Everything was so big and yet there was so much space. That's all he kept saying to himself as his dark brown eyes lit up at the site of yet another set of golden arches.
"There's so many McDonalds," he said in his native tongue.
"Yeah," his cousin replied, "We can get some when you come back."
"English," his girlfriend fired back in English, "How is he supposed to learn if you don't speak English with him?"
"Relax," he dismissed her, this time in English, "They'll have plenty of time to learn, they just got here a few days ago."
......
"Chael Davis?"
"Here."
"Jean......Jaqueez? DuBois?"
"Jean-Jacques," he cleared his throat, "J.J. is okay."
"Welcome," the teacher forced a smile, a bit embarrassed by her mishap.
J.J. returned to doodling on the bottom of his notebook as she finished taking attendance. He couldn't believe that in this country, there was an entire class dedicated to doing just that.
"Ayitien?" said a voice from behind.
J.J.'s neck whipped around to face the voice. He was a rather big guy with medium brown skin and the hair to match. At the bottom of his feet were two gallons of water which immediately caught J.J.'s attention as did his accent.
......
"You don't want to eat that," Francis told J.J. as they walked past the line that had begun to form around the cafeteria, "That food is fucking disgusting."
"What do you eat?" J.J. managed to put a few words together.
"Normally," Francis pointed to a small circle of people that surrounded a cart that had a few pizza boxes on the right of it, "You got pizza, like actual pizza, everyday and fried chicken on Monday and Wednesday and on Tuesday and Thursday, you got fried rice. I'm not eating right now though."
J.J. looked at Francis with a puzzled look. He had been reading a few books and watching videos on YouTube for a few years now but the pace at which Francis was speaking completely floored him.
"It's okay," Francis laughed, "We can go back to speaking Creole. You've done enough training for today."
"No, it's okay. Why aren't you eating?"
"I wrestle so I'm cutting....I'm losing weight so that I can make weight."
"Wrestle? Like.....WWE?"
"Not quite," Francis let out a dry laugh, "Sort of like WWE but it's different. What about you, you into soccer I'm guessing?"
"No," J.J. shrugged, "Basket, I like basket."
"Basketball? Oh, okay, you're a bit on the short side and the season already started but you can talk to the coach."
......
J.J. wondered around the now mostly empty school halls, familiarizing himself with what would be his home for the next four years. His cousin had called him to let him know that his girlfriend got caught up at work and wouldn't be able to pick him until later in the afternoon.
He wasn't sure if he was even allowed to be inside the school walls as he got a few looks from the various janitors and teachers he would walk past. He ultimately decided that getting in trouble on his first day wasn't on his bucket list and instead opted to instead roam the open-area courtyard. He could hear loud shouting coming from the same cafeteria that Francis had told him to ignored. He peaked his head inside.
"Keep going! Keep going! Keep it up, don't slow down!" yelled the coach at around a dozen students as they ran around a mat.
J.J. was quickly able to spot Francis as he dragged behind the group, barely able to move one foot in front of the other. Francis went around the circle until he was now facing towards the doors and by extension, J.J. They briefly locked eyes before it was quickly disrupted.
"Hey! This is a closed fucking practice!"
J.J. was started as the same coach was now quickly walking towards him. J.J. froze as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do as he simply shifted his gaze back and forth between Francis and the coach.
"Hey, hey, coach," Francis panted over to them, "This is my friend J.J., he's new here"
"Oh," the coach took a deep breath, "My fault, son. We have a tournament in a few days and I thought Sunset might have been on some sneaky shit, you know?"
J.J. simply nodded.
"What weight-class are you in?" the coach asked J.J., "You probably won't be able to compete this year but we can always use another body."
"I...." J.J. stammered before Francis came to his rescue again.
"His English isn't all that great yet," Francis told the coach before translating for J.J.
J.J. wasn't sure what to answer as his curiosity is what led him to this makeshift gym but yet here he was.