Chapter 1: Tampons

Just a few months ago, if someone told Winter Candace that she was an American by birth and would come to live in one of its most popular states someday, she would have spit water out of her mouth due to the sheer ridiculousness. Whereas she had never even visited her neighboring country, destiny was unpredictable. So here she was, standing clueless outside the airport in California, waiting for her apparent father. While Winter dawdled around the front entrance, she earned quite a few unwanted curious glances for her questionable attire. After all, it was the end of August, the hottest month of the year, and she was wearing a baggy jacket over her long-sleeved white top along with black leggings—an outfit that one should have gotten her melting in the heat by now. But to her, it was nothing compared to the heat back in Bangladesh. Winter waited and waited. Every tick-tock of her wristwatch felt like an eternity. Yet, all she got was big smiles on others' faces as they were welcomed by their close people. It wasn't until an hour flew by that she received a cold text stating, "A cab will come to get you." She sighed in exasperation. It left her disappointed since she was excited to see how her old man looked, whom she had known to be dead her entire life. She couldn't even remember ever meeting the man for God's sake. Yet, to be frank, a part of her expected this. She should have known better than to expect anything from anyone. After all, her entire life has been full of disappointments. But who was she kidding? She herself was the biggest disappointment. As soon as the cab arrived, Winter placed her two big pieces of luggage in the trunk and sat inside. Normally, anyone would be bursting with excitement as they would stare at the new scenario of the city through the window. But after what Winter had been through, that wasn't something that would bring spark to her lifeless emerald eyes. Although many curious questions arose in her head, she restrained herself from bothering the cab driver. Overall, the place seemed nice, vastly different from where she had been. Half an hour had passed since she was riding when she felt cramps in her lower abdomen. She groaned and clutched her stomach. It was a mistake not to check her menstruation date properly. Even so, it was a bigger mistake not to bring any sanitary pads with her. "Please make a stop at the pharmacy nearest to the destination," she told the driver. Soon, the car stopped in front of a big pharmacy. Winter stepped inside uncomfortably. She looked around the shelves, searching for the package she needed but couldn't find it. She bit her lips out of irritation. She marched towards the pharmacist at the counter to ask about it but felt embarrassed since it was surrounded by older men. The place she grew up in was very conservative, things like ‘women shouldn't speak of such things aloud in front of men' were what old ladies there would often whisper, so in cases like this, Winter seemed to shy away, and her lack of confidence didn't help either. She waited until the coast was clear and gathered years' worth of courage before asking the pharmacist, "Excuse me, can I get a pack of sanitary napkins?" "Sorry, kiddo. We're out of it. There are good tampons though," he suggested. The term seemed familiar, but Winter didn't have a clear idea on its functioning, so she took out her Doraemon-covered cell phone and googled it. After all, Google knew everything, and it was going to be her guide in this new place. "How do you use tampons?" she typed in the Google search bar, and the result slightly scared her. Winter couldn't believe something like that was actually used by women around there. "Do girls really use this thing?" she asked the pharmacist in shock. The older male eyed the flustered black-haired girl weirdly and nodded. "So do you want one pack or what?" "Um, yeah. Wait a second." Winter excused herself and pressed her phone to her left ear, pretending to talk to someone. Actually, she just wanted time to think properly. After a moment, she inquired, "Is there any other pharmacy nearby?" "No," he replied. Winter wanted to crawl in a cave and hide herself there until her periods were over—at least the idea seemed better than using tampons. As she stood there wondering, her eyes fell on the freezer where tubs of ice cream were stored. Her mouth felt sour from the disgusting airplane food. She gulped and started to crave ice cream. However, she didn't have enough changes for it. Unwillingly, she tore away her gaze from it, which eventually landed on a tall brunette boy around her age who was nonchalantly picking up a box of tampons from the shelf. He was wearing a simple white shirt with jeans and white converse. Winter gaped at him with wide eyes, surprise etched on her face. She applauded him for his braveness in her head. In the region she had grown up in, most boys would roll their eyes at the mention of it. Feeling the piercing glare at his back, the boy glanced over his shoulder to find a heavily dressed girl, who was at least five inches shorter than him, gawking at him. He felt conscious all of a sudden. Pursing his lips, he ran a hand through his dark brown hair in an attempt to fix it and straightened his shirt, hinting the unknown girl to stop staring. Winter didn't pick up the hint and continued looking his way. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and asked, "Um, is there something on my back?" Winter gave him a confused look and said, 'No." 'Then can you please not stare at me like that?" Winter flinched at the sudden request, snapping out of her trance. She immediately averted her gaze, her cheeks heating up at the second-hand embarrassment. Way to go, Winter. He must think you are a weirdo, she cursed herself internally and muttered out an incoherent apology. "Did you want to say something to me?" he inquired again just in case. Winter shook her head in denial. "Oh, okay." He shrugged, seeming not bothered anymore. What a weirdo, he thought and started walking towards the counter to pay the bills. Winter fidgeted while playing with her fingers, peering at his back. Should I ask him for help? she wondered. He didn't seem like a delinquent to her—he looked too handsome and decent to be one. No piercings or weird dyed hair, point to be noted as well. So it seemed safe to ask him for help. "Excuse me?" she called out for the stranger. He turned over to her with a monotonous expression on his face and let out, "Yes?" Winter took a sharp intake of air and implored, "Um, c-could you probably, uh, um, you know, help me?" She hated to admit it, but she was very bad at communicating with strangers, especially boys "Sure. But for that you'd have to say how can I help you, right, miss?" Kind. She could tell he was kind. From the tone of his voice, willing to help a weird stranger; she could almost hear the smile in there. But that made it even more difficult to speak. 