Fresh Off the Boat [2]
anonymous
November 5 2009, 07:09:13 UTC
Aiyah, I forgot to put the title in the first post. Pretend it's there. e.e;;
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"A friend of mine had his appointment with Mister Jones yesterday," Yao said, and America liked the statement even less with the way the boy said it, voice a little shaky, working to keep recognition out. "He said Mister Jones was a fatty, middle-aged man with a tacky mustache."
"Really," America said, finding himself running his fingers over his lip without thought. "And this friend, did he say--?"
"College!" Yao burst, face steaming red, as he reached into his backpack to pull out his school transcript. "We are here to talk about college, yes?"
America glanced half-heartedly at the proferred paper, and looked back at Yao's face. He had to know. "What college were you thinking of going to?" He bit his lip at the sarcasm he hadn't managed to keep from his tone. This question was met with a quiet "aiyohh" and a not-so-discreet facepalm.
America took this time to actually read over the transcript this time. Name: Wang, Yao; Date of Birth: 10/1. GPA: 3.6. The chart of grades didn't reach past the beginning of the current school year, just a quarter ago.
"I- I see you're, on an exchange program, are you?" he said, trying to keep the conversation going. "From. . . . from China, I presume."
"Yes, China. Exchange. From China." Yao's leg had started shaking up and down, and America recognized it as the nervous habit it was.
America was getting tired of this. He let out a huge sigh of frustration; he wasn't too fond of silences and lulls in conversation, and why keep lying to each other when both knew what was so obvious?
"China," he said, and this time he could see in the boy's eyes that this was not a redundant echo of their small talk. "What brings you here to America, then? China. . . is so far away."
The boy's shoulders slumped, and the leg started shaking faster. ". . . You think you have a idear why I would come here, aru?"
"It's not for a reason like gaining intelligence or a position to spread your communist influence over the--"
"Aiyah, ni zhege-- No! I wordn't fly all the way here for that, ben bai gui--"
"Sorry! Okay, sorry, I just want to make sure! Calm down, man!" America had shoved his chair back and walked around the desk, worried that the boy - who wasn't really a boy, he remembered, was actually a resiliant immortal with a bitter history - would climb over his desk in his offended temper, and ruin everything for them both; and he wasn't only thinking of the transcripts and student files.
----- Translation notes: Aiyah, ni zhege-- . . . ben bai gui-- = "Argh, you little-- . . . Idiot White Ghost--" "White Ghost" is an insulting term for white people. It refers to how, in ancient times, people with pale skin and hair (like albinos) were considered cursed people, or ghost people, as they were so rare and weak. When westerners came along, it was "Oh god! A whole bunch of ghosts!"
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"A friend of mine had his appointment with Mister Jones yesterday," Yao said, and America liked the statement even less with the way the boy said it, voice a little shaky, working to keep recognition out. "He said Mister Jones was a fatty, middle-aged man with a tacky mustache."
"Really," America said, finding himself running his fingers over his lip without thought. "And this friend, did he say--?"
"College!" Yao burst, face steaming red, as he reached into his backpack to pull out his school transcript. "We are here to talk about college, yes?"
America glanced half-heartedly at the proferred paper, and looked back at Yao's face. He had to know. "What college were you thinking of going to?" He bit his lip at the sarcasm he hadn't managed to keep from his tone. This question was met with a quiet "aiyohh" and a not-so-discreet facepalm.
America took this time to actually read over the transcript this time. Name: Wang, Yao; Date of Birth: 10/1. GPA: 3.6. The chart of grades didn't reach past the beginning of the current school year, just a quarter ago.
"I- I see you're, on an exchange program, are you?" he said, trying to keep the conversation going. "From. . . . from China, I presume."
"Yes, China. Exchange. From China." Yao's leg had started shaking up and down, and America recognized it as the nervous habit it was.
America was getting tired of this. He let out a huge sigh of frustration; he wasn't too fond of silences and lulls in conversation, and why keep lying to each other when both knew what was so obvious?
"China," he said, and this time he could see in the boy's eyes that this was not a redundant echo of their small talk. "What brings you here to America, then? China. . . is so far away."
The boy's shoulders slumped, and the leg started shaking faster. ". . . You think you have a idear why I would come here, aru?"
"It's not for a reason like gaining intelligence or a position to spread your communist influence over the--"
"Aiyah, ni zhege-- No! I wordn't fly all the way here for that, ben bai gui--"
"Sorry! Okay, sorry, I just want to make sure! Calm down, man!" America had shoved his chair back and walked around the desk, worried that the boy - who wasn't really a boy, he remembered, was actually a resiliant immortal with a bitter history - would climb over his desk in his offended temper, and ruin everything for them both; and he wasn't only thinking of the transcripts and student files.
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Translation notes:
Aiyah, ni zhege-- . . . ben bai gui-- = "Argh, you little-- . . . Idiot White Ghost--"
"White Ghost" is an insulting term for white people. It refers to how, in ancient times, people with pale skin and hair (like albinos) were considered cursed people, or ghost people, as they were so rare and weak. When westerners came along, it was "Oh god! A whole bunch of ghosts!"
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