Entertaining Children

  Chapter 172 You can see the stars

   When Xiao Yao asked this sentence, the complexions of the four members of the Smith family changed. Mrs. Smith paused, then smiled awkwardly at Xiao Yao: "Yang, let's go home."

Seeing Mrs. Smith avoiding answering his own questions, Xiao Yao, who originally thought that Mr. Smith did not show up because of work or other reasons, also discovered that there seemed to be something hidden in it. He wisely did not ask, but smiled and nodded. Good voice.

   "Dean, shouldn't you help with your luggage? Yang is a guest." Mrs. Smith looked at the large suitcase next to Xiao Yao, and said to the second son next to her.

   "No," Xiao Yao said before Dean could answer, "I can do it myself. I don't want you to treat me as a guest."

   "Mom, you see, he said that I don't need to take it." Dean shrugged with a big card.

  Mrs. Smith shook her head helplessly, and took a few children to the airport parking lot.

  Mrs. Smith’s car is a very popular Ford sedan family car in the United States. Mrs. Smith, who walked to the front of the car, took the key and opened the door and trunk. Dean walked quickly to the car and threw the big pick-up card in his hand into the trunk, and then sat in the car's trunk with Samien. In the back seat.

  Xiao Yao then put the suitcase in his hand into the trunk of the car and closed the door of the trunk. Seeing that both Samien and Dean had been seated in the back row, they took the seat of the car's co-pilot. Three seventeen or eighteen-year-old children squeezed in the back seat, and it is obviously inappropriate to let a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl sit in the co-pilot position alone. It is better to let the three of them sit in the back together.

  It’s about an hour’s drive from Los Angeles Airport to Calabasas. On the way, the older Samin and Dean didn’t speak much, but the youngest Elena pestered Xiao Yao and asked a lot of questions about China. Xiao Yao leaned sideways and did it patiently. Answered.

   "Young, there is something I think I should tell you." Halfway through the car, Mrs. Smith who was driving finally couldn't help but speak.

  "Is it about Mr. Smith?" Xiao Yao asked, as if he had expected it.

"Yes." Mrs. Smith nodded, and then said, "I and Paul divorced. However, neither West Bridge High School nor I deliberately lied to you and your Huaxia school. When the host family information was sent to Huaxia, it was two. A month ago, Paul and I divorced last month. In fact, it was my idea to apply for a host family as an exchange student. Westbridge Middle School also thinks that even if Paul leaves, I can take care of your life alone. , So there is no change of host family for the time being. Of course, if you do not want to live in a single-parent family, West Bridge Middle School can also help you arrange a host family again."

   "It is not necessary," Xiao Yao shook his head, "Single-parent families are no problem for me. In fact, I myself have had several years of experience with children from single-parent families."

   "How come?" Mrs. Smith asked in surprise.

   "When I was more than three years old, my biological mother died in a car accident." Xiao Yao said.

   "I'm sorry." Mrs. Smith interrupted and comforted.

  "Thank you," Xiao Yao continued: "My father remarried when I was eight years old, so I have been children of single-parent families for almost five years. These are not included in my information."

  The three children in the back seat did not interrupt when their mother was talking with Xiao Yao, but Xiao Yao heard every word in his ears, and his expressions also showed some surprise.

   "In that case, I don't think I have anything to worry about." Mrs. Smith smiled in relief, "I think you will spend a very happy year in my house."

   Xiao Yao smiled, and did not answer. Looking at the two older children in the back seat through the rearview mirror, Xiao Yao expressed certain doubts about Mrs. Smith's words in his heart.

  Smith’s residence is the kind of wooden single-family house that a typical middle-class American family lives. The two-and-a-half storey house has an attic of not low height under the sloping roof. Xiao Yao's room is in this attic.

Although the room is in the attic on the top floor, it is very clean and tidy. A large single bed, wardrobe, bookshelf, desk and other furnishings are all available. There is an upright wall and window beside it. Pots of green plants, a skylight on the sloping roof, above the bed. Because the area is not too big, the whole room has a warm feeling.

   "Is this room okay? If you are not satisfied, I can find a way to rearrange your room." Mrs. Smith asked Xiao Yao.

   "No, no, I like this room. I love this sloping roof. You can see the stars directly through the window when you lie on the bed at night. It must be very romantic." Xiao Yao said, waving his hands.

"He still thinks about watching the stars and saying romance? It doesn't seem to be a complete nerd." The three children of Smith's family are also in Xiao Yao's room at this time, passing through just on the road and now. In the performance in the room, both Samien and Dean began to feel that Xiao Yao didn't seem to be as "nerd" as originally thought.

   "If you like it," Mrs. Smith smiled, "Then you can pack your luggage and take a break. Let's go down first. I will call you when dinner is over."

   "Okay, thank you Mrs. Smith." Xiao Yao nodded and thanked him.

   Sending away the Smith family, Xiao Yao leaned back on his bed. The setting sun sprinkled gold into the room through the window, and Xiao Yao also began to look forward to his American life in the coming year.

   got up and packed his luggage, and took a short rest, Xiao Yao heard a sound of jumping upstairs. Then came Elena's cry: "Young, supper is ready."

