Barbara Chang_The Misunderstanding by Ken Smith

The Misunderstanding By Barbara Chang

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Contents 1

Page About The Author…………………………………………………

About the Story……………………………………………………………4 Prologue…………………………………………………………………

Chapter 1 Again And Again……………………………….

Chapter 2 Depressions...........................................

Chapter 3 Start From Here.....................................

Chapter 4 Mr. & Ms. Right……………………………………

Chapter 5 Strange Feelings....................................... 18 Chapter 6 Coincidences………………………………………… 22 Chapter 7 Revenging Plans…………………………………..

Chapter 8 A Misunderstanding……………………………

About The Author 2

Barbara Chang was born on March 19, 1990. She is a 4th year student, majoring in English at Wenzao. “The Misunderstanding” is her first novel which was written for English writing class. She is a lazy Pisces girl, and there are many strange and special ideas in her mind. She loves reading, eating, swimming, and chatting. People sometimes consider her a “weird but special” person.

About The Story

“Everything was a misunderstanding, no one was wrong, and no one was right.”

Janet and Austin were used to be soul mates, but once they began to believe what they see and what they hear, everything started to change…

Prologue My name is Janet White, I could never forget the incident which happened during that year. It was winter and I was 22, working as a waitress with my twin sister Anna, in a lovely restaurant called Old Country Buffet. My charming boyfriend, Austin Henney, was a cook in a five-star hotel. Everything seemed to be so perfect at that time, a well-paid job, a happy family, and a Mr. Perfect. I 4

had almost everything that every girl wishes for, but I didn’t know it would actually happen to me.

My name is Austin Henney, a cook from a five-star hotel, working with my best friend, Josh Tucker. We lived in a small apartment and shared almost everything, including clothes, ideas, and the silver LEXUS car. My girlfriend, Janet White, was the most beautiful girl in the world. I was going to propose to her on Christmas Eve, and I had been working real hard in order to pay an appropriate wedding ring, but I didn’t anticipate for the misery which happened during that year.

Chapter 1 Again And Again “Oh! Would you please stop crying? You’re 5

driving me crazy!” I could feel my brains splashed all over the wall. “Why would this happen to me? Since it begins, it never stops,” Anna cried. “You know, it’s not your fault. They just weren’t the right men for you,” I said, wiping away her tears. “You promise? You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” she responded, grabbing my hand. “Of course I wouldn’t lie to you,” I said with a deep sigh. This was the third time that Anna got dumped within this month. Her eyes were like faucets, tears kept dropping out, and it was hard to turn them off. Or maybe she didn’t want to? “Anna, you need to cheer up. You are gorgeous, they just didn’t know. Take this, and you will have a nice sleep.” I gave her two sleeping pills and poured myself a glass of hot milk, and then I kiss

her goodnight and returned to my bedroom. As I closed the door, I could still hear her sobbing from her room. Every time when she faced the word “love”, she acted like a child, and I would have to take the role of the grown-up, even though she was older than I was. Twins could have different personalities, and that was what I knew since I was a child. I hurried finish up the milk and turned off the light.

As I was having my breakfast, Josh came back with a heavy alcohol smell and a bottle in his hand. “Where have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is now?” I saw him from the mirror. It was 7:45 in the morning, and he needed to be at the hotel before 9.

“Austin, could you… could you take my place today? I …I have a huge headache. I think I drank too much last night,” he said with a painful voice, it seemed that he was going to vomit. “Josh, if you want to puke, go to the bathroom, don’t do it here,” I said immediately, but it was too late. The vomit was all over the floor, and I suddenly lost my appetite. After cleaning up all the mess, and taking Josh into his room, I carefully closed the door and prepared for work.

