Mismatch by Lensey Namioka Page A

that the parents of the players paid for all the tickets.”
    There was a murmur from the audience. Andy turned and looked at his father. “Of course I’ll pay for your ticket!” his father said. “It doesn’t cost any more than the music camp you’ve been attending for the last three years!”
    “Mrs. Fulton, we should not forget that Kasei is a private school, where wealthy parents send their kids,” said a parent. “Let’s remember that Lakeview High is a public school, open to students of all backgrounds!”
    “Not everybody here can afford a round-trip plane ticket to Tokyo at the drop of a hat,” said another voice.
    “There is something else,” said Mrs. Fulton. “Japanese parents typically spend a lot more money on their children than we do, I am told. Many families have only one child, or at most two, so they tend to spend more on each child.”
    “We have families here with three, four, or more children,” said another parent. “We can’t all afford to buy tickets to Tokyo. I don’t think it would be fair if only players from rich families go to Japan.”
    “I think I can safely say that we all agree with you,” said Mrs. Fulton. “Therefore, we are here tonight to think of some way to find money for the tickets for
all
the players.”
    “Hear, hear!” came from a number of parents.
    “All right, we’re agreed on that,” said Mrs. Fulton. “One way of raising money is to go door to door and solicit.”
    “By ringing every doorbell in the school district, we’ll involve the whole community in the orchestra’s visit to Japan,” said another parent. “I think this is a good idea.”
    “If you just ring doorbells and ask for money, people might give you one or two dollars,” objected a parent. “We’d have to get contributions from
thousands
of people to pay for all the tickets!”
    Andy groaned. He pictured himself ringing doorbells and saying with a bright, toothy smile, “Hi, how would you like to contribute some money to help send the Lakeview High School Orchestra to Japan?”
    Other suggestions were made: a bake sale, a car wash. It was decided that none of these schemes would produce enough money in time for the trip.
    “How about an auction?” suggested one parent. “If you just ask for money, people will give you only one or two dollars. But they’ll offer a lot more money if you can give them something they want.”
    “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!” said several people. Mrs. Fulton made the motion to adopt the proposal and was seconded. “Shall we have a show of hands?” she asked. The motion was approved by such a large majority that it was unnecessary to count the votes. It was decided that there would be an auction, and that the orchestra members would also solicit donations door to door and hold a car wash to increase their chances of raising enough money.
    After the meeting ended, Andy and his parents got up from their hard wooden bench and went down to the floor of the gym. They joined the other parents and stood around talking, mostly about what they could contribute for the auction.
    “I can offer a gourmet dinner for six,” offered one mother.
    “Yeah? And who’s going to do the cooking?” asked her husband.
    One couple said they would offer tickets to some Seattle Seahawks games, while another couple offered a week at their beach cabin.
    Andy had a sudden vision of bidding for the beach cabin and staying there with Sue. They could swim all day, barbecue some burgers for supper . . . and then the picture became . . . well . . . exciting. He realized that he was breathing fast and tried to focus on what the other parents were saying.
    He moved toward the refreshment table to get some juice—some ice-cold juice. Was he still daydreaming, or was it really Sue at the other end of the table?
    She was standing with a middle-aged couple, and from the family resemblance, Andy guessed that they were Sue’s parents. Andy eagerly studied the woman, Sue’s