With Love from Arizona

"Arizona, hurry up so you don't miss your flight!!!"

"I'm coming, mamma."

I was finally getting to leave home after living here my whole life.

My name is Arizona. Yes, like the state, but I grew up in Philly, Pennsylvania. So what was so special about me leaving home?

I never got to do so. I lived in a small town in Philadelphia with my parents. And, when I say small town, I mean one cinema, one grocery store, one barbershop, and one church—where my father was the pastor. It was a town where everybody knew everybody, a town of limited possibilities.

But all that was about to change for me because I had just gotten a scholarship to study at Synergy University, Russia. One of the most prestigious universities in the world. Since I knew what the internet was, I'd spent a lot of time looking at pictures and videos of places and sights that I'd never gotten to see. My parents had only let me have a phone two years ago, because in their words, 'the internet is a negative and sinful place that stains you.'

And I agreed with them. From what I'd seen, the internet could be very negative.

I couldn't wait to see the world; I couldn't wait to explore. My parents were proud of me, of course. I was the first girl in town to leave on a full scholarship, and even though I knew that most everyone was happy for me, some were envious. You could see it in the way they looked at me when they thought my attention was elsewhere. Most of the other kids had tried leaving town, but somehow, they all came back, and for very bad reasons. I knew deep down that I had to watch myself and mind my next steps.

My dad had hired Mr. Joe to drive us to the airport and had insisted that he and my mother come with us. The city was beautiful. There were so many tall buildings and pretty cars. Pretty people in pretty clothes. Everything was beautiful.

When my flight was announced, my parents began talking to me, and honestly, I was just hearing sounds. I wasn't even listening. My father must have noticed this because he took me by the shoulders and shook me hard.

"Listen to me, Arizona, if you didn't hear anything I said to you just now, remember this: If you ever lose your way, please don't forget your home. We'll always be here. That is the most important rule."

Those words sank into my brain and with them came the realization that I wasn't going to the next town over. I was going to a whole new country, without my parents' guidance. I could feel the panic rising until my mother hugged me and whispered in my ear that everything was going to be okay.

And with those parting words, yours truly was off to the land of onion castles.

On the plane, I met this girl. Her name was Tatiana. She was Russian and was attending Synergy too. She was in America visiting her beau, who had left two days earlier on business. She was also in her third year at the university.

"Your parents let you travel alone?"

She looked at me funny and laughed so loud that other passengers turned to look at us. She quickly apologized and turned back to me. At this point, I was already embarrassed that I had asked a such a silly question.

"Honey, my parents don't make decisions for me. I do that myself. I'm 23 years old. Is this your first time away from home, Arizona?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then you're lucky to have me. I'll teach you everything. Where are you staying?"

"In the dorms."

"Okay, I live off campus, but I'll come to see you. I'll help you get settled and all that other stuff. Okay?"

I nodded my head, and we settled into a more comfortable conversation. When we finally landed in Russia, it was almost nightfall. With Tatiana's help, I found my dorm room and got settled in quite well. My first night in Moscow was not eventful, though I had difficulty sleeping. It was my first time being on my own, but eventually I nodded off. It was morning soon enough, and a different kind of struggle began. I could have sworn I had to run through the school to find my department and get everything with my school work settled.

Finally, I was able to get to class, though I was quite late and flustered. But I met some people, and all in all, the class was fun. I wearily left class and began the journey back to my dorm, but just as I turned the hallway I bumped into a wall and fell to the ground. What I had assumed was a wall was a man. The most handsome man I'd ever laid my eyes on was holding his hand out to me. He looked like a god "Well, thank you. Though I would prefer if you made your compliments while standing on your own two feet."

Wait, did I say that out loud?

"Yes, you did, dear."

I slapped my hand over my mouth and tried not to say anything more abominable. Of all the people to embarrass myself in front of, it just had to be this hunk of a man. I had even managed to be sacrilegious in my idiotic nonsense.

"It's not nice to leave a man hanging…"

He shook the hand he was still holding out, and my eyes regrettably left his bright blues for it, which I hurriedly took and stood up.

"Sorry…"

"It's alright. It's not every day you bump into a pretty lady like yourself."

I was blushing down to my toes. I swear, if I looked at myself in a mirror, I'd be red all over. Finally, my tongue loosened, and I once again regained the ability to speak.

"Thank you…"

"So, what's your name?"

I don't know what happened to me, but I just turned the opposite direction and ran away. I had been doing so well too. When I got back to my room, I slammed my door closed and slid down it.

"Could you please never do that again?"