'I just- uh…" She hated it whenever she stuttered while speaking English. Although her English accent was decent enough not to earn laughter, she quickly decided not to say anything anymore. 'N-never mind." Noticing the discomfort of the girl, the pharmacist did the honor by chiming in, "Oh, young man, you won't believe, but this young lady is not accustomed to tampons and wants sanitary pads. Now since we are out of stock, what shall I do for her?" Winter's pale cheeks flushed red. She wanted the earth to swallow her right then. The pharmacist was such a jerk for spilling the beans. Who told him he could be that frank? How embarrassing! she exclaimed in her mind. Her hands were practically itching to cover her red face and turn on her heels. "Oh, I can help you with that," the boy replied naturally like it was no big deal, as if he himself knew how to use them, that's why, Winter's eyes almost popped out of her socket. He wriggled his brows at her in confusion. "You use tampons as a boy?!" Winter shrieked, unintentionally grabbing a lot of unwanted attention. Everyone looked at the brunette in search of some amusement in their mundane lives. He shot them a glare that screamed 'mind your own freaking business'. "Are you an idiot? Why would I use it?" he hissed lowly, clearly embarrassed. "Then how can you help me?" Winter cried out. "Sis… My sister," he reacted. "She will help you." "Oh," she let out and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. How could she manage to embarrass herself in front of the same stranger multiple times? Even kindness must have a limit. The boy released a sigh and went back to the shelves to pick out another box of tampons, whereas Winter observed him blankly. He paid the bills for his things and took a hold of her arm. It caught her by surprise. She wasn't used to men touching her in any way. "My sister's waiting outside," he mumbled before pulling her outside the store. "Zane, you prick! I was dying over here. What took you so long?" Winter heard an orotund voice of a woman and looked up in front of her to find a beautiful brunette in her early-twenties standing near a blue Chevrolet Sonic. "Who is she?" the woman asked her brother, motioning at the awkward-looking girl. "I thought you went to get me tampons, not a girlfriend for yourself." She pouted. "Geez, Ellie, not every girl that walks in my ten-meter radius is my girlfriend." Zane shrugged and pushed Winter towards his sister before letting go of her hand. "Anyways, teach this girl how to use tampons." Ellie wriggled her eyebrows and mouthed, "What?" "You heard me." He threw the bag of tampons towards her and instructed, "Just help her." "What's with that, huh? If you're asking for a favor, say it in a nicer tone. I'm your elder sister," Ellie retorted. "I'm not the one who needs the favor," Zane fired back. "But you brought her to me, right? So indirectly speaking, you're the one who needs the favor." Winter just gaped at the siblings' banter. She didn't have a sibling, nor had she ever met any of her cousins, so she was unaware of the fact that that was how sibling bonds worked. They didn't often meet eye to eye but always heart to heart. Winter interrupted timidly, "Um, please don't argue for me. It's okay. You don't have to help me." I'm embarrassed enough, she wanted to add that but that would do more harm than benefit. Not to mention, she was scared of Ellie. The quarreling duo looked over at her as if she had grown horns. Ellie laughed lightly, and the menacing air around her suddenly dissipated. "Don't sweat it. We are always fighting," Ellie explained. "Besides, he is a mean little brother who needs a filter in his mouth. I, being the responsible one, have to make sure he doesn't cause trouble." "Says the woman who makes me drive her home when she's drunk like a village idiot," Zane commented after rolling his eyes. Ellie hissed and tried to pull his ear. 'Did you forget who convinced Mom to get you a driving license?" 'Ah, let go!" Zane reacted instantly and scooted away. Winter stifled a chuckle at their antics. "Just help that girl already, so I can go home and sleep for two days straight before all hell breaks loose for me." He huffed. Ellie slapped his arm for being so dramatic and turned towards Winter, her attitude shifting a total one-eighty. 'Don't mind him. His senior year is starting soon, so he's a bit grumpier than usual," Ellie said, and Winter just nodded. Then she took a hold of Winter's arm and smiled brightly at her. "Let's go over there." With that, Ellie pulled her to the restaurant across the street to practically show her the steps of using a tampon in a way that she wouldn't hurt herself. Being the jovial person she was, she immediately hit it off with Winter. Winter also felt comfortable talking to her. Ellie told her about a lot of stuff, suggesting the best places to look around, the best restaurants, the bars, and other casual conversation. When they came out, Zane was sitting on the car hood, almost dozing off. "Wow, look, who finally made their appearances? I thought I would have to sleep in the car tonight," he joked dryly. Ellie shot him a glare and said her goodbyes to Winter before hopping in the car. Suddenly, Winter remembered that she kept the cab waiting. The cab fare... She was somersaulting herself in her head when Zane shoved a plastic bag in her hand. "It's for you," he mumbled and scurried over to the driver's seat. Winter opened the bag and saw a cookies n' cream ice cream tub. "How did he..." she trailed off, watching him pull over the driveway. A little smile curled on her face, realizing he must have noticed her longing gaze at the freezer. He definitely was a kind person. Even though she was grateful to him for his help, she wished she wouldn't meet him again. May he just remain the unknown savior she met in her new city.