I was ten years old and I barely knew how to use a curling iron. I had just
moved to the diverse city of Lansing, Michigan. So many different people of
different cultures so there was a feeling of comfort.
My school was probably the most cultural school I've ever attended. People from Zimbabwe, Africa, China, Asia, Korea, India and many more were spread throughout classrooms in the school. My best friends Sonya (her Dad was from Pakistan), Christina (she was from America), Jeff(America), Vincent(America), Elissa(America), Jihoon(Korea), Gianina(Philippines) and finally Katana(America) would be the type of friends that change my life forever. Their different cultures came to an interest in me each time I went over to their house. Decorations from their homelands were strewn across their walls in their houses like trophies. They told me they were memories from home.
One morning I woke up quite early like I usually did. But today wouldn't be just a regular school day, today was Kite Day. A speaker from a very important kite company was coming to talk to us about kites and then he would help us build one from scratch.
I hopped out of bed and put my clothes on as fast as I could, fiddling with my belt as I tried to buckle it down. I dashed into the kitchen which was very small, almost the size of a small walk in closet, but we were living in dorm apartments, we had to cope with it.
Toast popped out of the toaster oven and I grabbed it and took a bite out as the crumbs fell down my chin. I snatched a napkin and wiped it across and waited for my sister to come out. She had already eaten and was well dressed for Kite Day.
"Come on, we're going to be late!" I hollered as I swung my ratty, old, black backpack over my shoulder. I don't know why I said that. We were going to make perfect time. I guess I just picked up the habit of saying it so my sister will move faster. I still do it today.
We ran out the door and started off down the sidewalk towards the Laundromat that led to the intersection. As we were walking, I took a minute (as I did every morning) to study my surroundings. The sun was rising from behind the trees, stretching its fingered rays towards Lansing. The rays of light glittered through the trees' leaves, shining down on the pavement revealing oddly shaped shadows. The sun sent brilliant pink, orange, and purple colors across the sky as if someone just took a paintbrush and swiped it across. On the ground, a robin struggled to pull a worm from its hole.
We reached the intersection and waited till the cars cleared to walk across. When we reached the other side, I greeted my friend, Christina, who was on safety patrol in the morning. I crossed the next two intersections and glanced behind my shoulder every now and then to make sure my sister as close behind. Finally, we came to the long sidewalk that led to another crossing to the school. We passed a large two-story house that served as a miniature mental hospital. Some days when my sister and I walked by it, we would hear violent screaming coming from inside. That made our legs walk even faster until the screams faded out. Then there was this other house. It always had this magical feeling about it when you stared at the house and its surroundings. The yard was dark and almost as black as night because of the four large oaks towering over. The sidewalk that led to the steps of the front door was pebbled stepping stones and wild grass grew out everywhere around them. The front door was a magnificent dark oak with odd designs carved into the wood. The house was made completely out of stone with flowers sticking out of some of the corners. It was like someone took it out of a fairytale and placed it here in Lansing, Michigan.
Karly and I walked on, still gazing at the fairytale house.
"It's like Snow White's house." Karly muttered. I stopped myself and shot her a sickening look.
"Whatever you say." I snapped. We walked on down to the next crossing that led to the school. We waited for the cars to clear and then the crossing guard beckoned us to walk.
"Have a Marvelous Monday!" She said as I mouthed the words to myself. She said the same thing every week: Marvelous Monday, Terrific Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday, Thrilling Thursday, and Fantastic Friday.
Karly and I reached the other side of the road and I ran over to where Sonya and Jeff were standing.
"Hey guys, I'm so excited about Kite Day. No school work for the entire day!" I said happily.
"Oh my god, I know! No homework! It's going to be great." Sonya agreed. Jeff made a disgusted face.
"Well, I'll let you two "girl talk". I'm going to go over to Vince. Peace." He said as he walked away.
Sonya and I talked more about how our weekend went and other things the usual nimble-minded-girl would talk about. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone lined up, cramming through the doors to get inside. Sonya and I stood waiting for Christina as she was the last one to dash across the crossing to the school.
