The Letter

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~Maria's POV~

"Maria, querida (dear)! Come downstairs!" I hear my mom yell from downstairs. "¡Voy a venir Mamá! (I'm coming Mama!)" I shout back and make my way downstairs. "Yes Mama?" I ask as I walk over to the kitchen to see her moving around quickly, her short natural curly hair whipping back and forth with every steps she takes. My mother is an Afro Latina who speaks both English and Spanish but she only mainly spoke Spanish in the house meaning I grew up learning it from her. "A letter from your school came in the mail just now" she tells me as she hands over a white envelope. "Esto es para usted (This is for you)" she tells me and motions over to something sitting on the kitchen counter. "¿Esto es para mí? De Verdad? (This is for me? Really?)" I ask as I take the envelope to see that it is indeed for me and its also from Brooklyn Visions Academy, my current high school. I am the only Maria Davis on this street and at Brooklyn Visions Academy after all.

But why would the school send me something only a few weeks before school starts. I almost never get anything in the mail unless it's about some prize I won in some education contest I entered. I do those from time to time when I'm bored just to waste time. "Bueno, ábrelo, ¿por qué no? (Well, open it, why not?)" Mama asks me when she sees me just starring down at the envelope with a blank face. "Fine" I sigh out and open the envelope to see there's a letter inside and nothing else. "It's just a letter" I tell my mom as I take the folded paper out of the envelope. "Entonces léelo niña! Quiero saber que dice (Then read it child! I want to know what it says" Mama tells me as she moves around the kitchen, cooking our dinner for tonight. Tonight is one of the nights my cousin Miles, Aunt Rio and Uncle Jefferson come over for dinner, they live right next door to us too.

Our houses are really close together not to mention my bedroom is right across from Miles' so if we were to open our windows and talk loudly we would be able to hear each other and have a conversation. The distance between our windows is also short enough to the point where we could jump to the other's windowsill and get into their bedroom through the window. Our houses are that close.  "Alright Mama" I sigh out again and begin reading the letter in my head, planning to just give my mom a brief over of what it says.


  "Alright Mama" I sigh out again and begin reading the letter in my head, planning to just give my mom a brief over of what it says

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Dear Maria Davis,

            You have been chosen out of the 100 students who entered our foreign exchange raffle to go study abroad at the famous Japanese school UA High in Japan. You have been chosen because you have above average statistics when it comes to the monthly quirk test, you excel in all of your classes and you are the one of the only students in our school who has passed you Japanese foreign language class with flying colors. The Brooklyn Visions Academy school board has decided that you are the best choice when it comes to deciding which of our students we will be sending. Your flight has been schedule for the second day of school at 4:00 am and can not be changed. You are not required to come to classes when school starts but you may if you so choose. Matters regarding living expenses and anything money related will be taken care of through the school. Brooklyn Visions Academy will send you a monthly allowance of $1,000 or 108, 220 yen a month that will cover clothing and food expenses. Any money left over you may use as you please. As for living arrangements UA High as agreed to find you a one bedroom apartment near campus. Bills and taxes will be taken care of by UA High as well.

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