Through Blessed Eyes

Chapter 2-- Tess

 TESS

"Did ye clean yer room?" My mother asks me.

"Yes, Mom, I did..."

"And the guest rooms for the exchange students from America?" I sigh and nod again.

"Yes, mother."

My mother gives a snicker as she begins climbing the stairs.

"Well then, I'll get out the clean sheets and fresh towel's for 'em. Ye should probably start the tea kettle, they might want somethin' to drink after the long flight, " Mom says, her voice echoing from upstairs. I nod, even though I know she can't see me, and head left toward the kitchen. I don't really think about what I'm doing though. I've served tea at my mother's book club so many times that it's almost become an instinct. Instead, I let my mind wander a bit.

How exciting was it going to be to have foreigners here! Living in my home! I hadn't done anything like this before, but mom and dad agreed that it would be a good experience for the two girls coming to visit as well as me. What better way, after all, to learn about other cultures than to experience them for yourself?

The cool water from the sink pours into my hand. I have filled the kettle up with too much water. Oops.

I dump most of it out before setting the kettle onto the stove and turning the burner onto 'high'. The only thing to do now was wait.

But I can't wait! The thrill of having new faces in my home is too exciting. While I wait for the kettle to scream, letting me know it is ready, I sit in a chair in the living room. I can hear the vacuum running upstairs, but don't think much of it, only that sitting is driving me crazy. So instead I decide to stand up and pace in the kitchen.

What would we do when they got here? I try to remember the girls’ names and faces that we got in the mail a few weeks ago. Weren't they Eve and Scooter?

It sounded close, but I wasn't quite sure. I began planning what we would do during those three months. Other then go to school. After all, that was a part of the program, learning about different cultures. But I still have to go to school.

The tea kettle shrieks as a car pulls into the driveway.

They're here!

I race to the front door, prepared to open it when I remember the tea kettle still screaming in the kitchen, so I have to run back, messing up the carpet in the hall.

The kettle is carefully placed on one of the other burners when I hear the front door open. I attempt to try and collect myself, big breath in and then let it out. I fix my thick red hair so it's not so frizzy and fluffy, but it still manages to poke out behind my ear.

On the inside, I would love to run to the door to greet the exchange students, but instead I take a casual walk, into the dining room, down the hall and past the bathroom (while attempting to fix the rug with my foot unnoticed) and into the small foyer. There stand my dad and two girls.

My dad wears a plain white shirt over his beer-belly. Over that he has a jean jacket. The one girl, who I remember is Evelyn, not Eve, holds a pink suitcase and a bookbag on her back. She has brown hair, tinged with some blonde hair. Her eyes are a stormy grey as she looks around the house. The other girl has blonde hair and similar grey eyes to Evelyn. I can't seem to remember her name though. Scooter doesn't sound like her name, and I don't really want to ask her her name.

"Hi," I say, trying to keep my voice calm. "I'm Tess." I smile at the two of them. My heart beats with excitement.

"Your rooms are upstairs; I'll take your bags,” I say and take Evelyn and the other girl's bag. They are heavier than I had expected.