Double Meaning

5.2

– Hey, Lisa. Isn't it dangerous to be out this late at night?

Amy, Lisa's best friend, sounded worried. Having talked for so long, Lisa's phone felt hot in her hand. She looked down at it and frowned.

[Yeah, my battery's about to die anyways. I think I need to head back now.]

– That's probably for the best. When did you say you were coming back again?

[If it were up to me, I would fly back as soon as possible. No matter what, I'm going to do everything I can to get on the plane next week. You'll be the first to know when the exact date has been decided.]

Lisa let out a deep sigh and scratched her head. She wanted to hang out with her friends, but as soon as her school break had started, she had to fly to Korea. She didn't like this from the start. Because she was the only Asian at school, she was treated like an alien sometimes, but thanks to her personality, she managed to make new friends fairly quickly.

– Okay. Jason asked about you. He was checking to see if you were going camping with us.

On top of that, she even had a crush who made her heart race everyday. A blush formed on her face as she thought about Jason's smile. Because he was the school quarterback, he was popular at school.

[Ah, really?]

– It looked like he was really looking forward to seeing you there.

[Amy, I'm going to look up plane tickets as soon as I get home.]

– You need to persuade your parents first since they're very strict, Lisa.

[If they don't give me their permission, I'm going to tell them that I'm going to sneak off to Philadelphia and join a female gang.]

– A female gang? I've never heard of those before.

[Of course you haven't. I'm going to establish the first one.]

– Haha, as expected of you, Lisa. You're so much fun.

Amy's laugh made Lisa burst into laughter as well. She finally let out a soft sigh.

[Emily's older sister said she'd go as the chaperone, so I don't know why my parents were so against it. I mean, I knew they were strict, but I don't think there are parents out there in the world that are more strict than mine. At times like these, I wish I was an orphan.]

– Don't get too worked up and try to persuade them. Good luck.

[Okay. I might call you again later.]

After they said their goodbyes, Lisa ended the call. Lisa begrudgingly began to walk back to her house. The houses in this neighborhood were lined up along the slope and had tall walls. Her house was the one at the very end of the street.

Lisa complained in her heart with every step. Ever since she was young, her parents were very protective of her. 'Strict' didn't even cut it. Ever since elementary school, her mother always waited for her at the school gates at the end of every school day. If Lisa wanted to go over to friend's house, she always needed to get her parents' permission beforehand.

When she was in 5th grade, she moved to the United States. Her father stayed behind to work in Korea, so Lisa felt a little bad leaving him, but Lisa was excited to finally have some breathing room of her own.

While she was in the United States, a Mexican woman was hired to take care of her. The woman was funny and kind. The other children were wary of her at first, but they were all nice.