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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

STINGING NETTLES ARE ONE OF THE WORST plants you can touch. The silky hairs on the leaves and stems are actually tiny little hypodermic needles full of toxic chemicals, and one touch can release hundreds of them, which burrow into your skin and make it feel like it’s going to burn right off. When the burning subsides, it’s replaced by an unbearably itchy, bumpy red rash.

The conversation I had with Owen is a lot like that. His accusation about my being too wrapped up in my personal issues with Brynn (I can’t even allow myself to think about his stupid confession and the awful way I ended things) has been bothering me constantly, and it’s still irritating me when I leave Heart’s Desire and pick up Emily to go to the school board meeting.

It’s a long shot, but if I can get Em on my side, maybe some of this yucky feeling will go away.

“I’m not too obsessed with my own shit to see the bigger picture, am I?” I ask her when she gets in.

“What?”

I tell her what Owen said about me and Brynn.

“But she literally—like, actually literally—put herself in front of the movement. Do you see that? All she cares about is herself and her own success.”

Em looks out the window for a moment before she says, “Ceej, I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s right. You’re still mad at Brynn for something she did to me in middle school. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal to you, but from here, it really looks like that’s the main reason you kicked her off the committee.”

“Em. You don’t understand.”

“You’re right, Ceej, I don’t.”

I don’t want to hurt her right before the board meeting, but I have to get her to see things my way. The time has come to tell her the whole truth. “Okay, listen. There’s more to it than just an ugly eighth-grade breakup.”

Em puts her hand up. “Can you just . . . not? I feel like whatever you’re going to tell me is going to make us fight, and I don’t want to fight with you. Not right now.”

We spend the rest of the drive in silence. Emily texts like mad the whole time. When we park and get out of the car, she sighs, loudly and heavily.

“What, Em?”

“You can tell me about it tomorrow, okay? Whatever it is that’s making you so mad at Brynn.”

“Okay. Whatever.” The car chirps as I lock it, and we start across the lot.

“I don’t need a ride home, by the way.”

“Okay . . . ?”

“I’m going home with Brynn.”

Seriously? “Brynn’s here? What’s she going to do, stage her own protest?”