Meet Jeri McKane, Rosa Sanchez, Abby Wright, and Nikki Brown

                                                               Jeri McKane

Jeri McKane: “I’m learning to like it at Landmark, but I nearly died when I first got here. It’s beautiful and there’s horseback riding and hiking, but it’s not home. I miss Iowa, no matter how much kids snicker when I say that. If my mom didn’t have to travel for her job, I’d still be home with her. She’s my best friend, but that’s not cool to say here either. How am I not cool? Let me count the ways. Rosa says I talk funny, but I don’t. It’s the people here who do. All drawl-y. I speak regular English: I eat instead of chow. I don’t come from a ‘hood. And I thought ‘rent was money you paid, not your mom. It takes me forever to Instant Message with people who use stuff like CUL8R or WYSIWYG. I have enough friends, so I don’t care if I’m popular or not. At home I wasn’t weird. Mom and I did Bible studies together, and we took turns choosing subjects. My mom really trusts God a lot. She’s had to, especially since my dad left us. I think I became a Christian because my mom showed me that God was real. He gave us food and money a few times when the pickins’ were slim. But at school I got called a Jesus Freak last year for saying grace when I eat. I see some pretty messed-up girls here. A few came because they got in trouble at home. I got to come on a scholarship because I’m good at writing. One neat thing happened last semester. We had this investigative reporter come to English class. I asked so many questions that he gave me his business card when he left. I’d love his job! It’s kind of like solving a mystery or being a detective. You track down clues and you nail the bad guys, then write about it. It’s a job where being nosy is actually good thing. Maybe I’ll go to college someday and try journalism. There’s a good school at home. I could study writing at the University of Iowa. One girl here told me I should be a preacher. I think she meant it as an insult. All I did was refuse to steal a candy bar for her at the Mini-Mart. When she asked why, I said it was wrong and the Bible said so. I don’t think I’m better than other people, but I do know right from wrong. Mom calls me her “Jericho Girl,” but you can bet I don’t tell too many people that! I did tell my roommate, Rosa...

Rosa Sanchez: Nikki called me a flirt yesterday. How, I ask you, is that possible? Like, there isn’t a cutie within flirting distance of this girls’ school. We might as well be nuns. I see the boys from the academy when we go into town to rent movies, but can I help it if they like me? I just want to have fun. What’s wrong with that, I ask you? Sometimes I get the feeling Abby thinks I should be quiet like her since I’m a Christian. I tell her, “Are Christians supposed to, like, drag around all depressed, looking like something the dog should bury?” No way! I say that Christians should be the most fun kids you know. My dad’s a missionary, and he’s the funniest guy I ever saw. My mom’s always trying to calm him down, but he says if you’ve got the joy of the Lord, you should notify your face. Amen to that! I miss them tons, but I make myself not think about it. What good does it do? I just like to have a good time. It’s not my fault Jeri and Abby have to study all the time to keep their scholarships. I don’t bug them because they always have their noses in a book. So they don’t need to bug me. I get my stuff done. I just enjoy myself along the way. I love movies and dancing and especially eating. It shows lately. Either that or my clothes are shrinking in the HOT dryers they have here. Yeah, the skirts are little short and tighter since I put on a pound or two. I’m thinking about doing Yoga or kick boxing or maybe running after the snow melts. Ugh. Makes me, like, exhausted just thinking about it. I need a snack. Think I'll wander down the hall and see what Abby's doing...

Abby Wright: I don’t mean to be unkind, but I wish I could have a room of my own. Back home in England, I never had to share a room, and I miss my privacy. I’m pretty neat, and I like it quiet. That’s the way it was in our flat. Mum’s like me, only more so. Ever since Daddy died, she’s been quieter. So rooming with a cowboy has been a tad bit of a shock. Nikki’s not mean or anything, but she’s noisier than a train and wrecks a room the minute she comes in. I like her—I really do. I just wish she had her own room to wreck. I need some peace. If you’re raised by a mum who’s a museum curator, you have a lot of quiet and read a lot. If the museum is the Jane Austen Centre, then you’re raised on Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. I love the movies, but Mum says they’ll never be as good as the books. I can probably recite half of Pride and Prejudice, I’ve seen it so many times. That Colin Firth? Smashing. I’ve turned into a swot since coming here. If I don’t study every blooming night, though, I could lose my scholarship. The girls here are pretty nice. I did get tired after a while of people coming up to me and saying, “Say something. I just love your accent.” I’m getting the hang of American words better. Watching the telly helps. I still love the BBC best, but it makes me homesick to watch. Then I want to call home. I used to get confused with the phones. They ask you to press the pound sign, but I had to ask Nikki where it was. Our pound sign is that wiggly symbol for our money. Another funny thing was the “No Honking” sign I saw. Why would you need signs telling people not to throw up? I’ve only met one boy I think is dishy. He’s from the academy in the next town. He “behaves in a gentleman-like manner,” as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice would say! My roommate, Nikki, just rolls her eyes at the way I talk...

Nikki Brown: Landmark’s an okay school. As long as Show Stopper got to come with me, I didn’t care where my folks shipped me off to. At least I can ride year round here. In Maryland, you spend half the year riding in sleet or breaking ice off the water bucket. I could see living in Virginia. There’s great places to ride and horse shows to compete in. But winning prizes and ribbons isn’t the great thing about riding. A horse is like having a best friend who’s always glad to see you and listens to everything you say. And someone who can’t blab your secrets. If you tell girls, they flap their lips to the world. There’s been a time or two I’d have gone stark ravin’ mad without Show Stopper to talk to. Plus the riding. On the ground I stomp and clomp and I’m big as a barn. But on horseback, it’s like floating. I’m this light weight, graceful person who flows. Everything’s in slow motion. I hate watching videos of my horse shows though. It proves that I’m just as big in the saddle as on the ground. Of course, if I was a skinny foal like Abby, I’d never get the hooves picked or get worm medicine down Show Stopper’s throat.  Size has its advantages. My friends here go to church, but I don’t. I’d rather be riding. Anyway, you’re not getting me in a dress on Sunday. Wearing those moron school uniforms to class is bad enough. Now if they had a church where I could wear my cowboy hat and ride Show Stopper there, you might interest me. But I’ve got everything I want. Why should I add religion? I’ve got enough to do.