You Gotta Smile Sometimes
Proglogue
3rd person
The five year old girl was fed up of travelling. She wanted to stay in one place and have a home. And she was fed up of all the languages she had to learn. She stood at the French airport holding her mothers hand.
"Where are we going mama?". The girl spoke in French, yet her mother replied in Spanish.
"We're going to America, child. You will learn to speak English when we are in America. It'll be good"
The girl nodded, understanding perfectly what her mother had said. She was yet again moving, she had been happy where she was, but her parents had wanted to move again. Her father came over and told them it was time to go, in German. To anyone else, all these languages might have been confusing, but all three were multilingual, even the little girl, even though she was so young.
"Why are we leaving papa?" the girl asked, her eyes watery. She was still speaking in French. It was the most recent language she had learnt and she liked it.
"Because we can have a better life in America, and it is good to see the world" he replied, matching her French.
"But papa, I like it here"
"Kathryn, I'm not going to argue with you, we are moving". The man ended the conversation. The woman picked her up and carried her on board the plane.
Three years later and the family had decided to settle in a new place again. They had let Kathryn decide, and she had picked New Orleans. But her parents decided that they couldn't go and so they all moved to New Jersey. When she got there she was hoping she could make new friends, but all the children had already made friends, beings as they had moved halfway through the school year. She took a seat in the back of the classroom, hoping to be ignored by the teacher, Kathryn preferred to be alone but the teacher must have thought otherwise. She called Kathryn up to the front of the class and practically forced her to introduce herself. The teacher let her sit back in her seat at the back of the room. Just then the door to the classroom opened and a skinny boy with glasses was ushered in by his mother, with an older boy in tow. She pushed him fully into the classroom and went to speak to the teacher, while the two boys stood near the door.
The teacher sighed and said "Mikey, will you please take a seat. Gerard, you mother will take to class in a minute".
The younger boy looked around the room for an empty seat. The only empty seat left in the room happened to be next to Kathryn. She smiled slightly at the boy with glasses who was walking towards the desk. "Hi" that was all he said to her, all that morning, right up until lunch time. The other kids ignored Kathryn and she liked it that way. She did want to talk to someone but she didn't want to cause a fuss and so she sat on her own to eat her lunch. She was just about to eat a KitKat her mother had so thoughtfully given her as a treat instead of the usual piece of fruit. "HEY" she looked up to see the boy with glasses shouting at her. His brother ran up to her. He grabbed her arm and dragged her over to their little group. The five boys looked at her "we'll call you KitKat".
The five year old girl was fed up of travelling. She wanted to stay in one place and have a home. And she was fed up of all the languages she had to learn. She stood at the French airport holding her mothers hand.
"Where are we going mama?". The girl spoke in French, yet her mother replied in Spanish.
"We're going to America, child. You will learn to speak English when we are in America. It'll be good"
The girl nodded, understanding perfectly what her mother had said. She was yet again moving, she had been happy where she was, but her parents had wanted to move again. Her father came over and told them it was time to go, in German. To anyone else, all these languages might have been confusing, but all three were multilingual, even the little girl, even though she was so young.
"Why are we leaving papa?" the girl asked, her eyes watery. She was still speaking in French. It was the most recent language she had learnt and she liked it.
"Because we can have a better life in America, and it is good to see the world" he replied, matching her French.
"But papa, I like it here"
"Kathryn, I'm not going to argue with you, we are moving". The man ended the conversation. The woman picked her up and carried her on board the plane.
Three years later and the family had decided to settle in a new place again. They had let Kathryn decide, and she had picked New Orleans. But her parents decided that they couldn't go and so they all moved to New Jersey. When she got there she was hoping she could make new friends, but all the children had already made friends, beings as they had moved halfway through the school year. She took a seat in the back of the classroom, hoping to be ignored by the teacher, Kathryn preferred to be alone but the teacher must have thought otherwise. She called Kathryn up to the front of the class and practically forced her to introduce herself. The teacher let her sit back in her seat at the back of the room. Just then the door to the classroom opened and a skinny boy with glasses was ushered in by his mother, with an older boy in tow. She pushed him fully into the classroom and went to speak to the teacher, while the two boys stood near the door.
The teacher sighed and said "Mikey, will you please take a seat. Gerard, you mother will take to class in a minute".
The younger boy looked around the room for an empty seat. The only empty seat left in the room happened to be next to Kathryn. She smiled slightly at the boy with glasses who was walking towards the desk. "Hi" that was all he said to her, all that morning, right up until lunch time. The other kids ignored Kathryn and she liked it that way. She did want to talk to someone but she didn't want to cause a fuss and so she sat on her own to eat her lunch. She was just about to eat a KitKat her mother had so thoughtfully given her as a treat instead of the usual piece of fruit. "HEY" she looked up to see the boy with glasses shouting at her. His brother ran up to her. He grabbed her arm and dragged her over to their little group. The five boys looked at her "we'll call you KitKat".