An American Community School student recalls meeting Julie in Amman, Jordan, in the fall of his senior year. Julie had a perfect American accent, her perfect teeth, her perfectly wavy, perfectly brown hair. After four months, he got bored and started dreading seeing her again, but she was a good friend. He says he was looking forward to the possibility of seeing her at college in California or Oregon next year. The author’s next assignment is to travel to the U.S. and explore the country of Jordan, Jordan.
Julie was beautiful and smart—and my age—and her age. She was a Pisces, and I thought about Susan with a twinge of regret. Tomorrow we would be rivals, but tonight we were friends—and potential hookups. We were quiet for a few minutes, and then Julie pointed to the sky, connecting with each star of the constellation. She said, “I’m a Pisces,” she said, looking up. “Where is it?” She took my hand and traced the whole entire constellation with our hands.
The two days with Julie had made me feel something completely new and exhilarating—normal. Maybe I would find someone like Julie at Brown. Maybe you can come to Cairo over Christmas break? Maybe I’ll try, but still I said, “I’ll try.” Julie had written her address and wrote a note to say goodbye to Luma. Luma: “All that I was looking for was somebody like you who looked like you were somebody else?” Luma says, “But I’m not sure—hopefully soon”.