That’s when it hit me: they planned the whole thing.
That one time my parents left me alone in Jamaica. I was born and raised in Houston and I spent every summer in Jamaica, where my family is from. The summer of ’91 was like every other. I was a typical ten-year-old, playing outside, sleepovers, swimming, riding bikes. August was our family trip to Jamaica, this time scheduled around my birthday, August 31st. My dad went three weeks early, something he never did. Said he had “work.” We met him there and stayed at a super-inclusive resort in Ocho Rios. All I had to do was point, and it was mine. I thought I was royalty. After a week of being pampered, we checked out and drove four hours up into the mountains to visit some of Pop’s cousins in Mandeville. Next morning, we drove again. I thought we were going to Kingston. But ten minutes in, we pulled into a long driveway behind iron gates. The sign read: “Bellaire Prep High School.” No one said a word. We toured the campus. My dad and the headmaster walked ahead. I followed with my mom. We met the house mother, Ms. Andy, an older Jamaican lady. We left to get lunch. After we ate, we drove back to the school. My mom asked what I thought of it. I said it was alright. Then she dropped the bomb: “You’ll be going here next semester.” I was confused. She cried. My pops laid it all out. I was enrolled. School started Monday. I hugged my mom. They drove out through the iron gates without me. I sat on my bunk and silently sobbed. Ms. Andy came in, helped unpack. My mom had secretly packed uniforms, hygiene, and snacks. That’s when it hit me: they planned the whole thing. The resort, the gifts, just to drop me at a school in the mountains of a third world country. As I sat there, tears on my cheeks, I heard a car door slam and the voices of returning students. I didn’t know it yet, but the next person who walked in would change everything about how I saw being left alone without parental supervision, Bellaire Prep had no idea who they just let on their campus. But that’s another story.
