Je t'aime

A New World

Rochelle stepped out of the taxi cab.

"Merci," she said, handing the driver his cash. She turned to face the airport and walked in.

Rochelle started to look for her terminal, luckily she found it in the large mob. After checking her luggage and finally boarding the plane she took a deep breath and thought about her arrival to America.

The land of opportunity, she thought. Hopefully it's true.

Rochelle always made goals for herself. Attending a school like Harvard was her life-long dream. She wondered how she was accepted even though she didn't know a single word of English, but she was ambitious.

Rochelle looked out the window and smiled to herself.

Hours later......

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay in your seats and buckle your seatbelt. We will be beginning to land shortly. Thank you for using Air France!" The flight attendant announced over the speakers. Rochelle gulped down the lump in her throat.

By the time she exited the plane and entered the airport it felt like an hour passed by! When she looked around for her escort she found a handsome, tall young man, with shining blonde hair. To make it even better, he held a sign with her name handwritten in beautiful print. Rochelle Durande.

He walked over to her. "Rochelle, is it? I'm Peter. I'll escort you to your dorm at Harvard right now." He said. Rochelle lightly raised an eyebrow, confused.  She didn't understand a single word. Peter didn't seem to notice and cheered "Welcome to America!"
Rochelle didn't know what to do. But when he grabbed her luggage, she almost squealed. "I'll just hold your luggage for you, okay?" He awkwardly chuckled. Rochelle stood in shock as his hand brushed against hers. He offered a wink and walked away. Rochelle curiously followed. Then they found themselves outside the airport, in a world much different than France. She drank in the view. "Hello? Earth to Rochelle?" Rochelle snapped out of her daze and looked at Peter with wide eyes. Suddenly, a long, white limousine pulled up in front of them. "Come in," he pointed over to the door. Rochelle's expression was blank. Peter started getting impatient so he grabbed her hand and walked her into the limousine. The driver automatically sped away. Rochelle was nervous. She didn't understand what was going on. She heard the man say Harvard, so she guessed that he was taking her there. Every time she looked over at Peter, he warmly smiled at her. After a couple of awkward minutes, he tried making conversation.
"You're awfully quiet." He said. Rochelle pointed to her mouth and shrugged, signaling that she didn't know English. Peter made a concerned face. "You're in mute?"  Rochelle didn't understand. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh," Peter exhaled. "You don't understand English." He patted Rochelle's shoulders. She was extremely confused but she ended up blushing from his sympathetic gesture. "Don't worry. When we get back to the dorm, I'll help you learn simple phrases." He reassured. Rochelle slowly nodded. He nodded as to say, trust me.