Does London have bubble tea?
Do I have to pretend I like Earl Grey?
What if I call someone “dude” and they call me “madam”?
Do I have to develop an opinion on the royal family or is neutrality allowed?
She walked into the lecture hall and took her seat near the back. The perfect spot to hear while also ignoring everyone. The lights dimmed slightly as the professor started sharing slides on post-conflict economic stabilization.
Bea opened her laptop. Told herself to focus.
Failed dismally.
Because the professor had just used the phrase “socioeconomic transition” and now her brain was whispering,Is that what I’m doing? Socioeconomic transitioning? Should I add that to the list?
Instead, she opened a browser tab and, with subtlety honed by years of fake note-taking, typed:
what is it like to move to london in winter when you have no friends and the only person you know is your stupid hot billionaire boyfriend
She deleted “stupid.” Replaced it with “beautiful.” Then deleted the whole thing and searched:
London winter survival tips
How to not feel like an imposter in a new city
British grocery chains ranked by affordability
how to reinvent yourself in a different country but still stay you
Someone two seats down was watching a soccer match on mute.
Not soccer,football. That was what they called it there.
She had alongway to go.
Her phone buzzed.
CLAIRE BEAR: How’s the micro-crisis today
CLAIRE BEAR: On a scale of 1 to “I googled if jaffa cakes are actually cake”
BEYA SLAYA: Currently researching whether raincoats are stylish or just sad necessities.
