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CHAPTER ONE narrative and instagram
may 11, 2023: iowa city, iowa
"Sawyer, I'm here," I say, leaving a third message in my step brother's voicemail inbox. "I'm getting ready to just go back to Stanford already. Call me when you can."
I sigh, shoving my phone into the pocket of my jacket. I just finished the last of the 28 hour drive from San Francisco to Iowa City when I really should have gotten a plane ticket. I leaned against my car, packed to the brim with nearly everything from my dorm.
"If it isn't my favorite little sister," I hear my brother's voice fill my ears and I look in his direction. He was inside his house, yet he couldn't answer my calls?
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Your only sister," I retort as he pulls me into a hug.
When I pull away, my eyes find his girlfriend, another girl behind her, both of them walking towards us.
"Hi, my sweet Cairo," Jess, my brother's girlfriend and arguably one of my best friends, says as she pulls me into her arms.
I smile widely. "Hi, Jessie," I say.
"How was the drive?" she asks, pulling away, her hands on my shoulders.
I shrug a bit. "Long."
I chuckle escapes her lips as she looks back at the girl standing behind her. The girl has long, dirty blonde hair that is tied back into a low ponytail. She's wearing athletic shorts and some Iowa women's basketball gear.
"Kai, I want you to meet my childhood best friend," Jess says as the girl takes a few steps closer to us. "This is Kate Martin. Kate, this is Cairo."
I give her a smile, holding out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Kate," I greet. Nice to know who I'll be seeing around often.
I did a lot of media for the Stanford women's basketball team, photography and videography and such. I came to Iowa because I wanted to be closer to my brother, but I had been in contact with Coach Bluder about helping out with media for the women Hawkeyes. After she saw what I had done at Stanford, she was happy to have me.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Cairo," she says, her voice a little deep. She takes my hand and my stomach fills with butterflies.
I take a deep breath, disconnecting our hands. Quickly, I step back, opening the trunk of my car.
"We have a bed set up for you already, Kai," my brother informs which I knew since I happened to be taking their guest bedroom. I nod as Kate grabs a box.
I place a hand on her arm. "You don't have to help, it's okay."
She smiles, nearly making me melt. "I already told Jessie I would, it's okay."