Chapter 2 Depressions “Janet, meet me in my office right now.” the manager called me in while we were packing up the restaurant. I knew it was not going to be good. I 8

put down the rag and hurried into the office. When I walked pass Anna, she whispered a “good luck” to me. “Do you know the reason why you are here?” the manager asked me. He was usually a considerate and friendly person; he became strict only when he was really mad, and in the meanwhile, he seemed pretty mad. I thought for a moment, and I decided to say “Umm…Sorry I don’t know.” “Janet,” he paused for a second and continued, “you are a beautiful girl with a shiny bright smile. I mean, you have to smile more at our clients and try to be nice, like your twin sister. Do you know what I am talking about? You need to learn from Anna.” “Yes, sir. I am sorry,” I said. “Good, now you

may leave,” he responded, patting my shoulder and said goodnight to me. As I left the restaurant, Anna was waiting for me outside. She gave me back my coat and my bag. “Thank you.” That was what I said. “I hate you.” That was what I thought.

When I returned home, Josh was still sleeping. He was a nice man with a good looking face and good characteristics. The only thing that really bugged me was that, he spent time in night clubs, and when he came home, it was a disaster. He threw up everywhere and depended on me to clean up after him, because he would be totally asleep. After taking a quick glance at Josh, I took out

my cell phone and started to dial Janet’s number. I hadn’t talked to her for a couple of days, and I wondered if she missed me or not. Her voice sounded quite feeble and seemed like she didn’t want to talk. Then she hung up the phone without saying I love you. “Was it because of me?” I questioned myself.

Chapter 3 Start From Here Anna came in as I hung up the phone. “Janet, are you asleep?” she asked. “Nope, what’s up?” I said. “Well, I am going to a night club with my friends tomorrow night, but I don’t know which one to wear.” she held up two dresses, one was caramel with fluffy brown fur around the collar, and the other was deep blue with glitter on it. “Maybe you should try this one.” I went to my closet and 11

took out a black low-cut satin dress. “Oh my god! It is beautiful, but I thought this was your favorite one? ” Anna asked. “Yup, and it looks good on me, so it’s going to look great on you,” I said. “Aww…I love you honey.” Anna placed the black dress in front of her and started to spin around. I bet Anna would be the most attractive girl in the night club tomorrow, and I also hoped that she could find her Mr. Right. “So, who were you talking to?” Anna asked. “Oh, it was Austin,” I said. “It’s a bit weird that I have never seen Austin, since you have been dating so long,” She said. “When the time comes, you will see him,” I said. Anna and I were twins, but we had extremely

different personalities. Deep in my heart, I knew that Anna was better than me. She was talkative, funny, and attractive. She even had better luck. People tended to like her more ever since we were in kindergarten, and that was something that really bothered me. I tried not to let Anna and Austin get to know each other because I was afraid that she would take him away from me.

“Hey Austin, later I’m going to a night club with a friend, want to join us?” Josh asked me while changing clothes. “Nah, tonight I’ll just take a rest at home. Anyway, you guys just have fun and don’t drink too much. I don’t want to clean up the mess, you know what I mean,” I said. “Blah blah blah…You’re like my mom. Well, I’m

about to leave. Wish me good luck!” he said before closing the door. I wished he could find his Ms Right as soon as possible. In the meantime, he would see his marriage seriously, not just fooling around.

Chapter 4 Mr. Right & Ms. Right The next morning, I saw Anna singing while making breakfast in the kitchen. She made some American fried eggs, toast with butter, and sausages. “Wow, is this the end of the world?” I joked. “Good morning! Come to have your breakfast, and I’ve got something to tell you.” she gave me a glass of

cold milk, seemingly delighted about something. After finishing the abundant breakfast, we went into the living room and sited down on the sofa. Anna took a small sip of cranberry juice and began to talk. “Okay, it’s about last night. Well, before we went into the night club, I knew that I as going to meet my Mr. Right in there. Unfortunately, no one came to flirt with us, so we just had a couple of mixed drinks and cocktails, and…” Anna said. “Get to the point! I’m falling asleep. I just woke up, so don’t push me back to sleep again,” I said impatiently. “Be patient, I’m almost there. Okay, so we found ourselves quite bored, so we decided to go home. In the darkness, while passing people, I accidentally stumbled against someone’s foot, and

