killer |n.h|

|nervous|

❝Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.❞ -The Lovely Bones

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I was nervous.

There were many reasons why I felt like this. One reason was the fact I was so far away from home.

Actually, I was REALLY far away from home, oversea. Another reason I was nervous was that I seemed to be the only American within 200 miles. I was in Ireland, where Irish people lived, but still. It was kind of unsettling.

And finally, I was here to live with strangers for the next three months and could only email my family once each month.

To simplify my situation, I was an exchange student. That's why I was nervous.

But so far the best part about coming to Ireland was that I didn't need to learn a whole new language.

As I walk through the jet bridge from the plane I glance over at the advertising signs of the airport. They didn't look that different from the ones in America.

I smile a little at one advertising a Halloween party here in the airport. It was my favorite holiday, and hopefully my foster family celebrated it.

Once I'm out of the jetway I move to the side so I'm not in the way of other people. I scan the the empty chairs, looking for Bobby. I didn't know anything about him other than that he was driving me to his home and was a dad.

I keep looking around until I see a middle-aged man holding up a sign. It was a plain piece of white computer paper that had my name written in big letters:

SARAH

I smile at him and wave before quickly walking over to him. He looks in my direction and smiles once he sees me.

"You must be Becky!" he replies. I could already hear his accent. I frown and say,

"No, I'm Sarah."

He just laughs and folds his paper up. I just look at him, even more confused.

"I'm just messin' with ya!" he replies, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back, realizing he was one of those friendly guys. I laugh a little, but it came out sounding fake and weird. Even if I was laughing normally, and it wasn't forced, my laugh sounded weird.

"So, welcome to Ireland!" he replies happily once he lets me go. I smile at him again as we start to walk.

"What time is it?" I ask. He glances done at his watch- it looked like a watch James Bond would wear, with metal surrounding the glass.

"8:32," he replies. "Where are ya from again?"

"Boston," I answer as we continue to walk.

"That's right, I always forget. So you have a..... five hour time difference to get used to."

"Sadly yes," I joke. He chuckles as we arrive at the baggage claim.

We wait in awkward silence for my plane's bags to come. Soon the alarm goes off and it starts to rotate. I watch the bags slowly move around on the machine. Luckily my two bags were some of the first. I try to grab it, but Bobby steps forward and picks it up for me.

"Thank you," I mutter as he sets it on the ground. He smiles at me and I look back over at the conveyor belt. "Oh!"

I step forward quickly and move towards my other large suitcase before it can get away. I grab the handle and lift it up.