"Sorry I took so long, traffic was pretty bad." She smiled. We walked into the air-conditioned school together, gabbing away.
When we reached our classroom, we sat in our arranged seats and waited for Mrs. Gebber, the 5th grade teacher, to take attendance roll. I silently tapped the end of my pencil annoyingly against the surface of my desk with my hand resting sloppily under my chin. A calm silence fell over the room as Mrs. Gebber reached the front of the class. She read aloud the morning announcement, running her index finger down the paper she held in her hands. She adjusted her eye glasses and continued to read. Most of our faces were watching the clock anxiously, waiting for the Principal to make the announcement. Suddenly, the loud beeping sound of the intercom interrupted Mrs. Gebber.
"Will the 4th and 5th grade students please report to the gymnasium for Kite Day. Thank you." She announced. A relieved sigh waved through the classroom as if all of my classmates were holding their breath.
"Well, line up!" Mrs. Gebber shouted as she motioned us with her hands. We scurried out the door towards the gymnasium. Students flooded the halls all talking rapidly, gathered in their groups whispering to one another. Sonya, Christina, Jeff, and I all walked into the gymnasium as the students clambered in front of us. There were lunch tables set up all over with the same amount of supplies for each student. Sonya, Christina, Jeff, and I all sat down next to each other, placing me between them.
First the kite instructor explained to us what to do with the supplies so we wouldn't mess up. We all listened contently. Some of us were looking around, either at the ceiling or the floor, or glancing a look at the kids sitting next to them. I listened carefully to every step of the process, making sure I wasn't going to screw this up.
"Ok, you may begin." The instructor said with a smile. I turned around to face my supplies and reached my hand for the kite stick.
Suddenly, I got an eerie feeling almost like a flashback. A cold shiver ran through my spine and a vision was portrayed right in front of my eyes. I saw my kite, fully made, but one of the sticks was cracked in half. I must've been staring oddly because Sonya shook me rapidly.
"Kayla? Kayla are you alright?" She asked worriedly. Jeff and Christina were watching me also, wondering what had happened.
"I.I saw my kite. It was broken." I muttered, still staring into space. They stared at me crazily for a moment probably thinking I was insane.
"Nah, you were probably just daydreaming. Just have fun." Christina said as she continued to build her kite.
"Right.have fun." I assured myself, still shaken from the vision. It was so real, I could feel cold sweat dripping down my forehead as I swiped it off with my sleeve.
A couple hours later after working hard on my kite, it was finally finished. I stood back to examine it, making sure it was tight and secure.
"There's no way that puppy's gonna break." Jeff laughed. I let a grin slip on my face. I waited another thirty minutes for Sonya and Christina to finish their kite. Almost half of the students were outside now flying theirs.
Finally, we were all completed as we dashed out of the gym, carefully carrying out kites making sure not to step on them. We ran outside into the humid summer air, the heavy environment engulfing our skin. Warm sweat immediately started to bead down my forehead. I held my kite by its wooden body and ran till the wind caught the plastic. It lifted into the air with a great gust of wind and flew high above my head. It soared for awhile, twisting here and there by the change of wind. Its red plastic wings glared the sun off its shiny surface as if signaling me that everything was okay.
After another hour, I decided I was going to take my kite in to have lunch. Sonya, Jeff, and Christina all landed their kites safely as they proceeded towards me, waiting for my kite to land. It landed on the cement slowly and silently, barely hitting anything. I had forgotten all about my vision until I saw my kite. Sonya, Jeff, Christina and I all stared blankly at the injured kite lying before us. Sonya's lower lip twitched slightly as if searching for the right words to say. A short, sharp gasp escaped Christina's lips as she covered her mouth with her hand. Jeff's eyes never moved from the spot where the kite laid, his mouth hanging open with astonishment. I blinked several times wondering if what I saw was another real daydream. But it was no daydream. There laying on the cement was the kite with a broken wooden stick just like I had seen in my vision. At that very moment I could not speak nor could I think. All I saw was my vision coming true.
