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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’m the sappiest person I know,” he says, like it’s something to be proud of. “Except for Hannah. And maybe my dad.” He picks up a twig that’s fallen to the floor and twirls it in his hands, which are callused and strong. He catches me looking (God, why does that keep happening?) and says with a grin, “I work for my parents when I’m not working here. Manual labor. I literally sling flowers and bullshit. So, you know. Depending on what you think about my opinions.”

“Huh. That explains a lot.”

“Team Romance and True Love Forever, man. For life. I’m never backing down.”

I just roll my eyes. Owen may be on Team True Love Forever, but Team Shane Morgan for As Long As He’ll Have Me is on my horizon, and that’s good enough for me.

11

SOMETHING IS UP WITH MOM.

When I went to ask her for help on my Algebra II homework, I could hear her on her phone, speaking in a low, earnest voice to whoever was on the other end. “I don’t know,” she was saying. “I’m not sure if she’s ready to hear it. I don’t want to keep it a secret from her, but—”

I knocked and opened the door, and Mom spun around, startled. She smiled and nodded at me: I’ll be with you in a moment! and changed the tone of her voice. “Uh-huh,” she said brightly, and much more loudly now. “Sounds good. Okay. I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow. Okay! Bye!”

She put the phone down and asked me, a little too briskly, “What do you need, kiddo?”

“Who was that?”

“Oh, that? No one. Just work. Anne from MVC wanted to discuss an account with me, but it can wait till tomorrow. So.” She gestured to the textbook in my arm. “Algebra?”

I’ve heard Mom talking to Anne on the phone plenty of times, and when she does, she is neither low and earnest, nor bright and cheery. And while Mom talks about a lot of stuff for work that she wants to keep from the public, this secret sounded much more like a personal secret than a work secret. And it was clearly a secret that she was keeping from me, or else why the fake voice and the quick hang-up?

As Mom reviewed the textbook and looked over my problem set, I asked to borrow her phone so I could use the calculator.

Her last phone call wasn’t from Anne. It was from Trey McAllister.

“Do you think she’s having an affair with him?” I whisper to Hannah, who’s taking her makeup off.

The door to her bathroom is shut, as well as the door to her bedroom, and Mom’s in her own room with her own door shut, but I don’t want to take any chances.