suddenly,” Anna paused and cleared her throat, and then she continued, “suddenly, a hand seized my arm, so I didn’t fall to the floor,” she said. “And then what happened? Hurry tell me.” Anna’s story was like a fairy tale to me which had peaked my interest, so I asked eagerly. “When I stood up and tried to say thank you… Oh my god! He was so good-looking! He had a pair of crystal-clear eyes, and he had perfect laugh lines. We chatted for a while, and then we exchanged phone numbers.” Anna closed her eyes and it seemed that she was recollecting the memory. “Janet, I think he’s the one,” she said positively. “The one what?” I asked. “He’s the one that I’m going to marry,” Anna said.

”No, definitely not! You can’t marry someone that you’ve only known for a day.” I blurted out some milk on the carpet.

“Austin, wake up! I need to talk,” Josh shouted, taking away my blanket and rudely wakening me. “What?! Josh, it is 3 in the morning. I need to work tomorrow and so do you. Now go to sleep.” I took my blanket back and tried to get back to sleep. “Wake up! Austin, I met her!” Josh said excitedly. “You met who?” I asked. It seemed like he would not let me fall back to sleep unless he finished his talk, so I woke up and tried to concentrated on what Josh was saying. “I went to a night club last night, remember? I was flirting with some hot chicks as usual.

Unexpectedly, a girl stepped on my foot and began to fall,” Josh said. “So? Did she fall?” I asked with no interest. “No, I grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t, and when I looked into her eyes… Oh my god, she was gorgeous. I bet she’s prettier than your girlfriend,” Josh said. I could see his eyes twinkling. “Austin, I’ve never had this feeling before. I think she’s the one that I’ve been seeking my whole life.” Josh paused and then continued by saying “I want to marry no one but her, I mean it this time.” I had never seen Josh so serious like this. “Good for you, I’m glad that you finally found your Ms Right. Let me give you some advice, don’t be shallow, and stop hanging around in night clubs,” I said sincerely.

Chapter 5 Strange Feelings Anna had been dating with the man she met at the night club for almost a month. I was happy to see her in love, but also worried about the changes in her that I was seeing. She never got home after 10:00 p.m. before, but since she met that man, she would not get home until midnight. As I was thinking, I heard a key in the door, and it was Anna. “Where have you been? I‘ve been waiting for you all night,” I asked. “I’m sorry, but he took me to a lot of places. We went on a Ferris Wheel to see the sunset, and you know what? You’re not the only person who has been kissing on a Ferris Wheel. God, he’s so 19

romantic, and…” “Fabulous, now take a bath and go to sleep, have a nice dream girl,” I said. I could not bear to listen anymore about her fantastic experiences. It was jealousy, I supposed. “Let me finish! He took me to a restaurant called Blue Cocktail, beef there were so delicious!” Anna said and lick her lips. “Blue Cocktail? Wow, your man has got taste. I’ve been there before,” I said. “He played Shayne Ward in his car. I knew that Josh and I are soul mates,” Anna said proudly. Shayne Ward was our favorite singer since we were young. I always asked Austin to play Shayne Ward when he gave me a ride home. There was a strange feeling growing inside my

heart. I knew something was wrong, but I could not tell exactly what it was at that time.

Josh had been changing a lot lately. I thought he took the relationship really serious this time, because he did as I told him to. He stopped hanging around night clubs, and he had not got dead drunk for over a month, which had broken his record. “Hey Austin, the restaurant and the Ferris Wheel that you recommended were excellent. You’re the man, pal,” Josh said, coming to the house door. “No problem. Just give me all your money and I would be thankful,” I joked. “Here is 500 bucks,” Josh said, taking out some

money and giving it to me. “I was joking, you know,” I said with great surprise. “Well, I need to use the car for another day. I’m bringing her back here, so don’t come back tomorrow night. Take the money and enjoy your day,” Josh said. It was the first time he ever brought his girl home. It was a huge shock for me.

