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i was always an unusual girl my mother told me i had a chameleon soul lana del rey : ride
────── ∘°❉°∘ ────── july 14th, 1942 ────── ∘°❉°∘ ──────
MARLA WAS USED TO THE HOT SUMMERS OF CHICAGO, BUT THE GEORGIA AIR WAS CLAMMY AND WEIGHED DOWN HER CHEST. it wasn't going to be a pleasant drive. the man who'd picked her up from the train station had introduced himself as lorraine. he had been late, and marla had been waiting patiently, staring down at the pavement and avoiding eye contact with the people who stared. she must have looked odd to them after all, a young girl in a floral blouse and mid calf length skirt in the peak summer months of georgia must have appeared to be mad. in all honestly marla hadn't anticipated the heat, but it was all that was on her mind.
"hey, could you pass me my smokes? they're in the glove compartment." marla pushed the button and compartment clicked open. "the carton." he prompted, and she retrieved the carton of lucky strikes and a lighter. where she was from, the 'smokes' were called 'fags'. "thanks. hey, you want one?" "no thank you." her voice was soft, with a northern, english accent. "don't smoke?" "no." the girl fiddled with her cross that hung from her neck on a silver chain. "so er... you're a limey right?" "what's... a limey?" "yano, you're british." "oh." marla nodded and peered over the window. the jeep lorraine was driving had no roof, and the warm air blew through marla's hair. the dirt in georgia was red and dusty. it didn't remind marla of home. chicago wasn't dusty, but then again chicago wasn't her real home. she thought of wigan, the sooty streets and the busy roads, the rain and the cold air. she thought back to her mother, who was still there, before being snapped out of her daze. "hey, kid? you listening?" "sorry." she rubbed her arm. "i said," he took a drag of his cigarette, "what's a limey woman doin fighting for the US? i mean, i don't mean to be rude or nothin but er... just seems a little odd." "i live in chicago now." "well," he took another drag and nudged her with his arm. "you must be pretty special huh?" marla just shrugged. they spent the rest of the journey in relative silence. the radio played faintly and lorraine occasionally hummed along. he would glance at marla but she just looked out the window. she knew eye contact would start a conversation, and she didn't want that. marla decided she didn't like georgia. but it was better than staying in chicago.
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they arrived at camp toccoa at 1928. the heat had started to subside a little. marla opened her side door and retrieved her case. "good luck kiddo." "thank you." lorraine drove off, leaving marla in the middle of the dusty camp with no idea what was going on. she sighed and lifted her light case off the ground. no one was there to greet her, so she made her way towards the wooden structures that were overcast by the shadow of a looming mountain.
