SOUND OFF

Chapter:5

I sat in the dirt of a chute reading a book I had found in Hudson Books. It was True Grit. I flipped a page and continued reading. A bang from above made me look up from my book. "Comfort-able?"

"Sim. I am. O que você quer(what do you want)?" I asked. "Só queria saber por que minha menina estava sentada na terra com um livro(Just wanted to know why my girl was sitting in the dirt with a book)." He said.

"Free time. Nothing else to do." I said. "Que livro é(what book is it)?" He asked. "True Grit." I answered. "Never read it." He said. "Don't get American books in Brasil?" I asked. He nodded. I stood up and started to climb out. Once I was close to the top he put his hands on mine as I stood on the railing.

He kissed my forehead then cheek before helping me out. I brushed my butt off a bit after sitting in the dirt for about two hours. "Eu não me preocuparia com a sujeira. Não incomoda a sua beleza(I wouldn't worry about the dirt. It doesn't bother your beauty)." He said.

I tried so hard not to blush. "Could you teach me how to read American?" He asked. "It's not too hard." I said. "The words are just spelled different than the ones your use to."

He nodded. "Could we start now?" He asked. "How about we go to a book store and see if we can find a starter book you'd like." I said. He nodded then silently asked if he could hold my hand. I let him.

I could tell he was wanting to learn but was scared to. I led him to Hudson Books and asked where I could find the children's books. The directions were given and we went back there.

"Por que estamos recebendo um livro infantil(why are we getting a children's book)?" He asked. "Porque é um dos melhores lugares para começar(because it's the best place to start)." I answered him.

I bought the book for us and we went back and found a quiet spot. The book had big letters and small words. "It will also help with directions so you can read road signs and restaurants." I told him. He nodded. We were sitting up in the stands and almost through the first page when I heard my name called.

I looked up seeing someone from my past looking older, taller, buffer, and well fit. I stood up and ran down the stairs. "Hey Codie! How you been keeping?" A past best friend said. "I'm good what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"College. I'm doing a report on professional bull riders and met some outside. They said I could interview them for my report to get an idea of what it's like." He said.

"Cool. After a year or two of applying for this I finally am out in the ring as a clown." I said. "And who is the guy?" He asked quietly. "A friend of mine." I said. "Name of friend?" He asked. "Kaique Pacheco." I said.

"Dang girl what did you do learn a new language or something?" He asked. "Sim." He looked at me oddly. "That means yes." I told him rolling my eyes.

"Ok." "Now go wait for those guys. I've got to get back to my free time." I told him. "So I can't interview him?" He asked. "Not a lick of English." I said. "But I thought you spoke Portuguese now." He smirked. "Barely." I said. He nodded before walking off.

I went back up to sit back next to Kai. "Quem era aquele(who was that)?" He asked as I sat down. "A friend from my high school years." I told him. He read me the first page almost perfectly.

I helped him with the second page. I could tell he was getting frustrated with it. I wasn't pushing him hard. "EU NÃO POSSO(I can't)!" He yelled. "You can. I believe you can." I said calmly setting the book beside me. "If you want to take a break we can take a break. We can continue when you want to." I said.

He looked at me like I could see right through him. "Ok. We can try again sometime later." He said. Tonight is the second night and the last rounds. We have until November to get through this book and I wasn't going to push him at all to get through it.

We stood up and went down the stairs. I took his hand. "Food?" He asked. I looked up at him and nodded. "Para quão longe você tem hoje eu acho que podemos comemorar com a comida(for how far you got today I think we can celebrate with food)." I told him.