Chapter 4 - He’s the Worst.

Another week passed so swiftly, Kevin couldn’t believe it was Friday again. He spent half the week sitting with Cherry and Jason at lunch and their friends began to get used to him, and were willing to speak with him in English. He even recognized a few of them in his classes and they acknowedged each other in the hallways. It was still awkward, but things were definitely getting better.

Kevin was making new friends and he found that he shared interests with quite a few of them.

The best part was that he had more chances to talk with Cherry. It might not seem like much, but every little moment they spent together made his heart lighter. The morning sunlight felt brighter and he went to sleep looking forward to his next chance to talk with Cherry. So, even if progress was slow, each step brought Kevin so much glee that it was worth it.

Saturday arrived again and after another Chinese lesson with Jason and elementary school children, he was sitting one-on-one with the other boy again. Kevin’s skills were improving. He could recognize the characters for numbers now and a few basic hanzi. After three weeks, his reading skills caught up with the rest of the class. He still struggled with his tones, however, and no matter how much Jason tried, he just couldn’t explain the differences between the sounds.

Maybe I’m tone deaf, Kevin wondered. He was never musically...