Coming Home

The front door of our classroom opens and enters a petite Italian woman. The hem of her deep red dress swishes delicately around her ankles as she walks by to the teacher's table. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she is wearing dark make up. I don't know the reason why she's all formal but then I suddenly remember that today is our 'Show & Tell' in class and some school administrators will come by to watch our presentation. 

I squirm on my seat and tug at the collar of my red checkered polo. My nervousness is suffocating me. We're all going to present here. I've practiced mine lots of times already; I even sacrificed last night's rest for this. But  I feel different. Really different. 

Nauseated. I feel nauseated. What if I get called first? I can't back out now. But the idea of representing everything that makes me as a person in front of these people intimidates me.

As the Italian woman assists the other students in preparing their presentation, a group of dapper people enter the back of our classroom. I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose and sit straighter. This is it. I can't fail father now, especially since he skipped one day of work just to help me in constructing my 'speech' for this project. 

I am going over my notes for the presentation when someone taps my shoulder. I turn around in my seat and see my classmate Georgina smiling at me. She originally came from London but then they immigrated here in the US because things didn't go well for them in their homeland. 

"Hi," I say, returning her smile. "Are you ready for the show and tell?" Obviously she has worked so hard and prepared for this. Lying on the floor beside her is an illustration board filled with old pictures of her family. But not only that. She also brought along a blue knapsack full of memorabilias. 

She laughs and shakes her head. "I'm afraid I'm not," she replies. "Amidst these things I brought stands a girl who hasn't prepared a speech. How about you?" 

"Well..." I pause for a while, thinking of a proper answer. "I have my speech. But I didn't bring anything to show." But it's not really true. I brought along my dad's passport and Green Card with me, but it's just that. Nothing extravagant. 

Georgina, being the Little Miss Sunshine of our class, just smiles at me. "Oh, I'm sure it would still come out beautiful. You do well with speeches." 

Modesty aside, I am a great speaker. I always get chosen to represent my school in debate and declamation competitions. English is not my native language, but I have been able to master it in just a short period of time. That is because I was determined to speak it. Back then, I could only understand it. But look at me now. I'm sitting in a classroom full of smart people who speak the universal language. And I'm really proud of my achievement. 

"Thank you." I smile gratefully at her. We're not really close friends, but she always tries her best to make all her classmates comfortable with themselves. 

"Just look at me when you're feeling nervous. Remember that I'm your number one fan," she tells me. I nod at her and turn back again. 

The Italian woman proceeds to the front and claps her hands together, startling some of the students who are engrossed in their presentation. "Ah welcome everyone! My name is Lucia Rossi and I will be the host of this Show and Tell!" she says in a quick, staccato voice. She looks really cheerful today. Like seeing students embarrass themselves in front of a crowd is something fascinating to her. 

Lucia does a short introduction first before she starts scanning the room for the first presenter. Then, the inevitable happens. Her eyes land directly on me. 

Shoot, I say to myself. What now?

She then grabs something from the table. It's the folder that contains the seating plan. She looks at me again, then back at the folder. "Ok! Stefan Czerwinski, the stage is all yours!" She had a little trouble pronouncing my Polish last name. 

My lips start to dry and I begin breathing rapidly. I must look like a trapped animal to the others. But I try my best to remain calm. I am their speaker, after all. I fumble around my backpack for my father's passport. Then, I gingerly stand up and slowly work my way to the front. I can feel all eyes burning on me, judging me. 

The room is really silent that you can actually hear the soft hum of the airconditioner. I am all ready to break down and run out of the room when I remember what Georgina suggested. Just look at me, she said. So I did. And there she is, smiling at me. Even doing a little thumbs up. 

So, I flash everyone a grand smile. I should be proud of what I'm about to do if I want this to turn out great. I clear my throat, open my dad's passport to the page where you can see his picture, and then show it to everyone. 

"This is Aleksander Czerwinski. He is my father and my hero," I say in a booming voice. Seeing that no one is going to interrupt me, I continue. "He was a brave journalist back in Poland. He did everything he can to sustain me. My mama died giving birth to me. I never got the chance to see her or even hear her soothing voice. So, dad took over mom's position too. He never remarried because he loves both of us so much." 

Georgina smiles proudly at me. I see that the others are smiling too. "When I was eight years old, he decided to bring me along in here to chase his American Dream. He believed that our life would be better in here. Well, that is true. But..." My brain suddenly stops functioning. I don't really like revisiting my past. But this is the only interesting thing about my life.

I gulp and try my best to continue. The show must go on. "But it didn't really come easy for us. First off, we didn't have any relatives in here. But a distant friend of dad helped us get in here. Then he left us right after we arrived. We were alone after that."

I grab the green card inside my pocket and show it to everyone. "Now this is my father's achievement." Everyone smiles at me, and some even clap. I place it inside the passport then put it on the table. "And I'm here to tell you about our journey." 

Our journey towards a good life.  

[Author's note: two more chapters then it is done! I hope you like my introduction.]