Read Online Next Year in Israel by Sarah Bridgeton - Free Book Online Page B

toward the door.
    Mia kept quiet while we walked, and Jordyn, of course, spoke to Ben in Hebrew. I wondered how I should be at the club. Should I try to flirt with the boys or stay under the radar? Was I ready to step out? Sure, I had progressed to dressing better, but I could only answer questions if the boys spoke to me. Was it enough? What if I did something lame? Pugly could rear her ugly head.
    “Rebecca?” Ben said.
    I looked at him cautiously. He probably thought I was a space cadet.
    “See you later.” He smiled at me. The bus wheels squeaked on the pavement as it slowed down.
    “Bye,” Mia waved. He put his hands in his pockets and walked away.
    I raised my eyebrows at her. “We’ll see him later.”
    “Maybe,” Mia whispered.
    “Quiet,” Jordyn said. “I want to see if I can pass as Israeli.”
    I dropped my coins into the fare slot.
    The driver turned up the radio volume. He was listening to a Hebrew talk radio show, and it sounded like male voices, in some kind of debate.
    Two soldiers sat in the middle of the bus. They pretended not to notice us.
    Jordyn sashayed down the aisle and slid into the empty seat behind them. Mia and I followed in a normal walk, and took the empty seat behind Jordyn.
    The cute, stocky soldier turned around and smiled at Jordyn. “Shalom, ma sh’mech?”
    “He’s asking for her name,” Mia whispered as the bus pulled away.
    I glared at her. “Shush.” I was taking mental notes to be used in the future.
    Jordyn took her time to answer, and swiped a stray hair from her forehead before she replied in a sultry voice. “Jordyn.”
    He pulled the string above the window. His friend nodded at us. They got up and stepped to the front, turning around to smile at Jordyn.
    “ Le’hitra’ot ,” the stocky one said to her.
    ‘Good night,’ I wanted to answer.
    Jordyn blew her admirer a kiss. “ Le’hitra’ot.”
    “She nails it,” Mia said once they had gotten off the bus.
    “I’m good.” Jordyn oozed confidence. “Too bad my sister isn’t here.”
    I thought of Jordyn and her twin sister as the bus pulled away from the curb. Jordyn talked about Naomi sometimes, and I knew they sent texts back and forth. It sounded like they weren’t the type of twins who hated each other. I did wonder why her sister hadn’t come on the trip with her, but I didn’t want to ask. I figured it would only annoy Jordyn if I questioned her home life. Besides, I didn’t want her asking me a bunch of questions.
    Eighteen stops later, we had gotten off the bus and walked through the busy streets of Tel Aviv, past shopping plazas and crowded restaurants, and we were in line, waiting to get into a club. The air smelled of fried food and gas exhaust, as the club was on the main strip, not in an alleyway.
    “Naomi’s missing a lot,” Jordyn said. “She loves to dance and would go crazy at a club.”
    “Why did she stay home?” Mia asked, not for the first time.
    “It’s no big deal,” Jordyn said.
    Mia wouldn’t back down. “It’s weird. One twin goes away, and the other one stays at home.”
    “No it isn’t.” Jordyn shrugged despite the fact that her face had flushed. “We don’t have to do the same things.”
    “Was she scared or something?” Mia asked. “You know, afraid of getting homesick.”
    Funny how Mia felt the need to be bring up being homesick.
    “We’re different.” Jordyn’s face had returned to its usual sallow color. “For instance, she spells her name the popular way, and I spell mine the alternate way. You know the yn is totally cute.”
    That wasn’t an option for me. Pugly was already the cute version of pug ugly and dog face .
    “Why’d you come to Israel?” I had to ask. As much as I hated to probe, her explanation didn’t sound right. Maybe she had a hideous past like me?
    “Naomi’s too busy with cheerleading,” Jordyn said. “I had to get away from my mother. She’s too strict.”
    Her mother had presented a different impression