Chapter 2

I got myself ready the following morning, trying not to make too much noise, and walked out. Dad is the early bird in our family, but there were too many toasts for me last night, and they did their job well enough.

When I arrived at the campus, I met Anush, the girl I was supposed to fly to America with. She was the model student of the university, of average height and reserved manners. Thick eyelashes, and a bigger-than-average mouth, with a smile that seemed permanently frozen. She always wore a butterfly-shaped clip in her hair. As I turned the corner, she waved to me and told me we’d both been called to the Dean’s office. We walked together and saw a guy standing near the entrance.

“Maybe that’s him,” I whispered in her ear.

“Yeah, probably.”

This guy, whom I’d only seen once at the university, was leaning against the wall, his eyes glued to his phone. He was shorter than me, slightly taller than Anush. His hair was unkempt, and he had a well-groomed, thick beard. He was brushing his eyebrow with his middle finger as we approached, like it was a habit of some sort. We said hello and stood near the door.

“You’re here for the program?” I asked.

“Yeah, you too?” he replied.

“We are. I’m Daniel,” I said, reaching out for a handshake.

“Yesayi. And you must be Anush, right? I know you.”

“Uh-huh,” Anush responded with a smile. “Where from?”

“Saw the play. Great acting, I have to say.”

“Thanks.”

Anush brushed some hair out of her face, which seemed to redden slightly, or so I thought.

“Why aren’t we going in, then?” I asked.

“They said to wait; they’ll call our names.”

We were called to the office again later that day, so we ended up staying at the university late. They gave us detailed instructions on how to survive academically in the U.S. (though the looks they shot at us promised a hell of a challenge). Most of the instructions concerned the paperwork we’d need to complete in the coming days. There really was a mountain of it. At some point, I even thought about ditching the whole trip and staying in Armenia, especially after the nightmares I’d had the night before we were supposed to leave.