Girls Bible Study.
Me in charge.
Not really a leader. And really not a Spanish-speaker.
But here I am, trucking on with my horrible language techniques and impeded social skills.
“And this is the best tea, I think, so–” my eyes search the table. “Uh, where is the sugar?”
Laugh erupts from all five girls.
“Where is the sugar?” I ask slowly. Maybe they aren’t understand me, you know, with my accent and all.
Or maybe they aren’t understanding how seriously important this brown-sugar-in-the-mint-tea thing is, either.
“Nagy had it.” Janina squeaks.
I notice the past tense on the word “have”. That worries me.
“Nagy?” I question.
She gravely hands me the sugar bowl. It is completely empty.
I shriek, grabbing her tea cup, expecting there to be a slush of brown sugar in the bottom. But there’s just tea.
“It, uh–” Nagy clears her throat. “It wasn’t for the snack?”
I can’t control myself. I burst out laughing. After about a five-minute episode, the girls finally get me to stop hyperventilating.
“There are going to be cookies in a minute.” I explain. “But I can’t believe you ate all that. How could you do that?”
She smiles shyly. “I guess I did it with a spoon.”
I stir my tea. “Okay. That works,”
-Madeline Studebaker