Lost in America by Tina deBellegarde

Lost in America

Tina deBellegarde

 

The other girls zip along on bikes.

She wrestles with rusty roller skates.

“The bearings are shot,” dad says, “save your money for a new pair.”

What money, she wonders? She gets no allowance.

 

Her bearings aren’t shot; she’s lost her bearings.

Her parents speak with an accent.

Her hair isn’t blond: her eyes aren’t blue.

She brings scrambled egg sandwiches to school,

and Dad’s radio only plays Neapolitan songs.

 

She hides in the closet with her transistor.

Hours pass. She learns all the words to every top ten song.

Monday she walks to school. Familiar lyrics her new compass.

 

About the author: Tina deBellegarde’s novel manuscript WINTER WITNESS was long-listed in the Retreat West and the Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award competitions. Her story “Second Chances” will appear in SEASCAPE: Best New England Crime Stories 2019. She is new to flash and micro fiction. Her winning flash piece “Let Them Eat Cake” can be viewed at Ad Hoc Fiction https://adhocfiction.com/category/winners/. She is a member of Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. She lives and writes in Catskill, New York. Connect with Tina on her website at tinadebellegarde.com or on twitter @tdbwrites.

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