6

SUBWAY

“Girls, you need to wake up.”

Mom’s voice sounded very far away. My eyes wouldn’t open. I snuggled deeper under the covers.

Suddenly something sharp jabbed my side.

“Ow!” I squeaked. My eyes flew open and I sat up. I rubbed my ribs. The sharp thing that had poked me was Sophie’s elbow. The pillows she put up for protection against my feet were on the floor. I was the one who needed protection. I thought about jabbing her back, but then I remembered why we were sharing a bed.

“Sophie, Sophie! Wake up! We’re in Japan! Ohayo gozai masu!” I shouted good morning.

Mom laughed and hugged me. “It’s actually almost noon. We let you both sleep in, but now we need to get moving. I brought up some pastries from the breakfast buffet.”

I hurried over to the table, excited to see what was for breakfast. Oh. It was a chocolate doughnut that looked like any other doughnut from home. At least it was yummy.

Mom dragged Sophie to the bathroom, telling her a shower would help her wake up. It didn’t seem to work. She was still pretty sleepy after her shower.

“Hey, Sophie, you should pay attention to our vacation,” I said while she bit into her doughnut.

“You are getting crumbs all over the place,” I said. That was not like Sophie. Usually she was the neat one telling me to not be messy.

Sophie did not say anything back to me, which was also not like her. But her eyes were still half closed like she was eating in her sleep.

Dad walked into the room. He had been at a meeting with a professor at a college in Tokyo. Dad teaches history at a college in Los Angeles. I guessed teachers liked talking to each other.

“Ready for an adventure?” Dad asked in a loud, cheerful voice.

“Yes!” I shouted. “What are we doing today?”

We were spending two whole days in Tokyo before we took a train to Hiroshima to visit our grandma. Mom and Dad were letting us each pick one thing that we wanted to do. I hoped we were doing my thing today.

“We are taking the subway to Asakusa, a district in Tokyo where there is a big temple,” Dad said.

Sophie suddenly looked very awake. She jumped out of her chair and cheered. Then she turned to me and said, “Ha-ha! We’re doing my thing first!”

“No fair!” I said.

“Don’t worry, Jasmine,” Mom said. “We will go to Tokyo Tower tomorrow.”

I made a face at Sophie, but she was too busy putting on her shoes to see me.

We ended up back at Tokyo Station. This time we were taking the subway. I followed Dad to the platform. The subway shushed into the station. Everyone stood in silent lines and waited until people got off before getting on. Except for the announcements, it was pretty quiet.

We found two seats. Mom and Sophie sat because I wanted to stand with Dad. I was too short to hold on to the hanging-strap thing, but I could hold on to the pole. As the subway moved, I leaned to keep my balance. It was fun!

“How long will it take to get there?” I asked. “Sophie, aren’t you excited? Why do you want to see this temple? Is there something special about it you like? I’m so glad we are all together having a big adventure!”

Sophie scrunched her nose at me.

“What?” I was full of energy. I wanted to hop up and down, but the subway car was pretty crowded. I didn’t want to bump into anyone.

“Jasmine,” Sophie said in a whisper. “In Japan, you don’t speak on the subway. Can’t you see you’re the only one talking?”

I glanced around. Sophie was right. It was as quiet as a library. People were reading books or looking at their phones. Kids like me were sitting silently. My face got hot. How was I supposed to know this rule? I looked at Mom. She gave me a small smile and nodded.

I waited for Sophie to scold me. She loved doing that. She definitely knew more than I did about Japan. But Sophie was reading a book, looking like all the other people on the subway. Like she belonged.