Fast Life by Cassandra Carter Read Free Book Online

When he didn’t answer after a barrage of calls, she rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth in frustration. Aside from his disappointing call that morning, she hadn’t heard from him all day. He hadn’t even sent her a text message. Nothing.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” her mother said, sensing her daughter’s frustration.
    â€œNothing. I’ll be back,” Kyra snapped as she snatched her carry-on bag and marched to a nearby kiosk.
    Her eyes were blurry as she fumbled through the racks of magazines and rows of snacks and candies, but she ignored the impulse to break down. Instead, she quickly settled on Ebony, XXL and Jet , along with a king-sized Snickers bar, a snack-sized bag of Cheetos and a Pepsi. To her, they were not just the perfect snacks—they were now essentials for the trip.
    â€œFlight two-three-five-three to Nassau from Chicago will now begin boarding. If you are an unaccompanied minor or a first-class passenger you are welcome to board.”
    The announcement echoed through the terminal as Kyra made her way back to the boarding area with a plastic bag of goodies and her small carry-on bag. She began heading toward the gate but stopped when her mother didn’t follow.
    â€œMom, come on. We gotta board.” She motioned for her mother to come along.
    â€œThey didn’t call us yet. Sit down.”
    â€œWe’re not in first class?” Kyra said, as though she couldn’t believe it.
    â€œSince when do I have first-class money?” Her mother chuckled, but Kyra didn’t find anything funny.
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    Seat 26A, a window seat, was Kyra’s. She and her mother were among the last group of passengers to board and were now seated near the very back of the plane. As the plane took off, Kyra sat in the stuffy cabin and listened to her headphones. When the flight attendant came around, she didn’t eat anything or drink anything. She didn’t even speak. She just sat there going through her iPod selections, finally choosing several menu tracks. In between burying her head in a romance novel, her mother took a nap and ate the snacks the flight attendant doled out. Kyra scowled at her in disgust, barely able to control the urge to choke her mother in her sleep.
    As tired as she was, Kyra couldn’t sleep. Insomnia left her cranky. Kyra flipped through magazines, and even though they didn’t hold her attention for long, she forced herself to read every article in each issue twice. She sometimes felt herself drifting off, but with the sudden jerks of the plane and a crying baby, a nap was impossible.
    Man, this is some bullshit! Here I am on this big-ass plane that’s stuffy as hell and smells like shit. That bitch back there needs to change that little rug rat’s diaper and shut him the fuck up! He sounds just as happy about leavin’ as I am, though, so I guess I can’t really knock him for it. And Mom. Look at her ass. Over there all asleep. Lookin’ all comfortable, too. Like this was nothin’! Like this was no big deal! Man, if I couldparachute off this plane and go back to Chicago, I would in a heartbeat. But no, here I am goin’ to a whole other country with nobody. I mean, Mom can be cool sometimes, I guess. But more times than not, she’s too uptight. Why are we movin’ here? This still don’t make no sense to me! I mean, we could’ve found a solution. There had to be some way to fix the problem. But naw, she just wanna up and ruin my life. I feel robbed, robbed of my life or somethin’. I feel incomplete. It’s like somethin’ is missin’. And now here I am, on this plane that keeps rockin’ and shakin’. Yup. This is it. I’m goin’ from bein’ one of Chi-town’s finest to bein’ some island girl.
    Kyra looked down at her watch for about the millionth time. It was about seven in the morning. They would be landing soon.
    Thank the Lord this flight is just about