𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚊

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙾𝚗𝚎

Notice for this and future chapters: The POV and faceclaim indicators are always put at the beginning of the chapters. Those are used to indicate whose POV the chapter or section will be in and the faceclaim for the character. Pictures used inside of the chapters are used as visual aids for outfits, hairstyles, locations or general aesthetics. Again, the pictures within the chapters ARE NOT the faceclaims. I hope this clears up any future confusion💜

Papine| Kingston
Saturday, August 27, 2022

I sat in the vehicle in disdain as I caught last glimpses of the house I spent my entire life in. I was moving today from the rural area of Jamaica to Kingston for university.

2020 has been a hard year, after losing my father as I was about to sit CAPE and as Covid-19 was rising in Jamaica, I can admit I lost motivation to continue doing anything. My brother and aunt weren't having it though. They basically forced me to move away from home because the constant reminder of what my life use to be was sinking me into a pit of depression.

The travel to the main city was a nerve wrecking one. I tried my best to take in the unfamiliar surroundings as I would soon have to travel alone if I wanted to visit home.

I was accompanied by my 2 cousins and a family friend who was the driver because my brother was out of the country as he joined the American Military.

Soon we arrived at the house I was renting. It was a shared house on a whole but each tenant has a their own room with its own bathroom and kitchenette. The house was located in a lane right across from the UWI hospital and within walking distance to and from the University of Technology campus.

As I stepped out of the vehicle, I called my brother to confirm the location then had him call the landlord to let him know I had arrived. We stood outside in the lane taking in the atmosphere of the community, it was very clear it was what is considered a 'ghetto'. I could see men hanging out at the corner shop and they didn't look like pleasant people. I could see a few children running up and down in the area, etc.

"A you mi fi come show d place?"

My observations were interrupted by a gruff sounding man standing directly in front of me. His face was partially covered from the hoodie he had on but the you could see tattoos peeking out on his mis colored hands.

Don't know why these ppl insist on spoiling dem skin wid bleaching. Nuh know who tell dem seh looking like when u drop bleach pan black clothes look gud but that is not my issue.

"Yeah it's me."

With a nod of acknowledgment, he started showing me the building until he got to my room. He gave me the keys and left us alone soon after.

After checking out the room, which only had a bed, dresser, a fridge and a stove, we quickly started bringing in my things so that they could start the long journey back to country before night came down.

After about half an hour, we got everything in the house and I was waving goodbye to them as they left. I quickly went back inside as to not linger in an unknown community. Making sure the door was locked, I stood and did a quick look around to figure out what I wanted where.

***

First I did a deep clean of the fridge then packed away the tons of food I bought so the meats wouldn't have to sit out any longer. After cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, I packed away the items in their respective areas. I spread the twin sized bed with one of the sheet sets I brought then set up the dresser with my clothes and other essentials.

After all that work, I took a shower and found something to eat before settling on the bed to watch a movie. With my anxiety and the fear of being in a new place by myself, I know for a fact I won't be sleeping tonight.

***
Papine| Kingston|
Friday| September 2, 2023|

I rechecked my bag and basket make sure I had everything ready for my first day of culinary class. My major is Culinary Arts and Management while my minor is English.

I grabbed my things and started the 10 minutes journey to Utech campus.

*
Class went by in a slowly but surely.

Lef it to Patty Shop 2.0 fi mek practical classes 7 hours long and the fucking teacha dem wicked. Mi go fi siddung and this man a come tell me no sitting in class. Not even animal nuh affi stand up so mi nuh know wah dem issue. Kmt.

After a long day I was finally packing up to go home.

"Hey u wanna walk with me?" Mateo asked.

Mateo aka Milly was a new friend I made in class. I actually made 2 friends today, Mateo and Liam. The class only 8 students with 2 females including me; I honestly wasn't feeling the vibe of the girl so I didn't talk to her. To be honest I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but the guys started talking to me and I didn't want to give a bad impression. They turned out to be decent individuals.

"Yeah. Lets go," I said.

Turns out Mateo was renting at the same house as me on the upstairs area while Liam lives on campus in the dorms.

-

Mateo proceeded to ask me a ton load of questions on the way back to the house. It was a bit annoying but the constant need to be nice trumps any bad thoughts before I could voice them.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to come call me and I will answer immediately. I know a community like this will make anyone uncomfortable," he said as we said our goodbyes.

I would say it's a fairly good day. I made friends, had my first class; all together I think it was a success.

I rapidly undressed and made my way to the bathroom, where I showered and prepared myself for sleep. I didn't feel like eating anything; this is a pattern I notice in myself where, after cooking for extended periods of time, I tend to lose my appetite for a while. This occurs every time, and I'm not sure if it's just my idiosyncrasy or something else.

****