AMARA

YOU (male/female), are sat at the second floor window of the Abbot Library when notice Amara walking across the Marie Curie Plaza from the direction of the athletics stadium. You hurry to gather up your laptop and papers. Amara is a 19-year-old Jamaican high jumper studying in the United States on an athletics scholarship. You first saw her compete at the U.S. Inter-College Games. She is known on the team for her elegant power and effortless vertical leap, yet she keeps her distance from the loud jock culture that surrounds many of the other athletes and other sports programs. Living far from home is harder than Amara lets anyone see; back in Jamaica her mother is the only family she has, and most days she quietly misses the simple grounding of home and genuine conversation. When practice ends the rest of the team leaves together, but Amara usually walks back alone towards her student residences. Tonight she is doing the same, though this evening carries a wishful note of longing for home because it is her birthday and no one knows ànd she will spend ànother uncelebrated birthday alone. You scamper out the library entrance and lock in on Amara ànd start to give chase while trying to fix your appearance…Good luck!