Greener pastures

Chapter 1

KC sat on the hill overlooking the village. As she whistled a calming tune in the wind, her mind drifted as she stared into the distance. It seemed like a dream, the possibility of ever leaving Gong vile. She sure wouldn't miss it. I mean, what was there to miss, from the narrow-minded people to the harsh living conditions to losing Mom, living in the community seemed to get harder every day. Thank God she could finally leave. She sighed with relief. She stood up, dusted her backside, and began to walk down the hill. Her face broke with a small smile at the possibilities that lay ahead.

4:15 a.m. and KC is up even before.

her 5 am. alarm

KC's pov

I wake up, and the first thing I look for is my phone. My alarm didn't ring, I panicked God! Did I oversleep? I spend the next 49 seconds looking for my phone then I start to look around the room for signs of a break-in my mind starts to run through different scenarios of how my phone could wind up missing when I spot my phone plugged into the wall outlet I exhale as relief brings tears to my eyes, and I decide I need to take a minute to centre myself before I make a real mistake. I heat the snacks I made the day before and pack them in my backpack. I take a shower, get dressed, and head for Mr. Pascals. As I walk to my gate, I hear the crow of a roster, which signalled the start of a new day. As I walked down the road, I was passed by a night guard who thankfully was quick to recognise me. I got to Mr Pascals knocked on the gate and waited, I was about to knock again when he unlocked the gate and said, "Are you ready?" I said."Good morning, sir. "Yes, yes, I'm ready." He stepped out of his compound fully dressed and said,"I was waiting for you." His punctuality was a surprise considering that black people never kept to time. My original plan was to come to wake him up and give him 20 minutes to get ready so we would still be on time when we left. He gently shut the otherwise noisy. "I don't want to wake Monica," he said under his breath Let's go." I appreciate his consideration since his wife was one of the women that made life in Gong vile hell for me, even though he never defended me publicly he never treated me any different and he was the only taxi driver on this side of the village so I had to go to him and to think he is prompt.

We drove past the village night guards at the entrance at 5:30, and we got on the freeway at 5:47. It was an hour's drive to the airport, and my flight was at 8 am.

We had enough time to get there. The drive was quiet and at the end when he helped me bring down my suitcase he said "Good luck I hope you have a better life where you are going than you had here, I apologise for how my wife and the other villagers treated you, they do not know any better. Always remember The gods make no mistakes and they made you" he squeezed my shoulder and walked back into his vehicle and I stood there for a second dazed at the encouraging word I had just received, I walked into the airport sat down, and waited soon I boarded the plane and soon I was on my way to greener pastures.

After the long 16-hour flight, we landed at Keansburg Airport at around 9 a.m., and the first thing I noticed was the cold. I walked to the arrival waiting area and scanned the signs people were holding up looking for my name until I found "KC Morgan," a Hispanic guy that looked around my age had it. I walked up to him. Hi, I'm KC Morgan and showed him my ID. "Welcome to Novara." "I'm Kevin."KC," We shook hands. "I'm a student immigrant as well. Do you have more luggage?"No." Later, with a further introduction, I found out he is studying computer science, and his story is similar to mine, and we would be sharing a living space. He came to Novara for the opportunities it offered, and he has family back home in Bolivia counting on him. We drove first to the school, the University of Novara. I was met by one of my immigration travel agents, whom I had been speaking to for months on the phone Gregory Betaman. He gave me my living permit ID, my bank mail, and other important residential documentation. The school is a lot bigger in person as we make our way to the bursary hardly any of the people down the hall seems to take notice of us.

The secretary hands me my timetable, showed me my locker and told me the combination, and handed me a prospectus of books and other items. "See you Monday morning, Miss Morgan." I awkwardly nodded, collected the items, and walked back to Kevin and Gregory, who knew each other. Kevin answers my unspoken question "he helped me when I had problems with immigration" Gregory gives me a book and says you will need it "Call me if you have any problems" "Thanks" "If you need a car to move around or you run into housing problems, he glanced at Kevin "call me" see you around" he enter his BMW 5 series and drives off as I wave goodbye

"Now let's go home," Kevin says. We got back in Kevin's truck and drove to our accommodation. It is a building complex with studio apartments and is on the ground floor, a two-bedroom studio apartment. "It was built by lady Meghan Wright and donated to the school for accommodating students. They are one of the wealthiest families in this town. His phone buzzed in his pocket. After a glance at the screen, he said I have to go now." He just got some extra shifts to pick up. I'll leave you to settle in. Here are your keys. There are a few things in the refrigerator if you need something."Thanks, " I took in the room. The window had a nice view of the garden with trees and a small stream at the bottom. I look forward to making memories here.