Cassandra The African Girl (COMPLETE) (EDITED)

Chapter 7

The night was absolutely dreadful, mate! This place feels like an icebox, and the morning was no better. Lin, that cheeky bugger, woke me up by dousing me with icy water. While I reckon cold water beats hot water any day, it was a right rude awakening.

"Are you out of your mind? How could you do that? What's your problem?" I lashed out, but she just gave me an indifferent shrug and sauntered off.

"Get a move on or I'm leaving without you," she barked over her shoulder. I was seething, but all I could manage was to flash her the finger and mumble some choice words under my breath.

Blimey! I completely forgot about the uniform situation. I hadn't bought one, and it was turning into a proper disaster. "Lin, I've got a massive problem," I said, barging into the bathroom.

"Get out! Get out!" she bellowed. Oh, the lass was starkers. I'll never be able to unsee that. She emerged wrapped in a towel, looking peeved as all get out. "What's your deal?" she yelled.

"I've got a problem," I said, my voice tinged with worry.

"No kidding," she retorted sarcastically.

"Not that, you psycho! I didn't get a uniform," I clarified.

"I don't know where you're from, but this is Chicago. You wear whatever you want to school. Ugh! Could you please hurry up? You're going to make us both late. I don't even know why I agreed to this," she grumbled.

"You've got your own set of life problems," I muttered.

"What did you say?" she asked, her expression deadly serious.

"Nothing," I mumbled, then scurried off to my room.

Who does Lin think she is, just because she's a tad taller than me? It doesn't make her the boss of me. Hmm, attending school without a uniform. This should be an interesting turn of events. I've decided to flaunt my African traditional clothes today. It's a blend of yellow, green, and black. Dead cute.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lin demanded as she spotted me descending the stairs.

"Off to school," I replied, nonchalantly.

"Not dressed like that, you're not," she shot back.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" I challenged.

"You're not seriously planning on wearing that to school, are you?" she scoffed.

"For heaven's sake, will you just tell me what's wrong with my clothes?" I demanded.

"You can't wear a dress that goes all the way to your knees. You're not in Africa anymore. Now, let's go. You have to change," she insisted.

"No! I'm not changing my clothes," I refused adamantly.

"You're going to embarrass me," she grumbled.

"I couldn't care less. I'm not changing what I'm wearing. Maybe you're right; I'm not in Africa anymore. But I'm still African. It's my duty to represent where I'm from, and I'm not going to change myself — not for anyone, not for America, and certainly not for you," I declared firmly.

"Fine, wear what you want. It's not my problem anyway," she snapped before storming off to her room.

I hated seeing Lin so worked up, so I darted after her and hovered by the door. After packing her stuff and getting ready to leave, she bumped into me.

"What?" she snapped, still angry.

"Um, maybe I could wear something else. I mean, this dress is too fancy for school. Do you have anything I could try on?" I asked tentatively.

Lin's face softened slightly, and she offered a small smile. "I suppose I could lend you something, but just this once. Oh, and leave the earrings. They look rather cute on you."

After a quick change of clothes — again — I headed downstairs for breakfast. This time, I actually managed to eat something. Emily had whipped up a scrumptious breakfast spread of pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, and waffles. Finally, a proper breakfast! I won't miss cafeteria food for breakfast anymore, although I have to admit, I kinda miss it.

"Eat up, girls. You don't want to be late for school," Emily chimed in, bustling about as she prepared to head off to work.

"Where's, uh, where's Conrad?" I inquired.

"Oh, I think he's already left for school. Don't worry; you'll get to see him," Emily assured me.

"Can we go now?" Lin interjected impatiently.

"Honey!" Dad called out to me, stopping me in my tracks. "If they give you a hard time at school, just tell them your dad is a..." He trailed off, his gaze darting around the room, particularly at Emily, who looked like she was about to scream, "No! Don't tell her, Jake!"

"A man," he finished awkwardly.

Okay, I'm confused. So when people pick on me, I'm supposed to tell them my dad's a...man? What? What else would he be, a woman?

Back in Africa, I was used to taking the bus to school. But here, kids have their own cars and drive themselves to school. Yes, if you're wondering, Lin has her own car too and drove us to school. In that house, everyone has a car — Emily, Lucas, Steve, Lin, and even Conrad. Geez! I'm dying to meet him.

On the way to school, I gawked at the enormous, beautiful houses with their expansive, manicured lawns, garages, and pools. They looked like something straight out of a movie. People were actually walking dogs, something you don't see every day back in Africa. Kids were playing hockey in the streets, shifting their makeshift goalposts every time a car drove by. Lin was right; I'm definitely not in Africa anymore.