Chapter 6 Coincidences Austin and I hadn’t talked for a long time, which never happened before. I knew he was busy, but I didn’t know what he was up to. As for Anna, she had been having a nice time with her man. She told me that she was going to his place today, while we were at the restaurant. “Hey girl, tell you a secret. I’m going to his place 22

tonight, and…I’m probably not coming home, please don’t tell mom,” she begged. “Tell me you are not going to have sex,” I said. I could not image the word “sex” connected with Anna. “Well, I don’t know…but probably, I guess.” a blush came into her cheeks. “Anyway, cover me tonight if mom asks,” Anna said and then went to the kitchen. When I was throwing garbage out around 9:45 p.m., I saw Austin’s Lexus waiting outside. I thought it was a secret surprise for me, and I was so touched. Perhaps he was going to take me to a romantic dinner or even see a movie, I thought. I rushed into my dressing room and changed as fast as possible.

When I was done changing, I ran to the car with excitement. In the meanwhile, something unbelievable happened in front of my eyes. I saw Anna getting into the car, and by the time I had figured out what was going on, the car had already drove away. Suddenly, I realized the thing that I had been worried about lately was, the man that Anna met in the night club was Austin. How could I not have noticed, the kiss on Ferris Wheel, Blue Cocktail, and Shayne Ward! A tear dropped on my hand and I found myself crying real hard. I tried to call Austin, but there was no reply.

I spent the night at a coffee shop trying to figure

out what I should say for the proposal. I was going to call Janet to see if she wanted to see a movie, but I left my cell phone at home. When I went home, the girl had already left, and Josh was having breakfast. “Hey, pal. How was last night? Pretty good, huh?” I asked. “Man, she’s amazing. She’s definitely better than your girl. She never told me that she’s got a tattoo on the back of her neck,” he said. “Girls these day love tattoos, mine has one too. It‘s a little swallowtail butterfly, and it’s sexy,” I said. “That’s spooky! My girlfriend’s is a swallowtail butterfly too,” Josh replied. “Interesting, maybe we could introduce them to each other someday. Perhaps at Old Country

Buffet, because my girlfriend works there,” I said. “Things are getting weird, my girlfriend works there, too. Don’t tell me that your girlfriend graduated from Georgia Tech.” he furrowed his brows, and then he took out his cell phone and showed me a picture. On the picture, there was a girl wearing nothing but underwear lying on Josh’s bed. “Is that her? I took this picture the day she came to our home,” Josh said. “Jesus Christ! We’re talking about the same girl. Did you…did you have sex with her?” I closed my eyes and asked. “I…I’m sorry,” Josh apologized. “Did she ask you to call her…” “Baby boo? Yeah… She did,” Josh interrupted. “God! That whore…I was going to propose to her!”

I took out the papers that I wrote last night and tore them into pieces. Over the next 40 minutes, we made a plan for revenging, which started from Josh’s call. He told her he was sorry that he could not spend Christmas Eve with her, because he needed to work on that day. Then, I phoned Janet…

Chapter 7 Revenging Plans Austin phoned me and said that he wanted to spend Christmas Eve with me. I wondered what he would do about Anna. “Great! My boyfriend needs to work on Christmas Eve.” that explained the reason. “What a pity,” I said. I could not bear staying with Anna in the same room anymore. At the same time, 27

a great idea popped into my mind. “Hey, do you want to come to the dinner with me? I could introduce my boyfriend to you. Isn’t that great?” I asked, pretending to be nice. “That’s so sweet of you, are you sure that I could go?” Anna asked. “Yeah, why not?” I replied, faking a smile. On Christmas Eve, I woke up earlier than usual. I knew that Anna took vitamins every morning, so I replaced them with poison. By the end of this day, her heart would stop beating, and lead her to death. Everything would happen in front of Austin, the betrayer. He would be surprised to see both of his girls, his girlfriend and his mistress come to the dinner. Then, he would see his mistress die in front

of him, and he could do nothing to help. Thinking of this, I smiled.

