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Back This Time Will Be Different Save as PDF
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 sigh. “I just hate how everyone’s all about excelling in those classes. Straight A’s. Starting lineup. Class officer. We can’t all be Brynn for President.” I can’t hold back a tiny sneer when I bring her up. I don’t actively dislike many people, but Brynn Foer-Preston, current vice president of the Associated Student Body and future leader of the free world, is one of them. The thing is, Emily used to have a huge crush on her, and it did not end well. For Emily. At all. (Full disclosure: I might also kind-of-sort-of hate Brynn just a tiny bit for being appallingly talented at everything she’s ever done, which maybe isn’t exactly fair of me. But mostly I don’t like her because I don’t trust her. She’s got a candy coating of sweetness and joy over a dark core of treacherous, cutthroat ambition.)

“Speaking of Brynn,” says Emily. “You’ll never believe it, but she said hi to me yesterday.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yuh-huh. We walked into physics at the same time.”

Hang on. “I didn’t know she was in physics with you.”

“She just got switched in. I guess she used to have it seventh period, but she got some internship or something where she has to leave school after sixth.”

“Of course she did.” I take a sip of coffee. I don’t like where this conversation seems to be headed. “So did you say hi back?”

Em sighs. “Well, yeah. I mean. It was actually like a friendly hi, like the kind you say hi back to without really thinking about it.”

Hm.

“What do you think it means?”

This is what I was worried about. I can hear the longing in Emily’s voice, and I’m sorry, but no. I’m not letting this happen. I say, “I think it means that Brynn for President is a compulsively friendly person who says hi to everyone.”

“Yeah, huh,” says Em with a wry little grin. But I can tell she’s hurt. I hate making her feel this way, but it’s better than the potential alternative.

“I’m sorry. I just . . . You know how I feel about her. You know how she treated you in eighth grade. I don’t think she’s changed. You deserve so much better.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Em’s phone starts singing. “Break’s over,” she says. She turns off her alarm, crams the rest of her scone into her mouth, and takes a big swig of coffee. “Text me later and tell me what you want to do tonight, ’kay?”

The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston