Across the Sea

Chapter 1 {Like a Intervention}

Today, I got a letter from Mara.  That was probably the only good thing that happened today.  Not that failing tests and getting in a fight didn’t make my day.  Whatever.

            Mara’s letter told me that her birthday is tomorrow.  To add to my day, I completely forgot. I will send her a card, but it will be late by a few days.  I am so lucky, to have a friend like Mara.  She always remembers American holidays, even my birthday, but I can’t even remember hers.  Also, I have no clue what any of the Korean holidays are.  I should probably find that out.

            Also, attached to her letter, was a picture.  I haven’t seen a picture of her in the longest time, so I almost didn’t recognize her picture.  Her long, midnight black hair had gained three or four inches, her dark chocolate eyes sparkled with the photographers light, and her mocha colored skin accomplices her dark colored features.  Also, her deep, smooth features make her look like a Korean super model.

            Once I stopped admiring the picture of Mara, I put it on the side of my mirror.  Looking at her picture on more time, I faced the mirror.  Well, not as bad as I thought.  I thought that my faced would be bruised, but there were only a few scratches.  My blonde hair was a little tangled, but not too bad.  My dark brown eyes glittered on the reflected light from the mirror.  Also, my freckled cheeks were hinted with red blotches, but not to noticeable.  Honestly, I thought that boy would have punched harder.

            A faint tapping noise on my disturbed me while I was overlooking my damaged face.  As I turned to look at the pale blue door, I heard it start to creak open.  My mom walked in and quietly sat down on my deep purple bed.  I sighed, and left my reflection, to see what she wanted.

“Yes, mom?” I sighed.

“Honey”, she said, “I want to talk about……um…..today.”

“What is there to talk about?” I said trying not to get angry.

“Well……. She started to say.  I could see that I had offended her.

“I’m sorry mom, I shouldn’t be rude.  I am just not ready to talk about it yet.”

She looked at me and smiled slightly.  “Baby, its fine. I completely understand.”  She got up and gave me a huge bear hug.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too mom.”

As she left the room, I heard the front door slam.  I looked up at the clock and saw the time.  4:15. Ugh, the twins are home. Mike and Seth must of stayed at basketball practice late, because it ended an hour ago.  I heard the heavy, staggering footsteps mosey up the stairs.  I stand corrected.  They probably go in trouble at basketball and had to stay late.  That’s typical. As the footsteps neared my door, they slowed down.  Once again, I heard my door creak open.  Seth called my name.  "Kura."

"Yes?" I said without turning around.

"Mom says dinner will be ready in five."

"Ok" I breathed.

I heard his feet totter, then the door gently shut.

            As I got up to go downstairs, my door flew open.

“Aha!” screamed Mike.

“What?” I said in disbelief.

“Oh….,” he said confused, “I thought I would have scared you….”

“Just….uuh…..get out of my room!” I said, getting agitated.

“Oh…ok.” he said walking out, staring at my crème colored rug.

            Once he was gone, I hurried back to my mirror.  Perfect.  My face had turned into a Rorschach test.  The unnoticeable redness from earlier had turned into bright, deep pools of blotches.  I can see why Mike wouldn’t look at me, my face was a mess.  Interrupting my self-pity party, my mom called me down for dinner.  I walked away from my mirror, through the open door and toward the stairs.  As a stomped down the old carpeted stairs, to announce my unwilling arrive, and then I heard some whispering from the kitchen.  Curious now, I took the stair steps two at a time.  When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the whispering stopped. 

            I slowly walked into the kitchen.  Four sets of eyes were peering at me.  Not looking at them, I quickly perched myself on a dark wooden stool.  Trying to avoid the eyes that were burning holes in me, I looked around the lime green room, with bleak, white cabinets, and an old white fridge, standing small next to the massive doorway.

            Interrupting my mindlessness of surveying the room, my mother sweet voice said, “Kura…,” but my father butted in, “We want to talk to you about the fight.”

“Is this like and intervention?” I asked dumbfounded.  My brothers chuckled.  My mother said frowning, “No, but we need to talk.”  She gestured towards the table.  I got up off the bar stool and plopped down into the metal chair.

“Fine.” I sighed.  “Let’s get this over with.”

“Honey, we just want know what happened.” My mother sighed, too.

“Well…I don’t want to talk about it.  All I will tell you is that it was a fight with a boy at school.”

“Who won?”  Mike asked leaning forward, curiously.  In the process, he knocked the glass of soda onto my mom’s new, white table cloth.

“Mike!!”  My father said with a raised tone.  Mike’s face turned bright pink as the spilled soda officially stained the white table cloth.

            I was so relieved.  This new problem that my brother caused allowed me to escape.  I swiftly and quietly got up from the old creaky chair, and bolted towards my room.

            Once I was safely through my pale blue door, I fell onto my deep purple bed.  I slowly slipped my hand under my pillow, retrieving the ripped, smudged, and severely damaged letter from Mara, which had been the cause to all of my problems.