The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold

Author:Marie Arnold
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358273271
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2021-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

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The threat of getting sent back to Haiti is like an ugly tattoo I didn’t ask for and can’t rub off. I’m afraid to breathe the wrong way or say the wrong thing. If I got sent back, my mom would cry forever. And my dad would try to pretend like it’s okay, but I know he’d be devastated. How did I let things get so out of hand?

Oh yeah, perfect English . . .

Something tells me Lady Lydia knew that speaking English wasn’t going to be enough to get me to fit in. But I went and wished for it anyway, and now, I still don’t fit in. And I’m in more trouble than I have ever been in my life.

It’s the next day, and I usually would be getting ready for school, but for the next three days, I will have to stay home. Rocky has found a cozy spot in the corner. That way, he’s always there in case I need him to translate in the middle of the night. My uncle wakes me up at six in the morning. He tells me that there is no way I am staying at home. So he’s taking me to work with him to help out. I wake Rocky up. He yawns and mumbles something about beauty sleep. Before we head out with my uncle for the day, I write a quick note to Carmen telling her how sorry I am she got in trouble. Rocky tells me her parents aren’t happy with me.

“Yeah, no one’s happy with me lately,” I mutter.

“Are you happy with you?” Rocky asks.

“Well, if there’s a ‘Gabrielle is a good girl’ parade coming to town, I’d be the only one in attendance. And even I would be late.”

“Hey, at least you didn’t make any more wishes,” Rocky says.

“Yeah, there’s that, I guess,” I reply as I hand him the note for Carmen. “How is she?”

“Carmen’s okay. She can’t wait for you two to hang out again when you get back to school. But only if you promise no more fights.”

“Yes, there will be no more fights. I don’t really have anything to fight for.”

“I know you’re down, but try to find something today to make you smile—other than the fact that you get to hang out with me.”

I smile. “That is the one bright spot, Rocky.”

My uncle knocks on the door and says, “Gabrielle, it’s time to go.”

I can tell by his tone that he’s not done being mad. I quickly get the rest of my stuff and prepare for what I’m sure will be a long, boring day.

The three of us take the train to one of my uncle’s three jobs. Today he’s working for the cleaning company. He tells me that every week they have a new place to clean, and this week, the company is doing additional cleanup for Shea Stadium.

We walk through a series of faded gray and blue walls under the stadium. We enter an office area, where my uncle says to stand outside and wait for him.

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