Beneath Us

Chapter 1

September 4th, 2020

The moment has come, sitting alone in the hard and uncomfortable seat of the plane feels even surreal at this time. I knew for months I was getting away for a year for this school exchange in Boston but to see it actually happen just doesn't seem real. A lot has happened in the last year that I don't know what would be of me if I stayed for longer in Mexico, I know a year passes by so fast and It's not a lot of time but for me it's a great opportunity to breathe, to give myself time to heal and grow. A fresh start where nobody knows me. Where I can start from scratch. The feeling of excitement is weird on my mind and it feels good.

Looking through the window I imagine if they'll miss me or will they even think of me, I laugh at myself just by thinking about it, that's why I didn't say a thing about me leaving the country. Not that they cared, the only thing they'll feel is relief, at least some of them. My best friend Tamara is the only who knew, everyone else just will go on with their lives, even the ones I call my friends everyday. Ha I also left without a phone, it took me a long time to convince my parents but after promising to be very active on FaceTime and check my email constantly I managed to leave only with my computer. Though I couldn't leave without music so I brought my old Ipod which works very well despite the years. I'm dead serious about this whole new beginning thing.

My plane finally landed at 6:00 am of the morning in the Logan International Airport, being an early hour I wouldn't have expected to see as many people as I do now, either ways I'm used to the hustle and bustle of a crowded city. After being delayed almost an hour by the customs house line I had to ran almost at full speed to get to the bus that was going to get me to the school, there were other bus schedules but I am really tired to wait another half hour doing nothing. Fortunately I didn't arrive as late as I thought I would so finding a seat was easy, while listening to music I noticed more people arrived at the bus in the pass of minutes. I was so busy thinking about what ifs that I didn't notice someone was talking to me until I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I turned and saw a tall blonde boy looking at me with kind brownish eyes, I immediately took off my earphones.

"Excuse me?" I asked a little startled.

"Can I take this seat?" he asked with a slight smile on his lips, probably amused.

"Yes" I said removing my backpack to make seat for him.

He sat down and when I was about to continue listening to my music his voice interrupted me.

"So since being on an exchange means socializing, where are you from?" 

"I'm from Mexico" I answered with a smile, socializing hasn't been my strength but if i'm here I might just as well give it a try.

"Really?" He looked at me with an amusing gaze "I would have sweared you were from around here"

"Why is that?"

"Not to sound rude or anything, but you don't have an accent that gives it away or something, I've never met a Mexican so sorry for my ignorance" I let out a chuckle, I was expecting this conversation with someone and it doesn't bother me at all.

"Don't worry about it, my parents put a lot of effort on giving me the chance to learn another language since I was a kid" I understand we come from a stereotyped society and I'm glad I can get some things clear about us. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from California" I can now understand the fresh tan of this guy.

"And why did you decide to come here to Boston?" 

"Well here's one of the best dance schools in the country and this school offers me a great chance to enter" 

"That's amazing, I actually chose this school mainly because of the contemporary dance level" socializing wasn't that hard after all.