Tears were running down my cheeks as I was yelling with fury. My parents were waiting patiently for me to calm down.
“Hun, we know that this is not going to be easy for anyone, but there’s nothing else to do. Being transferred to the U.S.A. doesn’t happen to everyone! I mean, this indicates how much I am respected by the General Bank Managers; they’ve chosen me because… well, because I’m, uh, the best” my Dad hesitated, as he tried to explain the situation.
I could tell he was doing his best to make the whole thing sound less irrational than it actually was, but I didn’t want to hear another word. I looked at my Mum. She looked very tired, wiping her red eyes and nodding every time my Dad spoke.
“Mum…” She raised her hand, preventing me from objecting to anything.
“Georgia, we’ve discussed everything with your father; there’s no other solution.”
It wasn’t at all easy for her either, having to leave her parents, friends and successful career to follow her husband to another country.
I ran to my room and slammed the door behind me. I fell on my bed sobbing, unprepared to leave behind my friends, my home, my whole life as I had known it since the day I was born. This was all too much for me, a 14-year-old shy girl who always felt secure in her ordinary, steady little happy life…
I felt a hand caressing my head. “Please don’t cry baby! It’s not, like, forever, we’ll come back someday….”
I got up and hugged my Dad. I knew that this was going to be hard for everyone, but, no matter what, we had to stay together.
“At least there’s some good news for you: I’ll be working in L.A. but you’ll be staying at a friend’s house in Tulsa for our first year in the U.S.A., just for as long it’ll take us to settle down.”
I stopped crying and looked at my Dad in disbelief. “Tulsa?”
Zac, who had been babbling non-stop for almost half an hour about video games, suddenly stopped talking at his friend’s comment, which, surprisingly, had nothing to do with the subject of their conversation, of Zac’s monologue to be exact.
“What?” he finally asked, trying to figure out what put Kevin Jefferson, his best friend and best Nintendo 64 player in the whole neighborhood, off discussing about his favorite subject.
“I said ‘I wonder what she’s like’ ” was the only reply, and explanation, Zac got.
“Who’s ‘she’? What are you talking about? Kevin, are you on any kind of drugs or is it just the long hours you’ve been sitting in the sun?”
“Zac, shut up… I’m talking about the girl who’s coming to stay with us… You know, whose father is a friend of my Dad… Duh, Zac! Girls coming to stay at my house for a whole year isn’t something that happens all the time!” By now Kevin was beginning to get rather impatient. How could Zac be ignoring something so important?
“Take it easy, man, don’t be so touchy! Besides, how could I know? I mean, I heard my Dad talk with my Mum about this once but I didn’t give much notice… Why is she staying with you anyway?”
“Her Dad’s been transferred to L.A., from Greece, and she’s staying here until they adapt themselves to their new life... But that’s 2 months away; she won’t be here ‘til August. My Mum though, is so excited that she’s already started doing up ‘her room’. Did I mention that she’s a big Hanson fan?”
“ What, your Mum? Yeah, I know that…”
“I meant the girl, you dodo!”
“No kidding? Well, this is going to be a hell of a year, huh?”
This was the first time anyone in Tulsa had a conversation about “the girl”; without a doubt, many conversations would follow. Little did Zac Hanson know then, how that girl would soon get involved in his life…