Student Exchange

Applejack's Perspective

“Ah thought you said she'd be here by now?” I look up at Big Mack hopefully.

“She's your exchange buddy, shouldn't y'all be the one knowin' this stuff?” he shoots back.

I smile and look down at my feet. My favorite song has come onto the speakers in the airport. It's Stay, Stay, Stay by Taylor Swift. I don't listen to the radio much given we don't get any kind of reception at Sweet Apple Acres, but I have a small orange CD player and a large collection of country-genre CD's. I check my watch. I don't usually keep track of the time, either, but today I kind of need to.

“Actually, she should be here by now. Ah'ma go look fer her.”

He looks around and sighs. “Damn Appleboom, she's always been good at this stuff. Just waita sec.”

“Applejack? Applejack?”

“Whossat?” Big Mack looks around, cranes his neck. “Ah can't see anyone.”

I pick up my new phone that Big Mack found on the side of the road. It's Rarity, who seems to be calling me.

“Ah – hello? Rarity?” I say into the phone. “Where are y'all? Y'all do know that it costs a lot more money here to call people here than it does back home.”

“Damn, and I had almost no credit anyway...where are you?” Her voice is quite soft and velvety.

“We're...Y'all see the big sign tellin' ya when the planes leave an' arrive?”

“Yes..?”

“Look under tha',”

I see a pale hand waving frantically from about ten metres away. It belongs to a girl with dark purple curly hair and blue eyeshadow. She wears shiny lipgloss and white wedges. Her just-above-knees pure white dress is strapless and her whole outfit will be ruined within two minutes of walking onto the farm.

I shove the cellphone into Big Mack's chest and run the distance to where she's standing. “Hi!”

She grins. “Hi!” And with a laugh, she says, “I don't think we've met officially. My name's Rarity!”

* * *

We get into the Land Rover.

“Tha' was a mission,” Big Mack sighs. I grin.

“Sorry?” Rarity asks.

“It was a mission...” I explain. “It means it was hard and it took a while.”

“Well then, it certainly was a mission!” Rarity exclaims.

“Who's up for an L&P?” I ask. “On me. Jes' so our visitor can try the national drink.”

Big Mack laughs. “Sure,”

“What...what's L&P?” asks Rarity.

“Lemon and Paeroa,” Big Mack says, but when he doesn't say anything else, I finish the explanation.

“It's a drink they only sell in NZ. It tastes a bit like lemonade, bu' it's different.” I say. “Ya kinda have to try it. Applebloom can't get enough of tha stuff. She practic'ly lives off it.”

Rarity nods and smiles. After a while she says, “It's very hot.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “If ya want we can go swimmin' when we get home.”

“Swimming?” She sounds excited. “Where? I brought five bikinis, so-”

“Ah, actually we have a waterhole on the property. Didja bring anything other than bikinis?”

“No,” Now she seems confused. “Why would I?”

“Cause a bikini ain't gonna be enough,” I grin. “Y'all haven't seen the waterfall yet.”

“Waterfall?!”

* * *

We're three quarters of the way home when Rarity screams softly.

“What?” I ask.

“There's no signal!”

“Well a'course not,” I say, slightly more irritable now that my L&P has gone warm. “No phone towers 'round here.”

“No phone towers?!” she says incredulously. “How do you guys even live?!”

“We have a lot of jobs to do around the farm.” I reply. “Jes' before I came I was shearin' some'a the sheep.”

“Ooh, sheep!” she exclaims. “I've always wanted to see a sheep!”

Appauled silence.

“What?” she asks, confused.

“Y'all've...never...seen...a sheep?” It's the first time Big Mack has spoken since we were at that Mobil getting petrol and L&P.

“No,” Rarity says cautiously. “I've seen chickens, though,”

“Y'all've seen chooks...” I say slowly.

“Chooks?” Rarity asks.

“Chickens...”

“I'd also like to see a cow. And a pig, maybe. Do you have pigs? I've seen Charlotte's Web and Babe, and the piglets are sooo adorable! I'd also like to know whether you have....”

She keeps talking. But I'm not lisening. This girl has never seen a pig before.

She thinks pigs look like something from Charlotte's Web.

She's never seen a pig.

She's never seen a pig.