Everyone Talked Loudly in Chinatown.pdf

Everyone Talked Loudly in Chinatown A short story by Anne Jew Lately I have been walking home from school in the sunshine with Todd. It’s October and the leaves have turned, though the temperature hasn’t changed since the end of August. My father says the reason for this is there were two Junes in the Chinese calendar this year. I wonder if that makes this year thirteen months long or if one month is left out to fit into the regular calendar. But I don’t ask. He would launch into a long, boring explanation of the history of the Chinese calendar and say it was superior to the Western calendar. If it was anyone else, I would probably ask. Todd is very good looking. All the girls at school think so, and it makes me feel good when they turn to look at us walk down the hall together. Sometimes on our walk home we stop at the park to sit on the swing and talk. Actually Todd talks a lot and I listen. He usually describes his daily visit to the vice principal, the cars he wants, and the bands he likes. There is a Led Zeppelin logo drawn onto the back of his jean jacket in black felt which kind of bothers me. “Have you ever really listened to their lyrics? They just make so much sense.” It’s his favourite band. I try hard to stay interested in what he says and ask him questions, but mostly I end up nodding my head and saying, “Uh huh, uh huh.” He doesn’t seem to mind my quietness though. His eyes are clear blue, almost like glass, and it’s hard to describe the feeling I get when he looks at me. My whole body feels like it’s melting to the ground, and I’m always surprised to see that it hasn’t. Today Todd walks me to the beginning of my block as usual and then crosses the street to go on. My mother would start to ask questions if she saw us together. As I enter the house I pass my grandmother’s room to go upstairs. She is lying in there dying. I throw my bag into my room and head into the kitchen. I take out a bag of chips from the