, Hannah calls us over and shows us a video on her phone. While we were strategizing what to do about the McAllister news at Sweet Emily’s and at school, Mom and the other partners at McAllister Venture Capital were apparently doing the same thing in the war room of MVC. And while I was learning the subjunctive past perfect tense in Spanish, Trey McAllister, scion of the McAllister family, CEO of McAllister Venture Capital, and Mom’s boss, was holding a press conference in the lobby of the McAllister Foundation. Mom’s there in the background, with the other partners.

In the video, Trey, dressed in a dapper charcoal-gray pin-striped suit, sapphire-blue necktie, and hipster glasses with thick black frames, steps up to a podium and starts reading from a piece of paper.

“I would like to address the actions of my grandfather Robert McAllister Senior, as reported in today’s San Jose Mercury News,” he begins. “The entire McAllister family, on behalf of the organizations we represent, wishes to express our deepest regrets for my grandfather’s actions, as well as their harmful consequences. We condemn the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. My grandfather’s views, like those of many Americans at the time, were mistaken and uninformed. Having lost his brother to the Pearl Harbor attack a few weeks prior to Executive Order 9066, he was probably motivated by justifiable anger, fear, and grief; however, this does not excuse his attitude toward the Japanese American community or his acquisition of their property.”

“I think you just tried to excuse him, though,” grumbles Owen.