My school was probably the most cultural school I've ever attended. People from Zimbabwe, Africa, China, Asia, Korea, India and many more were spread throughout classrooms in the school. My best friends Sonya (her Dad was from Pakistan), Christina (she was from America), Jeff(America), Vincent(America), Elissa(America), Jihoon(Korea), Gianina(Philippines) and finally Katana(America) would be the type of friends that change my life forever. Their different cultures came to an interest in me each time I went over to their house. Decorations from their homelands were strewn across their walls in their houses like trophies. They told me they were memories from home.
One morning I woke up quite early like I usually did. But today wouldn't be just a regular school day, today was Kite Day. A speaker from a very important kite company was coming to talk to us about kites and then he would help us build one from scratch.
I hopped out of bed and put my clothes on as fast as I could, fiddling with my belt as I tried to buckle it down. I dashed into the kitchen which was very small, almost the size of a small walk in closet, but we were living in dorm apartments, we had to cope with it.
Toast popped out of the toaster oven and I grabbed it and took a bite out as the crumbs fell down my chin. I snatched a napkin and wiped it across and waited for my sister to come out. She had already eaten and was well dressed for Kite Day.
"Come on, we're going to be late!" I hollered as I swung my ratty, old, black backpack over my shoulder. I don't know why I said that. We were going to make perfect time. I guess I just picked up the habit of saying it so my sister will move faster. I still do it today.
We ran out the door and started off down the sidewalk towards the Laundromat that led to the intersection. As we were walking, I took a minute (as I did every morning) to study my surroundings. The sun was rising from behind the trees, stretching its fingered rays towards Lansing. The rays of light glittered through the trees' leaves, shining down on the pavement revealing oddly shaped shadows. The sun sent brilliant pink, orange, and purple colors across the sky as if someone just took a paintbrush and swiped it across. On the ground, a robin struggled to pull a worm from its hole.
We reached the intersection and waited till the cars cleared to walk across. When we reached the other side, I greeted my friend, Christina, who was on safety patrol in the morning. I crossed the next two intersections and glanced behind my shoulder every now and then to make sure my sister as close behind. Finally, we came to the long sidewalk that led to another crossing to the school. We passed a large two-story house that served as a miniature mental hospital. Some days when my sister and I walked by it, we would hear violent screaming coming from inside. That made our legs walk even faster until the screams faded out. Then there was this other house. It always had this magical feeling about it when you stared at the house and its surroundings. The yard was dark and almost as black as night because of the four large oaks towering over. The sidewalk that led to the steps of the front door was pebbled stepping stones and wild grass grew out everywhere around them. The front door was a magnificent dark oak with odd designs carved into the wood. The house was made completely out of stone with flowers sticking out of some of the corners. It was like someone took it out of a fairytale and placed it here in Lansing, Michigan.
Karly and I walked on, still gazing at the fairytale house.
"It's like Snow White's house." Karly muttered. I stopped myself and shot her a sickening look.
"Whatever you say." I snapped. We walked on down to the next crossing that led to the school. We waited for the cars to clear and then the crossing guard beckoned us to walk.
"Have a Marvelous Monday!" She said as I mouthed the words to myself. She said the same thing every week: Marvelous Monday, Terrific Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday, Thrilling Thursday, and Fantastic Friday.
Karly and I reached the other side of the road and I ran over to where Sonya and Jeff were standing.
"Hey guys, I'm so excited about Kite Day. No school work for the entire day!" I said happily.
"Oh my god, I know! No homework! It's going to be great." Sonya agreed. Jeff made a disgusted face.
"Well, I'll let you two "girl talk". I'm going to go over to Vince. Peace." He said as he walked away.
Sonya and I talked more about how our weekend went and other things the usual nimble-minded-girl would talk about. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone lined up, cramming through the doors to get inside. Sonya and I stood waiting for Christina as she was the last one to dash across the crossing to the school.