I phoned Janet and told her that I wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her at Blue Cocktail, and she accepted. She didn’t know what would happen when she come to the restaurant. I would pretend to propose to her, and just before she replied, Josh would show up. She will be surprised and humiliated to see both her men at the restaurant. “She needs to know that she has been messing with the wrong men,” I said in a deep voice.

Chapter 8 A Misunderstanding “Oh crap! I forget to bring the present,” I said when we arrived at Blue Cocktail. 29

“What present?” Anna asked. “Present for my boyfriend, I can’t believe this,” I said. “Where did you put it? I’ll get it for you,” she said. “Nah, it’s fine. I could give it to him some other day,” I said. “No no no…I’ll get it for you, seriously,” Anna insisted. “Okay, I put it on my table. It’s a small box with blue wrapping paper and a red ribbon,” I replied. Then, she left. When I arrived at the restaurant, I checked the time. It was 11:18 p.m., and it took 20 minutes for us to get here, which means it took 40 minutes for a round-trip. Virtually, when Anna got back, it would be around midnight, and her heart would stop beating at midnight. I double checked the plan and I walked toward Austin.

“Hey honey. I miss you so much, did you miss me?” I said, kissing on his cheek. “Of course I did, come here,” he replied, kissing on my lips. After ordering dishes, he then began to talk. “Baby boo, I need to tell you something,” Austin said. “Really? Me too. Could you hold it till midnight?” I asked. He accepted, and then we started to talk about something really unimportant. Around 11:56 p.m., Austin stood up and walked toward me. He then knelt down and took out a ring. “Janet, would you marry me?” he said, grabbing my hand and hold it tight. It came so unexpected that I didn’t know what to say. In the meantime, Anna came back, which saved me from an awkward moment.

“It’s snowing outside, and I’m freezing like an ice pop.” she came with the present. “I think I might catch a cold. I feel dizzy.” she tried to touch her forehead, but before she did, she passed out. I peeked at Austin. His face went pale in one second, and I act as what I had planed earlier. I screamed and bent down to hold Anna. “My God, what happened to you? Help, anyone help! Anna, wake up. Please don’t fall asleep, please!” I yelled, faking some tears. I took a glass of water from the table, and tried to let Anna drink it. After a few seconds, she passed away, just as I had expected. Suddenly, a man dashed in and took Anna away from me and shouted “Baby, please don’t leave me. Open your eyes, please, open your eyes and talk to me,” the man cried, “when I first saw

you at the night club, I knew that I wanted to marry nobody but the girl standing right in front of me, wearing that black low-cut satin dress. Open your eyes, Anna… ” he choked with sobs. “Josh, I’m sorry,” Austin said while patting his back. Suddenly, I realized that I had made an unforgiveable mistake. I thought the man that Anna had been dating was Austin, but it was actually Josh. Austin had told me once that he lived with his best friend, and they shared the same car. How could I not have thought of this? Anna died just because I made a stupid mistake. Things around me started to spin. I screamed and I cried. Finally, I passed out.

When I saw Janet’s twin sister, I suddenly

realized that Josh and I had made a mistake. I knew that Janet had a sister, but she never told me that they were twins. When Janet let her sister drink the water, I was too surprised to stop her. I had poisoned the cup verge before they came, but Janet was the one who was supposed to drink it, not her sister. Everything was a misunderstanding. No one was wrong, and no one was right.

About The Story “Everything was a misunderstanding, no one was wrong, and no one was right.”

Janet and Austin were used to be soul mates, but once they began to believe what they see and what they hear, everything started to change…