The Eye of a Hurricane

Pippa

"Pippa!!" Luna practically yelled and bombarded me with a hug as I stepped into Lin's apartment. I smiled and hugged her back. She made friends quickly. She took my hand and pulled me into the living room, where she proceeded to show me her doll and the clothes that went with it.

"I like to mix and match," she told me as she held up a little yellow dress. I grinned as Lin walked over with two glasses of wine. He handed me one of them and sat next to me.

"I see you've been caught in her net," Lin joked as we watched her undress her doll.

"How'd the first day go?" I asked, and took a sip of the wine.

"Okay I think," he said, twisting the wine stem in his fingers. "Luna loved it but I'm not so sure about Isabel."

I nodded. "Middle school is tough."

"Yeah," he agreed, setting down his wine glass. "She won't talk to me though. I'm pretty sure she's upset but she barely says a word to me."

I tried to put myself in Isabel's shoes. She'd never even left Puerto Rico before her home was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Now she was living with Lin, whom she didn't know terribly well. Her younger sister was perpetually happy and easy-going and she seemed to be having a hard time.

"I can try talking to her," I offered, putting my hand on his leg.

"Could you?" he asked, looking relieved. "I don't think she has a great relationship with her father so maybe talking to me is a little scary."

"I'd be happy to," I told him, setting down my own wine glass. "I'll go see her now."

I wandered down the hallway and knocked on Isabel's door. I heard a faint 'come in'. She was at the little desk, working on homework.

"Did you get a bunch of homework the first day?" I asked, sitting on Luna's bed.

"Yes," she grumbled. "They're insane."

"You'll get through it," I assured her as I glanced over her shoulder at what she was working on. "What are you working on first?"

"Math," she told me. "It's my worst subject so I always try to get it out of the way."

"Good idea," I told her. "Lin said you may have had a rough first day. Did it go alright?"

She shrugged and wrote in her notebook. "It was school."

I nodded and paused. "Middle school can be a hard time. Did you meet anyone?"

"No," she told me.

"Are you pretty quiet at school?"

"Yes," she said.

"I was the same way," I confessed. "Terrified to talk in class. I never had the guts to just go up to someone and start a conversation. Luna seems to be able to do that."

"Yeah, she's such a chatterbox," Isabel agreed. "I don't know where she gets it from."

"Well, give it some time," I advised her. "The first day is always the hardest and it gets easier from here. Do you wanna take a break and help me with dinner?"

She considered it for a moment and then nodded. I was relieved that she had accepted. Holing up in her room wasn't the answer. We both washed our hands in the bathroom and then went to the kitchen. Lin looked relieved to see that Isabel was out of her room. We put on some music and I got out the recipe I was using. I asked Isabel to read out the ingredient list and we got started.

Lin wandered over, leaning against the kitchen island, as we began to work. Isabel helped measure out the ingredients and add everything into the pot. Soon, the apartment was filled with wonderful smells. The oven beeped that it had reached the required temperature and Isabel carefully placed the dish inside. I started the rice so it would be ready at about the same time.