Read A Summer in Paris for Free Online Page B

strange, everything is new ... and it seems like you’re really disappointed in your host family.”
    Jennifer rolled her eyes upward. “Now that’s a real understatement.”
    “But do me a favor.... No, wait. Do yourself a favor. Give it some time, Jen. Don’t decide so quickly that you’re miserable here or that you don’t like the Cartiers. Try to be open-minded. Try to give it a chance.”
    “Sure, Nina, that’s easy for you to say,” Jennifer returned. “This is your dream come true. You’ve got a great host family that lives in a wonderful house, you already speak French like a native, and you’re bound to have the time of your life while you’re here. But don’t forget that this isn’t my dream! To me, this is a ... a nightmare .”
    “It’ll get better,” Kristy said reassuringly. “I just know it will.”
    “It will if you’ll help me out,” Jennifer said. “Look, you two are supposed to be my best friends, right? So what’s the big deal about asking you to spend some time with me while we’re here?”
    Nina hesitated. “It’s just that this is our big chance to live in Paris and, well, we want to get as much out of it as we possibly can. Kristy and I are both eager to meet a lot of people and practice our French and learn about what life is really like here in Paris....”
    “Oh, I get it,” Jennifer said loftily. “So you don’t have any time for a boring old American like me. Is that it?”
    “No, Jen, that’s not it at all.” Nina’s voice was gentle.
    But Kristy stood up, her fists clenched in frustration. “In a way, that’s exactly true,” she said angrily. “Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean you have a right to drag us down with you.”
    “Thanks a lot!” Jennifer countered. “Boy, it sure is nice to know who your friends are.”
    “If you were a real friend, you wouldn’t be asking us to hold your hand the whole time you’re in Paris. We’re here to live like natives, not to pal around with whiny Americans who can’t even manage to have a good time when it’s handed to them on a plate!”
    “Oh, so that’s what you think of me?”
    “That’s how I think you’re acting.”
    “Come on, you two,” Nina said. “Kristy, sit down. Jennifer, stop shouting. Look, Jen, of course Kristy and I will spend time with you while we’re all here. I mean, we’re together right now, aren’t we?” She cast Kristy a meaningful look. “But I think Kristy has a point when she says that it’s important for us not to cling to one another too tightly. If we’re afraid of taking some chances, of going out on our own a little, we’re not going to get as much as we could out of our stay in Paris.”
    “That is what I meant,” Kristy said apologetically. “Look, Jen, I didn’t mean to jump all over
you. It’s just that ... well, I’m really thrilled to be
here. And I can’t wait to start learning my way
around this city, acting like this independent world
traveler, doing stuff I’ve never had a chance to do
before….”
    Her voice trailed off as she spent a moment thinking about what some of those things might be—especially one in particular, something she had given a lot of thought to. “Anyway, of course we’re here for you. Just not every single second of the day, okay?”
    Jennifer wasn’t sure whether she should feel reassured or rejected. Nina, meanwhile, wasn’t about to give her the chance to spend too much time worrying about it.
    “Now, enough of sitting around, yakking away,” she said, standing up and pulling them both to their feet. “I don’t know if you two have noticed, but right now we happen to be in one of the most magnificent art museums in the world. Let’s see every inch of it, okay? Did you know this used to be a train station, and it was converted into a museum just a few years ago? It certainly looks like a train station....”
    And she was off, playing tour guide. Kristy was only too happy to follow along, taking in