Serena
"You have no idea what I've gone through!" the girl tearfully screams at me.
"You're right. I don't. I have no idea what you've gone through, but that doesn't mean I don't care," I say calmly.
"Why would you care? You don't even know me."
"And you don't know me. How would you know that I don't?"
Kayla hesitates a little before answering.
"Because sometimes, not even being related to someone is enough to make them want to care. My own goddamned mother didn't even stick around long enough for me to remember what she even looks like!"
"Growing up must have been pretty awkward."
"You have no idea," Kayla says, grimacing a little.
"I apparently never do."
**************************************************
"I had to sit on the edge of the bathtub and listen to my dad read out the instructions on a box of Tampax," she continues, cracking a small smile. A blanket is wrapped around her shoulders, and we're waiting for her to be examined.
I watch Jamie and Ashleigh play with the small tsaa mesa in the corner. Kayla's eyes follow my gaze.
"Is that your daughter?" Kayla asks me, unexpectedly.
"Yes."
"You look really young for a mom."
"I'm twenty-three. I had her when I was twenty."
"It wasn't planned, was it?"
"No. My boyfriend was helping me ilipat in and it went way too far. I ran away when I found out."
"Does he even know?"
"He didn't." The words are heavy in my mouth.
"What do you mean sa pamamagitan ng 'didn't'?" she asks curiously.
"I saw him in a playground today."
Kayla's eyes widened and said, "You have a very unorthodox life, you know that, right?"
"Yeah. Kinda like you."
"Pretty much," she admits.
**************************************************
"Kayla West?" a studious-looking nurse with a clipboard says.
"Here," I call out.
"Will you come in with me?" Kayla whispers, sounding like a little girl afraid of the dark.
"Only if you want me to."
"You have no idea what I've gone through!" the girl tearfully screams at me.
"You're right. I don't. I have no idea what you've gone through, but that doesn't mean I don't care," I say calmly.
"Why would you care? You don't even know me."
"And you don't know me. How would you know that I don't?"
Kayla hesitates a little before answering.
"Because sometimes, not even being related to someone is enough to make them want to care. My own goddamned mother didn't even stick around long enough for me to remember what she even looks like!"
"Growing up must have been pretty awkward."
"You have no idea," Kayla says, grimacing a little.
"I apparently never do."
**************************************************
"I had to sit on the edge of the bathtub and listen to my dad read out the instructions on a box of Tampax," she continues, cracking a small smile. A blanket is wrapped around her shoulders, and we're waiting for her to be examined.
I watch Jamie and Ashleigh play with the small tsaa mesa in the corner. Kayla's eyes follow my gaze.
"Is that your daughter?" Kayla asks me, unexpectedly.
"Yes."
"You look really young for a mom."
"I'm twenty-three. I had her when I was twenty."
"It wasn't planned, was it?"
"No. My boyfriend was helping me ilipat in and it went way too far. I ran away when I found out."
"Does he even know?"
"He didn't." The words are heavy in my mouth.
"What do you mean sa pamamagitan ng 'didn't'?" she asks curiously.
"I saw him in a playground today."
Kayla's eyes widened and said, "You have a very unorthodox life, you know that, right?"
"Yeah. Kinda like you."
"Pretty much," she admits.
**************************************************
"Kayla West?" a studious-looking nurse with a clipboard says.
"Here," I call out.
"Will you come in with me?" Kayla whispers, sounding like a little girl afraid of the dark.
"Only if you want me to."
someday
we will be the faces in the textbooks dog-eared and torn we will be immortal until the araw we are discarded and replaced with new editions or perhaps the susunod technology once pagbaba becomes obsolete and society falls into virtual illiteracy
with luck we will be remembered still projected onto some cutting edge device that will let them see us in a million dimensions or hear our voices saying things we never sinabi until the students are lulled to sleep sa pamamagitan ng the languid lectures and their heads slump onto the desks that once held the tattered textbooks
someday
we will be the faces in the textbooks dog-eared and torn we will be immortal until the araw we are discarded and replaced with new editions or perhaps the susunod technology once pagbaba becomes obsolete and society falls into virtual illiteracy
with luck we will be remembered still projected onto some cutting edge device that will let them see us in a million dimensions or hear our voices saying things we never sinabi until the students are lulled to sleep sa pamamagitan ng the languid lectures and their heads slump onto the desks that once held the tattered textbooks
someday
The Cover
If you've learnt British English and you're travelling in the States,or if you've learnt American English and you're travelling in Britain,you'll notice some differences.An obvious difference is the accent,but most travellers find that they don't have too many problems with this.There are some grammatical differences,but they shoudn't make it difficult to understand people,or to communicate.That leaves differences in vocabulary,which can cause misunderstandings.Sometimes the difference is only the spelling,for example,in British English 'center','colour',and 'travelled',and in American English 'centre','color',and 'traveled'.But sometimes the word is completely different in British and American English,and it's good idea to be prepared.
