Streets of da TDot

“Karen, welcome to Canada, you will have life as you have never known before; and I will be right by your side my darling daughter.” I made up my face in disgust as I don’t know why “she” is calling me her darling daughter, I am not! I took a sudden dislike to this woman, she took my dad from my mom and moved him here and now she has taken me away from my mom, friends and my final year in high school. Her fake smile made me cringe, but I followed mummy’s advice and pretended to be happy although I am so miserable inside.
Karen is a seventeen year old Jamaican high school girl in her final year, she is a child of divorce, her parents were happily married until Joan a white woman from Canada, came to Jamaica, took one look at her dad Cecil, had an affair with him, which led to her parents divorcing and within the next two years her father packed up his job as a Pharmacist to live in Canada as a taxi cab driver, Joan is a Customer Service Representative at a bank and both her and Karen’s dad can only afford to live in a tiny three bedroom apartment in the government housing project on Trethewey Drive in Toronto. This is a far cry from life in Stony Hills; she had a BMW, a hot boyfriend who was the star of her school’s Priory High athletic team and she was one of the most beautiful popular girls. Her mother, concerned with the high rise in crime and the fact that she was a Criminal lawyer decided that Canada is the safest place for Karen and agreed with Cecil’s request for her to live with him here in Canada as a trial basis. Karen protested her mother’s decision but it was of no use, minds were made up and Karen at the end of her sixth form year had to painfully say good-bye to all her friends and boyfriend for a new life in Canada.
Karen realised that living with her step-mother was not going to be easy, the woman was plain nasty, she did not clean the apartment, and being someone who is much organised and would kill for a clean environment and the state of the apartment was in caused her much grief; not to mention the lion sized dog that is also a member of the family.
School was an absolute disaster for Karen, she was placed a grade behind; as she was told she needed to catch up before moving on to grade 12 and eventually university, most of the lessons being taught Karen already completed them two years prior. Frustration set in, she became rude and her grades fell, so bad in fact she was placed in an ESL programme. She hated most of the girls at her new school, they spoke down to her, because of her thick accent, thing is Karen spoke what could be called Queen’s English, while they spoke using slangs and words that will never make it in the English dictionary.
Karen’s step-mother became a thorn in her side, the woman refused to let Karen get a cell phone, she had to ask permission to go to the movies with her friends, to wear make-up; even lip gloss. Her father laid down the law, demanding she be home by nine on the weekends and no after school activities.
Karen and her step mother argued a lot, during one of the many arguments, Karen blurted out that she hated her step mother, and wished she were back home in Jamaica with the only woman who can ever be her mother. Joan reacted viciously to this by slapping her across the face, the result was a fist fight, with hair, blood and screams floating through that apartment which resulted in the police, the ambulance and social services being called. Karen was taken from the home for one night and was placed in a foster home. She met Julia, a petite; black girl, she was Canadian from her accent, Karen was not sure if she was born in Canada, her arms were full of needle tracks, which meant she was a shooter, heroin addict. She was on her cell phone, texting and calling her friends begging them to come and get her, as she is locked up. Karen was scared to death of this girl, but being Jamaican who is proud as hell she did not let her fear be revealed, but she kept a close eye on Julia, though. Julia had a hard life, raped and kicked out by her mother’s boyfriend in Nova Scotia; Julia thumbed her way to Toronto where she ended up being the slave to her pimp Josie....one of her johns turned Julia in to Social Services, who sent the police after Josie; he is locked up but that girl keeps dreaming he will be let out so she can go back to being a prostitute, she claims the money is good and she is free. Not free from what I can see Karen thought. She gave Karen her cell number, telling her to call/text anytime she wanted to get out from the rigid and structured life of being a normal kid to making money, having great sex, driving a 20 inch Cadillac and all the bling a young girl could ever want. Karen took the number but just to be polite.
The next day she went back and saw the injuries to her step mother, the woman had contusions on her left eye, a broken finger and swollen lips. She glared viciously at Karen when she entered and not two seconds after her dad dragged her into the room and warned her that if she ever, ever, hit her step mother or talked back to her, she will be on the next train to a group home. He took away Karen’s passport and phone privileges; meaning her mom will not know what went down.