Spain or Shine Read Free Page B

had clicked off the speaker.
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œWe were supposed to choose between staying in the dorms, or with a host family? Which one did you pick?”
    â€œOh, right. I chose the host family, but to be honest, right now I’m not so sure about that decision. My Spanish is pretty lame, and I’m going to be living with strangers. I just have no idea what to expect.” Her stomach fluttered at the thought of meeting her host family at the airport. These would be the people she would live with, eat with, and share a bathroom with for the next three months. Elena said a silent prayer to whoever might be listening to miraculously grant her an outgoing personality and master Spanish-speaking skills.
    â€œNo worries. I chose a host family, too.”
    â€œYou did?”
    â€œYeah. It’s definitely the way to go. It’s the only way to get a real insider’s view of Spain. I’ve heard that living with locals forces you to speak Spanish sooner and eat more local food and stuff.”
    Elena appreciated that this guy, Alex, was trying to pump her up, but he was just emphasizing all the reasons she was nervous to begin with. She’d already gotten lost during the stopover in Madrid. They’d had a long layover, and some of the kids had gone into the airport shops. She’d wandered over to a scarf store, but had forgotten to notice the time and couldn’t remember the connecting gate. After about ten excruciatingly long minutes she figured out which gate was hers on the monitor, but it had been a reminder that she needed to be more responsible during her time in Spain. After those few minutes alone in a foreign airport she’d vowed to herself that things would be different here. She’d pay attention and stop daydreaming.
    The little puddle jumper they’d boarded in Madrid touched down on the tarmac with several screechy bumps. This was it; Elena had arrived. As soon as the plane stopped rolling and people began standing up and gathering their things, Brenda rushed to the front of the aisle.
    â€œAll righty, kids. Stick with me on the way out. We’re going to do a head count as soon as we get off the plane.” Her eyes darted around the plane’s interior. She seemed to be doing her own silent head count now as if she might lose someone on an airplane the size of a narrow living room.
    â€œDude, this chick makes me feel like I’m on a kindergarten field trip: Alex snickered, zipping up his backpack.
    â€œI know,” Elena ventured. “She’d probably insist on coming into the bathroom with me.”
    â€œTotally.” A laugh slid from the back of his throat, slow and thick as honey. “Then she’d do a head count to make sure you didn’t get lost on the way back to your seat.”
    She felt a pang of guilt for mocking Brenda. Though she was annoyingly perky and needlessly protective, Elena was secretly glad she was there to lead the way. She seemed to know her way around airports, and her Spanish was perfect. But she was such an easy target. Why was it that one of the quickest ways to bond with another teenager was to make fun of a dorky adult? Elena decided to give herself a break and chalk this one up to social survival.
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    Brenda corralled the students together once they were inside the airport.
    â€œSettle down, everyone,” she hollered. Elena noticed Brenda’s once neatly pressed khaki shorts were now wrinkled, particularly where they hugged her midsection. She looked as rumpled and tired as Elena felt. Elena had managed to log a few restless hours of sleep on the first flight, although sleep might have been too generous a term. It was more like a light nap. She rubbed at the knot that had tightened in her neck. She felt as if she could go to sleep forever.
    â€œOkay, as you know, you were each given the choice to either room in the campus dorm, or stay with a host family while you’re here in San