Hiding Pandora by Mercy Amare Read Free Book Online

just don’t look like a Pandora to me.”
    “That’s because I’m not.”
    Winston reaches for the door and holds it open.
    “Ready?” he asks.
    I nod and wait for him to walk in the door.
    “You first,” he says.
    “Why are you holding the door open for me?”
    “To be polite.”
    “Americans consider it polite to hold open the door for somebody else?” I ask.
    “Yes,” he answers.
    “Americans are so weird,” I say, then walk through the open door.
    “So, you’re saying that nobody has ever held the door open for you before,” he says, walking up beside me.
    “Not that I can remember,” I answer. “Maybe my appa as a kid, but I don’t really remember what life was like when I lived in America the first time.”
    Inside the music is playing. It’s loud, but not so loud that we can’t still talk.
    “So, you want to dance?” I ask.
    “Yeah,” he answers, and we walk out onto the dance floor.
    They’re playing an American pop song. I recognize it. American music is popular in Korea too, but I prefer Korean music.
    “I thought Korean girls were very shy and laid back,” he says.
    “I am.”
    “Not really,” he says, laughing. “Most girls don’t usually ask a guy to dance.”
    “I thought that was what we came here for,” I say. “I always say what I think. I guess maybe Americans take that the wrong way.”
    “Maybe,” he says.
    “When I first came back here, I called somebody fat, which apparently is a big no-no,” I say. “She was fat, so I don’t know why it was such a big deal. The girl cried. But I wasn’t saying it to be hateful.”
    He shakes his head. “You have a lot to learn.”
    “Oh, I know. It seems like four months of a cram course in American culture would be enough,” I say.
    Winston laughs.
    “You’re too stiff,” I tell him, noticing his hip movement.
    “I’m a bad dancer,” he says, looking a bit embarrassed.
    He is very bad, but anybody can learn if they’re willing to try.
    “I can teach you,” I say.
    “I’d like that. How about I watch?” he suggests. “Then you can teach me what you did.”
    “Okay,” I say.
    I first show him an easy one. It’s known as the Arrogant Dance . A lot of K-Pop artists have used this in their videos. It’s really, really simple. I literally learned it in less than a minute.
    “How do you move your hips like that?” he asks.
    “It’s easy,” I say. “Do you think we can get them to play a K-Pop song. Because I know basically every dance to every song.”
    “What? Why?” he asks. “How?”
    I shrug. “I don’t know. Why do American pop singers not dance?”
    “You have a point. My older sister still knows the moves to Bye, Bye, Bye by N’Sync,” he says.
    “Who is N’Sync?” I ask.
    “Never mind,” he says. “I’ll go ask the DJ to play something so I can see your badass moves.”
    He walks over and says something to the DJ, and I wait there. Almost immediately, the DJ builds the beat and a familiar sound is coming out.
    Naega jeil jal naga.
    I grin. It’s my favorite 2NE1 song.
    Winston walks back over to me, and watches me.
    The beginning of the dance starts out slow. Mostly a lot of hip movements. But by the second verse, there are a lot of movements that require me to get on the ground, making me wish I was wearing pants. I’m so focused on the dance, that I don’t notice the crowd forming around me.
    So much for not drawing attention to myself. Agent Alice would be so mad right now. Good thing she’s not here.
    The fact that I dance well enough to draw a crowd makes me a bit giddy. But then, I miss home, because if I was in Korea dancing to this song, my best friend would join in and she would know all the moves.
    I push back thoughts of her, and just dance. I know she would be proud of me if she saw me right now, and she wouldn’t want me sad that she’s not here.
    The song comes to an end and the DJ fades it into a One Direction song. I’ll be honest, the song sounds pretty lame