   "Okay, I'll get down right away." Xiao Yao got up and opened the door of the room to go downstairs, but saw that Elena, who had finished shouting, was still jumping up, and people had already arrived at the door of his room.

   "Isn't it going to have dinner already? Why are you still here?" Xiao Yao said, looking at Elena at the door.

  "Have you packed your luggage? I want to visit your room to see if you have brought any mysterious oriental objects." Elena smiled with her head tilted.

   "There is nothing mysterious," Xiao Yao smiled. "You can visit, but you have to hurry up. We shouldn't let Mrs. Smith and your brother and sister wait too long." With that, Xiao Yao stepped aside.

  Elena walked happily into Xiao Yao's room. After scanning around, she found that there was really nothing special in Xiao Yao's room, and she retired slightly disappointed.

  Supper is a more American-style food, chicken, mashed potatoes with long beans, Mrs. Smith also specially prepared some pasta for Xiao Yao. Xiao Yao didn't feel uncomfortable with these foods. He ate very happily.

  After dinner, Mrs. Smith took Xiao Yao to visit and introduced the whole house except for the garage beside it, and then she told Xiao Yao some house rules. Although she was boarding as an international exchange student, Mrs. Smith still asked Xiao Yao as she did to her two high school children. What things are not allowed to be done, what rules are not to be violated, and even the punishment rules of banning feet are the same for Xiao Yao.

  It can also be seen that although Mrs. Smith is very enthusiastic and kind, in essence, she is still a stricter mother. Xiao Yao originally came to experience the study and life in the United States, so he naturally accepted them one by one without any problem.

  In the evening, I talked with my parents on the phone for a few days, and talked about my impressions and feelings about the host family. Xiao Yao fell on the bed relaxedly. Through the windows on the sloping roof, Xiao Yao was pleased to find that he could actually see the stars directly. Therefore, Xiao Yao fell asleep in the naive and boring act of counting stars.

  In the early morning of the next day, Xiao Yao, who was affected by a certain jet lag, woke up later than usual, so he cancelled the long-term morning exercise.

  When Xiao Yao came downstairs neatly, he heard the noise in the kitchen on the first floor and walked directly to the kitchen. In most American homes, the dining table is placed in the larger kitchen, and dining is in the kitchen. Therefore, when Xiao Yao entered the kitchen, he saw five plates and a few empty glasses on the table, while Mrs. Smith was busy in front of the kitchen utensils on one side.

"Morning," Mrs. Smith greeted when he saw Xiao Yao coming in, "Sit down first, breakfast will be ready soon." Then he raised the spatula in his hand and walked to the kitchen door and shouted to the upstairs: "You three Is the guy okay? Today is the first day of the new semester, so don’t be late."

  When Mrs. Smith returned to the kitchen, the toaster made a "ding", and then two slices of toasted bread popped out. Mrs. Smith quickly picked up two plates from the table, put a slice of toasted bread on each, then took out two more slices from the side and stuffed them into the toaster, turned around and scooped out the fried eggs from the frying pan. Covered on toast. Then I took two slices of cut tomatoes from the chopping board on the side and put them on the dinner plate.

Putting the dinner plate in front of Xiao Yao, Mrs. Smith asked Xiao Yao: "Drink coffee, milk or juice? Milk and juice are in the refrigerator. The coffee in the coffee pot is cooked. You can pour it yourself. But I don’t. It is recommended that boys your age drink coffee early in the morning."

   "I drink juice." Xiao Yao nodded, got up and went to the refrigerator to take out the juice and poured himself a glass, then sat down and started eating his own breakfast.

   Halfway through Xiao Yao's meal, the three children of Smith's family went into the kitchen one after another. Seeing that Xiao Yao was already sitting at the table and eating, Elena immediately said to Xiao Yao, and happily ran over to sit next to Xiao Yao. Samien and Dean also greeted Xiao Yao politely, sat at the table, picked up the juice and poured it into their cups. Looking at the expressions of the two, although they are not as enthusiastic as Elena, they are not as indifferent to Xiao Yao as they were yesterday.

  As soon as the five people finished their breakfast, there was a car horn outside the door.

   "The school bus is here, Ellie, take your schoolbag, it's time to go." Mrs. Smith got up and said to Elena.

   "Mom, will you drive me to school today, okay?" Elena coquettishly said to her mother.

   "No, mom is going to send Yang to school today, plus you, one side must be late." Mrs. Smith shook her head and refused.

   "Let's go, who told you to be in seventh grade and not in the same school with us." Dean smiled and said to Elena.

   "Huh!" Faced with her brother's complaint, Elena snorted, and angrily picked up her schoolbag and went to the school bus.

   "Let's go, too." Mrs. Smith, who watched Elena board the school bus at the door, turned and said to the three older children in the room.

  Mrs. Smith looked at Xiao Yao, and then asked, “Are you nervous about going to school in the United States on the first day?”

   "I'm not nervous, but I look forward to it very much." Xiao Yao smiled.

  (End of this chapter)