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When she heard the key turn in the lock, Qiana glanced up from her laptop. She'd been growing agitated and hungry as she waited for Pam to return. A part of the arrangement she'd set up with the coach was that she'd pay Pam a flat fee for room and board. Because of Qiana's training regime and special nutritional needs, she'd been explicit in her dietary requirements prior to arrival. Plenty of fruits, veggies and fish with chicken on occasion. Fast food was never even a thought that crossed Qiana's mind. Because, logically but incorrectly, her expectation had been that she'd be living in a place with a stove.
So, when Pam rushed into the small flat at an awkward angle obscuring a paper bag with an immediately recognizable logo, Qiana had to suppress the knee-jerk urge to say something. A few minutes later, her teammate walked over extending a plate. On it, Pam had arranged the contents of the bag -- recognizable chicken tenders, black beans and rice. Qiana was in utter disbelief at her brazenness. With a straight face, Pam was trying to pass the food off as if it had been freshly prepared. Qiana fumed silently, but she played ignorant and accepted the food graciously. The uneasy feeling that she'd gotten soon after arriving -- when she noticed the turquoise linens on her twin bed were soiled and mildly tattered -- returned. She didn't know what, but something about this arrangement was amiss. The thought crossed her mind that this was a grand hustle.
"Qiana, I don't know if this situation is going to work out," lamented the coach in English with a deep furrow in his brow.
"You're the first person who has come to train with our team," he continued. "Pam felt like she was doing her best, and you didn't include her on the e-mail."
It was the fourth day of Qiana's stay. She'd had five meals from the same fast food restaurant and some pizza since her arrival. All she'd had that particular day was a protein shake because no meals had been provided at all. So, out of frustration and the realization that this pattern had to stop, she'd contacted the coach.
Now, with other teammates glancing over from the sidelines, she stood talking with him and a clearly perturbed Pam after soccer practice. It felt like two against one. Qiana had sent an e-mail earlier that day in the spirit of asking the coach to mediate. But, it was clear he'd spoken to Pam separately prior to practice, and now he was offended.
"Pam keeps saying that she is going to buy groceries, but she keeps bringing me fast food," Qiana explained, restraining any visible signs of exasperation.
"When I visit my sister in America, we eat hamburgers and French fries," countered the coach.
"Well, I don't eat that," Qiana said flatly. "Can I have my money for food back, and I will be responsible for it?"
"Yes. I think that is best."
Pam just stood there contributing little to the conversation. Ignoring Qiana, she allowed the coach to translate her teammate's words for her as though she didn't understand. And, unabashedly, she responded only to him -- in rapidly spoken Portuguese -- when she did speak. Qiana had no way to determine what was being said, but she sensed that it wasn't unbiased and/or completely truthful.
"Qiana, we have a problem," said the coach in English as he approached her in the spacious and elegant lobby of his apartment building. Qiana was in transit from Pam's. The plan had been for her to stay at the coach's place for the weekend because her new host had houseguests.
"I'm going out of town. The girls want you to come stay with them and go to the club. Do you want to go?"
Qiana smiled. The question was rhetorical, and they both knew it. She also knew that, at this point, the only choice she had was to go with the flow -- something she'd done a lot of since she arrived just over two months ago.
"That's fine."
"OK. Let's take your bags upstairs and go get something to eat first."
Even though Qiana had eaten her usual at Zona Sul before she left Copacabana, she wasn't going to turn down free food. So, she nodded and followed her coach toward the elevators. Afterwards, they went to lunch. He commented that the various colors of veggies on her plate reminded him of a rainbow.
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Calendar
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Queen Charlotte Fair @ Route 29 Pavilion
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NEW WINDOW GALLERY-Pat Rhea-ACRYLIC PAINTINGS-April 05-30 2024 VALDESE, NC 28690 @ New Window Gallery/Play It Again Records
- Through April 30, 12 p.m.
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TheDiscountCodes
- Mondays-Sundays. Continues through Dec. 31
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"Blood Residue Analysis of Paleoamerican Stone Tools in the Carolinas" @ Native American Studies Center
- Fri., April 26, 12-1 p.m.
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Brightfire Music and Arts Festival @ GreenLife Family Farms
- Fri., April 26, 4-11 p.m. and Sat., April 27, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
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