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TWO MOON PRINCESS 75
erally, Tío said. Unless . . . are you sure she didn t teach you
English when you were a child, and it s coming back to you now?
I laughed. Querido Tío, dear Uncle, as you must be the first
to know, Mother has tried to teach me many things over the
years without much success. But English, I assure you, was not
one of them.
Tío smiled. All right. I believe you. He stopped, and
pointing to a big building looming four stories tall in front of
us, he added, Here we are.This is where Kelsey lives.
Kelsey s house was big much bigger than my uncle s.
When I asked him whether my cousin lived there all by herself,
Tío laughed. No, of course not. Kelsey lives in one of the
rooms.You ll see. Now remember your story.You grew up in
Spain where your mother is a doctor.You ve come to live in the
States for a month to practice your English.And do not forget,
please, that you re seventeen years old.
Yes, I know. I am seventeen because the months in your
world are shorter five or six days shorter than in ours. That
means our year has fourteen of your months.
Tío nodded. You ll do fine, he said and, holding the glass
door open, motioned me forward.We walked down a long hall
flanked by many doors and up two flights of stairs onto anoth-
er floor that was an exact replica of the one below. There he
turned right and knocked on the second door to the left.
After a short wait, the door opened, and the girl I had seen
at the beach appeared in the doorway. She was still angry I
could tell by the way her pale blue eyes were flashing, eyes the
exact same color as my sister Rosa s.
Kelsey, this is your cousin Andrea, my uncle said.
I extended my hand, as Tío had instructed me to do. Kelsey
did not take it, but stared at me with contempt. I returned her
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76 CARMEN FERREIRO-ESTEBAN
stare without blinking. I had not come this far to be intimidat-
ed by a girl my own age. Finally Kelsey looked away. Hi, she
said and, turning her back on us, moved inside.
I looked at my uncle.What kind of welcome was this? But
Tío only shrugged his shoulders and signaled me to follow.
Kelsey, my uncle said once the door had closed behind us,
as I told you on the phone,Andrea will be staying at the dorms
for the next month. I ll bring her bags to her room while you
get acquainted.Then I have to go. I would appreciate it if you
would show her around the campus today.
From the bed where she was sitting, the girl stared at us,
her lips set in a thin line, and gave no answer.Tío Ramiro did
not seem to have expected one, because with a nod in my
direction, he started back to the door. Before I could say any-
thing, he was gone.
As soon as Tío left, Kelsey stretched her long legs over the
side of the bed and came over.
Well, Andrea. It seems that we re stuck with each other,
so I guess it would be better if we try to make it work. I nod-
ded. I don t know why Dad never mentioned you or your
family before, she continued, and I couldn t care less. I do
think it was really rude of him not to tell me you were in the
house when we arrived last Friday. But since I guess it was not
your idea, I m willing to give you a chance.
Thank you.
No problem. Now about the baby-sitting part. I have plans
for today, and I m not going to change them for you.You can
come with me or be a good girl and visit the campus on your
own.
It was not a difficult decision. After Tío Ramiro came back
with the key to my own room and we were sure he was gone,
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TWO MOON PRINCESS 77
we left the dorms and walked across campus to the building
with the word gymnasium written over the door. I followed
Kelsey inside, keeping my questions to myself so I wouldn t
show my ignorance.
Soon after we had taken our seats high on the stairs that
surrounded the central area, the game started. I watched as ten
boys threw a ball to each other and, from time to time, into a
hanging basket. I was starting to recognize the pattern of the
game, when one of the players was replaced. I looked at the
new player, and my heart started beating one hundred times
faster.The boy was tall and lean with short brown hair, and his
eyes were brown. I knew they were light brown, although I was
too far to see them now. I knew that because he was the boy
who had smiled at me the previous evening at the beach. The
boy they had called John.
I remembered the blow of the ball to my back and the boy s
warm hand on mine, and the court became a blur. From then
on, the game was not about following a ball anymore, but
about following John. Although I clapped and screamed from
time to time so Kelsey would not realize I had no clue of what
was going on, I saw only John.
When the game was over, we waited outside the gym, talk-
ing with other girls until the players came through the back
door of the building. I couldn t tear my eyes from John. He was
tall with the sinewy build of a warrior. I had already learned by
then that most men in his world did not grow beards, but I still
found his short hair and shaved face utterly fascinating.
With long strides, John came toward us, talking with
another boy. His eyes were pale brown, as I remembered them,
the color of the honey I used to steal from honeycombs back in
my world to please my mother.
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78 CARMEN FERREIRO-ESTEBAN
Andrea! Hello! Kelsey was shaking my arm. Meet
Richard and John.
Instinctively I started a curtsy, but just as I bent, the other
boy, Richard, took my hand and shook it firmly. Hi, he said.
Without waiting for my answer, he moved toward Kelsey and
kissed her. I was still staring at them, shocked by their public
display of affection, when a deep voice spoke by my side.
Hi, Andrea. Nice to meet you.
I looked back at him and my mind froze. John was smiling
at me with the same friendly smile I remembered from the
first time I had seen him at the beach.
Nice to meet you, too, I mumbled, trying to keep my
knees from shaking.
Come on, you two. We are going to Al s, Kelsey called.
Holding Richard s hand, she walked away.
So what s your story? John asked as we followed them.
My story?
I mean, where are you from?
I . . . I m from Spain.
Oh really? John seemed pleased. My grandparents came
from Spain, too.
What do you study? I asked hastily. I did not want him to
start asking me questions about my supposed country.
Questions, I was certain, I would not know how to answer.
Archaeology, he said. And you?
English, I told him, dutifully following Tio s instructions.
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