Another me

CHAPTER ONE

I feel crazy.

I'm acting like a child.

I'm walking down the busy street with an urgency that makes my movement uncoordinated. My legs fumble over each other in a hasty attempt to pass the couple in front of me and get to my destination.

I'll admit, this is a low point for me. I've hardly left the house since my family and I moved to Michigan a month ago. But today, I threw on a stain-free sundress, quickly slicked down my edges with my favorite fruit-scented gel, and rushed out the front door looking like a civilized person.

All this to save an old DVD player.At first glance, a passing stranger might look at the blanket in my arms and assume I'm cradling an adorable baby or a helpless puppy. Their last guess would be a DVD player on the verge of death. The chunky, outdated technology has a disc stuck inside it, and while the situation might seem trivial, to me it is a full-blown emergency. Hence my clumsy march to the tech repair shop.

A mild breeze, laced with the smoky scent of barbecue, tousles my long braids, and I shake the displaced locks from my line of vision, squint against the sun's glare, and hurry past a restaurant with a grinning cartoon pig on its front window. When I arrive at my destination, I release a deep breath. Before leaving my house, I googled"DVD player repair." That search brought me to Techies. I open the door, and a bell chimes. There are only a few customers in the small space; some examine the displayed computers, while others go through the products that seem to be in an unorganized cluster on shelves.

"Hey," the girl behind the counter says, jutting her chin to me.

"I ... um... hi."

Since arriving Michigan, I developed a new personality trait: extreme awkwardness. It started in the airport. In the swarm of travelers, I became very aware of myself-of the color of my skin of my dress sense-for the first time in my life. In the melody of American accents, my American accent stood out like an off-key note. When a uniformed man with an air of authority requested to see my passport, I froze and babbled. Thankfully, my mother and sister intervened.

Since we arrived, I've noticed Lucy my younger sister, acting like them. I can't do that. I can only dress like myself. I only know how to sound like myself.

"Need something?" The girl at the counter speaks again. She looks about fifteen. She's wearing heavy, dark makeup that's harsh against her lily-white complexion. When she blows her bubble gum, it pops, then flattens on her pierced nose.

"Er... yes. I need help," I answer in an unsteady voice.

"Yeah. We don't do animals. The vet's a few blocks down."I look at my arms and instantly understand her assumption. "It isn't an animal."

"Okay. Well, we don't do babies either. Dr. Mason's across the street."

"It isn't a baby."

The girl blows another bubble. She watches me blankly as the pink gum expands and pops. Clearly, she isn't willing to waste any more words on our exchange.

I approach her and place the bundled DVD player on the counter. "I need this fixed. Please."

"O-kaaay." She drags the word, extending the two syllables. "A few questions. One, what is it?"

"A DVD player."

"Okay. Why is it in a blanket?"

"I walked here. I wanted to give it some cushion just in case I dropped it."

"Right."

Even with her deadpan expression and flat tone, her judgment comes off clearly. I really regret leaving the house, but there's little I can do about that now. I sigh and shift my weight from one leg to another. "So? Can you ... fix it?"

"We repair phones, computers, game consoles. Not that."

"Um ... I don't understand. Why not this? According to Google, you fix electronics. This is an electronic device."

"But is it? Or is it just a piece of junk?" She pulls a lock of brown hair behind her multi-pierced ear and nose and shrugs.

"Come on, Julie, just look at it." The disembodied voice that comes from behind makes me flinch. The guy standing two feet from me is tall. He's wearing sunglasses, a cao, and a large hood over the cap. Only the lower half of his face is visible. He's left a lot to my imagination when I would rather see the face of the person coming to my aid. "Just plug it in and have a look," he goes on.

"Ugh," Julie_ the girl grumbles, then grabs the cord and plugs it into a socket. "What exactly is the problem?"

"There's a disc inside," I explain hurriedly. "It's stuck and won't come out."

She pushes multiple buttons with no true coordination, like I did at home. When nothing happens, she scoffs. "Like I said, it's a piece of junk. Toss it."

"What about your dad?" the hooded guy says to Julie. "Maybe he can figure it out?"

"He's at an appointment. Won't be back for another hour."

"An hour." I frown, but nod. "Okay. I'll come back."

"Mind if I try something?" the hooded guy asks, moving to my side.

"Um ... I ... I..." Surprised by both his question and his sudden proximity, I stutter.

"Promise I won't destroy it. Well, I'll really try not to." He smiles. It's a nice smile, infectious too, because the corners of my lips immediately turn up. He accepts my smile as permission, and then he fists his hand and bangs it on the DVD player."Oh, my God!" My eyes go wide. "What are you doing? Do you want to destroy it completely?"

"Nah. That was definitely not the plan." His lips shrink into an apologetic smile. "I was just trying something, and I really hope it works." He presses the Open/Close button, and to my surprise and total relief, the disc slides out.

"Oh, my God." I expel a loud breath. "It worked."

"Yay," Julie says in a monotone. "Hooray." She grabs her phone and stares at the screen.

I ignore her and celebrate by bouncing on my toes. "I can't believe you fixed it. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. I think I just got lucky." He looks from me to the ejected disc and smiles. "Sixteen Candles. My mom's always going on about this movie. Never seen it, though. Is it good?"

"It is. I had a few minutes left when it stopped working."

It really was a shame when the DVD player malfunctioned at a pivotal moment in the movie-just when Jake Ryan surprises Samantha at the church. The urge to know what happened next pushed me to declare a state of emergency.

"Well, let's hope it's good now." He presses the Open/Close button several times to confirm the device does exactly what it's supposed to do. Thankfully, it does. He reaches behind the counter and unplugs the cord. After wrapping the blanket around the DVD player, he extends it to me. "Protect it at all costs."

I laugh. "Of course. Thank you."

"Still think it's a piece of junk," Lucy adds, without looking away from her phone. "Ever heard of streaming a movie? Life made easy."

I roll my eyes, and even though the hooded guy is wearing tinted glasses, I have a feeling he does too.