My heart fell into my stomach as I heard a strange voice in my room. I looked up and saw a girl dressed in gothic clothes sitting on a chair in the room. She just stared back at me.

"Who are you?"

"Your roommate. You do know that this room is for two, right? You're not meant to sleep in both beds."

"Oh…welcome, then."

She ignored me and turned back to whatever she was doing on her phone. We hadn't been in the same room for even an hour and I already didn't like her. I was going to be living with this girl my entire stay in Russia, so it would be best if we got along…right?

"Hi, I'm Arizona."

Silence.

"Hi, I said I'm…"

"I heard you the first time. Now can you shut it?!!!"

Wow. Rude much? I just went to my bed and slumped down on it. It had been an eventful day, and I needed a good nap. I was dozing off when my phone beeped. I looked at it and saw a text from Tatiana.

"Hey, girl. How was school today? We're having a party at my place. Want to come over?"

I looked at the text for God only knows how long before eventually replying.

"No, sorry. Had a hard day today. I'll have to pass. Maybe next time, okay?"

"Fine, but only because it's your first day at school. I won't take no for an answer next time."

I smiled at the text and dropped my phone on the bed. At least something had gone well today, and I didn't embarrass myself. I risked another glance at my roommate. She was still on her phone. When she caught me looking at her, she scoffed, picked up her bag, and left the room. Perfect, now I could get some sleep.

The next day wasn't as bad as the first—not easy but not a complete disaster—and by the end of my first week, I had fallen into an easy schedule. That was comforting. I hadn't had much time to speak to Tatiana this week. I was busy doing this or that, assignments, and research. It made me feel bad, so that was the first thing I did the second I got back to my room. The phone rang for a while before she picked it up.

"Hello, Tat."

"Arizona, it's so lovely to finally hear your voice. It's not like I've been waiting or anything."

I caught the hint of sarcasm in her tone and laughed a bit.

"I'm sorry, it's been crazy over here. I just finally got a hold of things."

"I understand, honey. That's why I haven't called either. I've been waiting for you to get there."

"I'm glad you understand."

"That brings me to my next order of business: we're going partying tonight."

I was a little alarmed when she said that. I had never done that before. I wasn't sure it was something I wanted to do, but of course, there was no stopping Tatiana.

"I don't know…"

"I know, and you're coming. It's been a stressful week for you, and you need to unwind. You need to live a little."

"Okay."

"Perfect, I'll be at your dorm by 7:00 pm to pick you up."

"What should I wear?"

"Something pretty. What else?"

"Okay…I'll see you when you get here."

I hung up and looked at my wardrobe. I sighed and lazily stood up from my bed to look for a suitable dress to wear to a club. After much amateurish consideration, I settled on a black gown that stopped an inch above my knee and some flat red shoes. I nodded my head in approval. I didn't know much about fashion, but what I did know was that I looked good. I put away the dress, then set my phone alarm for 6:30 pm, laid back down on my bed, and decided to get some sleep.

It felt like five minutes later when my alarm went off. I groggily rolled—literally rolled—out of bed and began getting ready. After a quick bath, I put on the dress and the flats. My hair was brunette and wavy and full. It was hard to tame, so I just let it fall down my back in waves. It was pretty long too; it came down to the end of my spine. I ran my fingers through it one more time, and that was when there was a knock on my door. I opened it and my jaw almost hit the ground when I saw Tatiana. She glided into my room, and I shut the door with my mouth still hanging open. She had on a red dress that stopped about an inch below her butt and looked like it had been painted on. Her shoes were pointy heels that made her creamy long legs seem never ending. She had her blonde hair in a bun, and her make-up was seduction itself. The front of the dress showed a generous amount of cleavage, and the black purse she clung to finished off the look.

"If you don't close your mouth, you're going to swallow a fly, girl. Besides, why are you not dressed?"

I shut my mouth and assessed my reflection in the mirror. What did she mean? Couldn't she see I was fully dressed?

"I'm all dressed up and ready to go…"

Tatiana spent quite some time looking at my outfit. She twirled her finger in the air, so I turned around for her, and by the time I had completed a full turn, she had thrown back her head and started to laugh.

"What's so funny? This is cute."

"Cute? Thank goodness I came prepared."

Tatiana dropped the big black bag she had been carrying on my bed and brought out its contents. In another hour, I was dolled up like her but in white. I had some trouble walking in the heels, but I soon got the hang of it. The dress showed more than I had ever shown in my life. I never knew I had such pronounced curves, and it gave me a burst of confidence, which I was beginning to revel in.

"Now you're ready. But we're late. Let's go."