"Sorry I took so long, traffic was pretty bad." She smiled. We walked into the air-conditioned school together, gabbing away.
When we reached our classroom, we sat in our arranged seats and waited for Mrs. Gebber, the 5th grade teacher, to take attendance roll. I silently tapped the end of my pencil annoyingly against the surface of my desk with my hand resting sloppily under my chin. A calm silence fell over the room as Mrs. Gebber reached the front of the class. She read aloud the morning announcement, running her index finger down the paper she held in her hands. She adjusted her eye glasses and continued to read. Most of our faces were watching the clock anxiously, waiting for the Principal to make the announcement. Suddenly, the loud beeping sound of the intercom interrupted Mrs. Gebber.
"Will the 4th and 5th grade students please report to the gymnasium for Kite Day. Thank you." She announced. A relieved sigh waved through the classroom as if all of my classmates were holding their breath.
"Well, line up!" Mrs. Gebber shouted as she motioned us with her hands. We scurried out the door towards the gymnasium. Students flooded the halls all talking rapidly, gathered in their groups whispering to one another. Sonya, Christina, Jeff, and I all walked into the gymnasium as the students clambered in front of us. There were lunch tables set up all over with the same amount of supplies for each student. Sonya, Christina, Jeff, and I all sat down next to each other, placing me between them.
First the kite instructor explained to us what to do with the supplies so we wouldn't mess up. We all listened contently. Some of us were looking around, either at the ceiling or the floor, or glancing a look at the kids sitting next to them. I listened carefully to every step of the process, making sure I wasn't going to screw this up.
"Ok, you may begin." The instructor said with a smile. I turned around to face my supplies and reached my hand for the kite stick.
Suddenly, I got an eerie feeling almost like a flashback. A cold shiver ran through my spine and a vision was portrayed right in front of my eyes. I saw my kite, fully made, but one of the sticks was cracked in half. I must've been staring oddly because Sonya shook me rapidly.
"Kayla? Kayla are you alright?" She asked worriedly. Jeff and Christina were watching me also, wondering what had happened.
"I.I saw my kite. It was broken." I muttered, still staring into space. They stared at me crazily for a moment probably thinking I was insane.
"Nah, you were probably just daydreaming. Just have fun." Christina said as she continued to build her kite.
"Right.have fun." I assured myself, still shaken from the vision. It was so real, I could feel cold sweat dripping down my forehead as I swiped it off with my sleeve.
A couple hours later after working hard on my kite, it was finally finished. I stood back to examine it, making sure it was tight and secure.
"There's no way that puppy's gonna break." Jeff laughed. I let a grin slip on my face. I waited another thirty minutes for Sonya and Christina to finish their kite. Almost half of the students were outside now flying theirs.
Finally, we were all completed as we dashed out of the gym, carefully carrying out kites making sure not to step on them. We ran outside into the humid summer air, the heavy environment engulfing our skin. Warm sweat immediately started to bead down my forehead. I held my kite by its wooden body and ran till the wind caught the plastic. It lifted into the air with a great gust of wind and flew high above my head. It soared for awhile, twisting here and there by the change of wind. Its red plastic wings glared the sun off its shiny surface as if signaling me that everything was okay.
After another hour, I decided I was going to take my kite in to have lunch. Sonya, Jeff, and Christina all landed their kites safely as they proceeded towards me, waiting for my kite to land. It landed on the cement slowly and silently, barely hitting anything. I had forgotten all about my vision until I saw my kite. Sonya, Jeff, Christina and I all stared blankly at the injured kite lying before us. Sonya's lower lip twitched slightly as if searching for the right words to say. A short, sharp gasp escaped Christina's lips as she covered her mouth with her hand. Jeff's eyes never moved from the spot where the kite laid, his mouth hanging open with astonishment. I blinked several times wondering if what I saw was another real daydream. But it was no daydream. There laying on the cement was the kite with a broken wooden stick just like I had seen in my vision. At that very moment I could not speak nor could I think. All I saw was my vision coming true.