Chapter 1

I had been on that plane God knows for how long. A few minutes ago my parents and I had said our last goodbyes. I wouldn’t see them before next summer. “That’s-that’s 10 months away!” I calculated in my mind. There I was, flying on my own to Tulsa, OK, the city that Hanson called home. Thinking that maybe someday, being in the same city as them, I could somehow bump into them, took my mind off the events of the past days. Being separated by my friends was hard, but couldn’t be compared to having to say “goodbye” to my grandparents. I would miss them so much…and so would they… I looked out of the window. Nothing but dark clouds.

A few hours later, the airhostesses were informing the passengers that we would soon land at the airport of Tulsa. I felt my heart beat faster. I didn’t want to go through this. Was I going to be accepted? How would I be treated? What would the others think of me? How on earth would I survive?

In just a few minutes I found myself getting off the plane and setting my foot on American ground for the first time. I watched closely the people at the airport and it suddenly dawned on me: I had no idea what any member of the Jefferson family, my “host” family, looked like; how could I recognize the person who was there to pick me up?

“Dad must have sent a picture of me…there’s no doubt about that…” I tried to reassure myself.

I had been standing there for almost 10 minutes when I noticed a tall, dark-haired man with a moustache approaching me. When he had finished examining my face, he said, pleased with himself: “Ah! You must be Georgia! You look exactly like your father!” He shook my hand and introduced himself “ I’m Bill Jefferson, you’ll be staying with us! Welcome to Tulsa! How was your flight? You must be tired! How are your parents? I haven’t seen them for years!” He kept talking and asking me questions but never waited for an answer.

“He seems nice enough”, I thought.

After picking up my luggage, which included all of my clothes and personal stuff, we got to the car. Leaning against it, was a boy who looked to be a bit younger than me, nearly as dark-haired as Bill. As soon as he noticed us coming, a huge grin appeared on his face and ran towards us.

“Georgia, this is my son, Kevin”, Bill introduced us. Kevin’s warm smile and hearty reception attracted me from the moment I laid eyes on him.

“Hi” I said, putting my best smile on and trying to look as friendly as possible. “Hi Georgia! I’m glad you’re finally here!”

“Wow!”, I thought, “This boy surely knows how to make someone feel at home!” After jamming my luggage in the trunk, we were ready to go. Kevin made his way to the front seat but got a strict look by Bill and politely, as well as reluctantly, asked me if I would like to sit at the front.

“No, I prefer the back” I replied. It was obvious that this was the right thing to say ‘cause I immediately got a thankful smile by Kevin.

“I knew it that we would get along!”

While driving all the way “home” I had a very interesting conversation with Kevin. That 13-year-old guy had got me for good. I instantly realized that, whether I liked the idea or not, he was going to be my best friend… or should I say my only friend? We got to the Jefferson place almost at lunchtime. The house was amazing! I had wanted to live in a place like that for all my life! My train of thought was interrupted when someone hugged me. When the person, who was so kind and hearty as to give me a hug, pulled away, I looked up to see a tall, blond woman, who looked as at her early thirties. She was beautiful.

“Welcome home Georgia! I’m Helen! I hope that you’ll like it here!” She was smiling. I smiled back.

“Feel at home, dear!” the Jefferson family said to me as we were all making our way inside. I started to think that maybe I would after all.

The bitter thoughts I had on the plane had gone. Bill’s questions, waiting for no answer, Kevin’s warm smile and friendly way and Helen’s hearty hug had made all the dark clouds in my heart disappear at once. The sun was shining again.