Chapter 2 -The Exchange Shock (Continue)
1533 Words
Third-Person Limited (Kendra)
The plane ride felt longer than it was.
Minutes dragged. None of the fifteen available movies could hold Kendra’s attention for more than a few minutes at a time. Her mind kept slipping away from the screen, spinning out different scenarios about what life in the US would be like.
Home life. School life. How different the food would taste. How differently people would act. All the things she had heard about Americans—good, bad, and ugly—played in her head like a rotating slideshow.
Everyone thought she was the bravest one in the group. The tough one. The one who didn’t care where life took her as long as her friends were safe. She was the one who would fight anyone and anything to keep them from getting hurt.
That version of her didn’t get scared.
But strapped into the plane seat, surrounded by strangers and clouds and the unknown, fear pressed at her ribs. She could feel it, heavy and real.
Not that she’d ever show it.
Being scared, felt like looking soft, and Kendra did not look soft.
Still… even afraid, she felt ready. Ready for whatever the US held.
Possible bank robbery? She’d watched enough movies.
Plane hijacking? Not ideal, but she’d imagined at least ten wild escape plans already.
Being followed around stores?
Blatant public racism?
She’d heard all the stories. She’d rehearsed responses in her head. She told herself she was prepared.
She told herself she was ready.
Some Hours Later
“Oh. My. God. Look at that!” Erica shouted, her face pressed into the car window like a little kid. “Look at that deer!”
An enormous elk walked calmly along the side of the road, its antlers like a small tree.
“That’s not a deer, it’s an elk, you clown,” Kendra said, irritation slipping into her voice. “Deer don’t grow that big.”
“I didn’t know that nature nerd,” Erica mumbled.
Kendra shrugged. “Not my fault. I love animals more than humans.”
“You’re just antisocial.”
“I’m not antisocial. People are just stupid and ignorant,” Kendra replied plainly. “And because I’d like to avoid another session with my anger management counselor, I stay away from all human beings.”
The others in the car laughed. Kendra didn’t smile exactly, but the corner of her mouth twitched.
A Few Days Later
By their third day in the small town, they were still unpacking.
Well, the others were. Kendra had unpacked the basics and then retired very enthusiastically to “supervising” from various sitting positions. The girls had hauled half their wardrobes and then some across the ocean, while she preferred the philosophy of fewer clothes, less folding.
The town was having a carnival, and Jamaicans who’d always wanted to experience an American one were ecstatic when they heard the news.
School had already started the previous week, but because of the late notice from their school back home, they would be starting tomorrow. One week behind. One week of missing notes, assignments, and inside jokes.
Right now, Kendra was sprawled on the living room couch, flipping channels while the others ran around upstairs arguing about outfits.
All she knew was that they had better finish getting ready before their overly friendly neighbor showed up.
Sofia.
Kendra had privately nicknamed her The Devil Siren.
Sofia had been the one to tell them about the carnival and insist—loudly—that she take them. She was nice. Too nice. Friendly in that big, over-the-top, slightly fake way that made Kendra’s teeth itch. For some reason, the woman got extra awkward around her, which only annoyed Kendra more.
She had tried to decline the invitation at first. Her friends, unfortunately, were very persuasive when they wanted something.
Right on cue:
Knock, knock, knock.
“Hey, girls! Are you ready for your very first carnival?” Sofia’s loud, chirpy voice practically pierced the door.
“Ugh. Look what you guys did!” Kendra yelled up the stairs. “If you had all gotten ready earlier, like I told you, we could’ve avoided the Devil’s Siren.”
She stalked over to the door and deliberately turned the lock.
Then she walked into the kitchen, grabbed a drink, and leaned against the counter, feeling absolutely no guilt.
“Uhm, guys… You accidentally locked the door instead of letting me in!” Sofia called through the door, laughing nervously.
“It wasn’t an accident!” Kendra shouted back, not moving.
“Kendra, stop being so cranky and irritated all the time,” Erica scolded as she came down the stairs, fixing her hair in her reflection on her phone. “You’ll come off as rude, and no one will want to be your friend.”
“That’s the point,” Kendra said simply. “No friends means silence, peace, no drama, no human interaction, no socializing, and, most importantly, no one to share food with. Sounds like a life I’d enjoy—and probably kill for.”
Erica rolled her eyes and unlocked the door.
Sofia stood there smiling, practically bouncing on her toes. “You guys ready?!”
“Yeah, we’re ready,” Erica replied, then turned and shouted, “Guys, Sofia’s here to take us to the carnival! Come down so we can get in the car! You too, Kendra—get your ignorant ass in the car.”
Kendra grabbed her hoodie, shoved her feet into her shoes, and followed them out.
They piled into two cars. Unfortunately, Kendra ended up in the one with Sofia. Fortunately, she had brought her headphones.
The drive wasn’t long, but it wasn’t exactly short either. Eventually, they pulled into a huge open area lit up with strings of lights and neon signs. Rides rose into the sky, twisting and turning. Games, food stalls, music, and the loud buzz of excited voices filled the air.
Kendra hated that it looked… kind of amazing.
They entered the carnival as a group, Sofia pointing out her favorite games. They tried ring toss, shooting at moving targets, and basketball hoops. They won cheap stuffed animals and plastic toys, lost even more attempts than they won, and laughed harder than Kendra expected.
It was actually fun.
Until they reached the Ferris wheel.
Kendra stopped at the base, staring up at the towering metal structure. The seats swung slowly as people loaded and unloaded, the ride glowing against the darkening sky.
Part of her wanted to go up, to see the whole town from above. Another louder part reminded her exactly what kind of body she was dragging around.
She was a big girl. Not curvy-thick in the i********: way. Big, period. She knew her weight. She knew which chairs to avoid, which swings to skip, and what rides came with the risk of public humiliation.
She wasn’t one of those big girls who pretended they didn’t know their limits, tried something they knew wouldn’t fit, then cried later when it went badly. Kendra liked herself too much to set herself up like that.
She knew what could hold her and what she probably couldn’t. And right now, she isn’t convinced the Ferris wheel falls into the safe category.
“Come on, Kendra,” Jennie said, tugging her arm. “It’ll be fun. We’ll sit together. You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah,” Erica added. “We’re not leaving you down here alone in a strange place.”
Kendra didn’t want to stand at the bottom alone while they rode off into the sky. The line shuffled forward. Against her better judgment, she let them pull her along.
Bad idea.
As they were about to step into one of the seats, voices cut through the noise.
“Damn, girl, you really think you can fit?” a muscular boy standing with a small group called out, loud enough for people around them to hear.
Kendra froze.
“I think she knows she can’t fit and is going to try to squeeze herself in any way,” the skinniest boy added, grinning. “You know how big girls get. ‘I’m not fat, I’m just big-boned, I can fit.’”
A harsh laugh escaped Kendra’s throat before she could stop it.
She turned slowly to face them. “I know that skinny, stick-looking motherfucker is not talking about me.”
Jennie’s fingers tightened around her arm, trying to pull her attention back to the ride. “Kendra, leave it. It’s not worth it.”
But Kendra was already hot.
“b***h, who are you calling skinny, you cow-looking w***e?” the skinny boy snapped back. “I might look skinny from far, but I’m more muscular up close. Why don’t you come down here and see for yourself and have your ass dropped like a watermelon?”
The carnival noise seemed to fade to a dull hum around them. The metal of the Ferris wheel creaked. Lights flashed in the corner of her vision.
Kendra’s fists clenched at her sides.
He had no idea who he was talking to.
And she was just about ready to show him.
- Writer
