She turns and grins, pulling out one of her signs. It reads "HELLO AMERICA" in big, uneven English letters.
I stop and stare. "What... is that?"
"My signs!" she says proudly. "I made a bunch of them. I want to practice my English with random people, so I figured why not start strong? I'm pretty excited."
I blink. "You made... cardboard signs. To talk to Americans."
"Yeah! Look, I've got 'THANK YOU,' 'WHERE IS BATHROOM,' and 'I AM TOURIST.'" She flips through them like flashcards.
Ilay walks past us, takes one look at the signs, shakes his head, and mutters, "Unbelievable."
Tessa looks up at him and grins. "What? You don't like my creativity?" He doesn't answer, just keeps walking toward the jet.
I laugh and loop my arm through hers. "Come on, you lunatic. Let's go."
As we walk across the private runway toward the aircraft, Tessa's jaw drops. "Holy shit. Is that his plane?"
"One of them, apparently," I say. "He says this is the smallest one."
"The smallest?" She looks at me like I've just told her aliens are real. "Girl, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"Don't ask."
Once we step inside, Tessa freezes. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the plush leather seats, the polished wood finishes, the full bar in the corner.
"This is insane," she whispers. "I've been sleeping in tents and now I'm on a private jet. What is my life?"
I smile. "Enjoy it while it lasts."
We settle into our seats. Tessa immediately pulls out her "THANK YOU" sign and holds it up to the flight attendant who brings us water.
The attendant blinks, smiles politely, and says, "You're welcome."
Tessa beams. "It works! Did you hear that, Iris? My English works!"
I laugh so hard I nearly spill my drink.
Ilay, sitting across from us, watches the whole exchange with a look of pure disbelief.
The plane takes off, and for the first time in a while, I actually feel excited. This is my first time going to America. Sure, the reason is shady as hell, chasing leads on an illegal case with a dangerous man, but still, I can't help the flutter in my stomach.
Ilay, surprisingly, is in a decent mood. He offers me a glass of wine, and I take it gladly. We chat a little. Well, he talks, mostly. Still has that smug tone, but at least he isn't being too weird for once.
Tessa, meanwhile, is in the back corner practicing her English with the flight attendant, holding up her signs and asking questions about American slang.
"What does 'yeet' mean?" she asks seriously.
The attendant tries not to laugh. "It's... well, it's like throwing something. Hard."
Tessa nods, writing it down in a little notebook. "Yeet. Got it."
I shake my head, smiling. This is going to be an interesting trip.
When we landed, I lit up like a child at Disney World. America. I was actually here.
As we walk-through the private terminal, Tessa held up herI AM TOURISTsign to a security guard. He laughs giving her a thumbs-up. "Welcome to America!" She practically glows. "Thank you!" she shouts back, fumbling with her words but grinning the whole time.
I pull out my phone, excited to use my translation app. Not that I don't understand English, I'm not terrible, but I'm not exactly fluent either. My mom is half Russian, half German, and she makes sure I can speak both fluently. English? Not so much. That one I am still working on.
