Turn It Loose Read Free Page A

stopped by Cool Haus and picked up a pint of salted caramel ice cream, then crossed the street to order fat-laced enchiladas from Pinches Tacos. Armed with her favorite comfort foods, Jaylah was determined to enjoy her evening and give herself break from the mounting stress.
    On a normal Thursday night Jaylah would be two-songs deep into some indie band’s opening set and hating life because of it. But tonight she was looking forward to getting lost in a sea of Netflix movies and letting the on-screen drama take the place of her own.
    Jaylah scrolled through the selections looking for something to watch. Insidious? No, she was not in the mood to be terrified. Requiem for a Dream? Hell no, she was already depressed enough. Jaylah was intrigued by the synopsis of Laurent Cantet’s film The Class, but changed her mind when she realized it was in French and she’d have to suffer through two hours of subtitles.
    After twenty minutes of searching, she finally landed on Bridget Jones's Diary and found herself chuckling right away. Score .
    To her surprise, Bridget Jones’s fictitious life mirrored her own. They were both curvy girls, had terrible track records with men, and both knew it was time to change their lives, but didn’t quite know how.
    By the end of the film, Jaylah was hit with a sudden bit of inspiration and she knew exactly what she needed to do.
    She called her mother to tell her the news.
    “Hello?” Mrs. Baldwin’s voiced oozed into the receiver.
    “Mom, I’m moving to London!” Jaylah nearly shouted, getting straight to the point.
    “Jaylah? What are you talking about? London?”
    “Yes! I was watching Bridget Jones's Diary and—“
    “How was that ? Always wanted to see it, but never got around to it. Any good?”
    “Mom, forget about the movie. Did you hear what I said? I’m moving to London!”
    “I heard you, Jay Jay, but how do you plan on pulling that off?”
    “I don’t know, but I have to do something. I went on an interview yesterday and they offered me the job--”
    “ That’s great! When do you start?”
    “Never. They we re only offering to pay me 30—“
    “Thou sand dollars? You owe more than that in student loans!”
    “Exactl y! I turned them down and I don’t even feel bad about it.”
    “I’m not sure that was the best thing to do Jay Jay. I mean, you know what they say: the best time to find a job is when you already have one. You could’ve taken it and kept looking.”
    “I would have gotten stuck , mom. It would’ve been super long hours and very low pay. I just couldn’t,” Jaylah sighed, annoyed her mother didn’t mirror her excitement. “Something else has got to be out there. Who knows, maybe I’ll find it in London.”
    “ Jay Jay, you can’t move to another country just like that. Don’t they have immigration requirements? Visas? And you need money, don’t you?”
    “ I have to look into it, but I can at least stay the summer. Besides, three months is long enough to get my sh—stuff together. I have enough saved up to cover me, especially if I can sublet my apartment.”
    “ When are you trying to go? Maybe I can join you.”
    “The sooner the better,” Jaylah said, already thinking of people to take over her lease. “ And mom?”
    “Yes Jay Jay?”
    “I have to do this one on my own.”
     
    * * *
     
    When she got off the phone with her mother, Jaylah Googled flights from LAX to Heathrow. Options were plentiful, but the price—well over a thousand dollars—nearly caused her to rethink her plan. After entering what felt like a jillion combinations, Jaylah decided to bid on a ticket to the Queen’s city to see if she could get it for a ridiculous discount.
    “Ok, if it’s meant to be someone will accept my offer,” Jaylah said to herself.
    She typed in $750, entered her credit card number, and crossed her fingers.
    With in minutes she had an answer.
    “Congratulations ,” the screen read in bold type, “Your bid was