Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Dedication
- 1
- 2
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
- 3
- The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
- 8
- 9
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
- 10
- 11
- 12
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
- 13
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
- 20
- 21
- 22
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
- 23
- 24
- 25
- A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
- 26
- 27
- 28
- A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
- 54
- A Note from the Author
- Index of Flowers and their Meanings
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Praise for This Time Will Be Different
- Books by Misa Sugiura
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
Brynn winces a little. “Ohh. You’re right, I’m sorry. That was rude.” Aviana relaxes visibly, but Brynn’s not done. “It’s just—we agreed we were going to try to appeal to everybody, and you were talking a lot about being Asian—which is so awesome, right? But there were only a few seconds left, and I wanted to bring it back on message, that’s all.”
“That’s not what—” Aviana stops. It’s clear that Brynn’s not going to get it.
Then I try. “That article in the Merc was all about you, Brynn.”
“But that’s the point,” Brynn protests. “To show that it’s everybody’s issue. You’d think it would be like, minorities against whites, but if a white girl like me thinks it’s important, that’s a powerful statement.”
Explaining to me that you’ve generously announced to the world that my cause is worth supporting is not the way to win me over, I want to say. She’s so clueless, I almost feel sorry for her. Either that, or she’s super devious, which I’m tempted to believe. But holy shit. Either way, she can’t stop being the star of The Brynn Show.
“So, you’re not sorry?” I ask.
“I’m saying I don’t see why you’re upset. I’m trying to help you.”
I look at her sitting there, so sure of herself and her power. I remember the one time when I dared to challenge her, about a week after she’d humiliated Emily behind her back on Valentine’s Day in eighth grade. “Hey,” she’d said, “I’m protecting her right now. People were making fun of both of you, and I made them stop. You should be grateful.”
Only that time, she had all the power. This time, the power belongs to me. It expands inside me and I feel like I’m literally growing to accommodate it, tall and strong and bright as a sunflower. I say, “Brynn, I really think you should resign.”
Brynn looks stunned. “But I— Why? I didn’t do anything wrong! Why are you being so mean to me?”
“Brynn,” says Nikki gently. “You’re not the victim here. No one’s being mean. We’re just trying to tell you something you’re not used to hearing. You need to stop putting yourself at the center of everything.”
“I’m not putting myself at the center. I told you I’m trying to help, and I don’t understand why you guys can’t see that.”
“You’re not listening to us,” says Tulasi. “You have to try to listen.”
“No, you’re not listening,” Brynn insists.
Enough of this. I turn to the rest of the group and say, “It’s time to vote.”