Free Lucky T by Kate Brian Page B

said, gesturing to the larger lady. "And this is Teensy," she added, pointing to the smaller one.
    At least it will be easy to remember her name, Carrie thought, raising a hand in greeting.
    "It's such a pleasure to have you all here," Prandya said, putting her arms around Celia, Doreen, and Carrie. "Come along. We'll get your bags and then we'll find you all some food. You must be starving."
    Carrie's stomach grumbled audibly and they all laughed, even stone-faced Teensy. The plane food just hadn't cut it.
    "This one, she needs a little biranis," Teensy said, patting Carrie's arm with a fluttering touch.
    "I don't know what that is, but I would love a cheeseburger," Carrie said with a laugh.
    Teensy stopped in her tracks and everyone's faces fell. Carrie blinked.
    "What? What did I say?" Carrie asked, instant panic seizing her. Had she already stumbled over the language barrier? Teensy turned and stalked off through the crowd without a backward glance and Carrie suddenly saw herself deserted by everyone in the middle of the bustling airport, left to fend for herself in a foreign land. She almost grabbed Celia's hand for a little security.
    "Cows are sacred animals, loser," Doreen said under her breath.
    Unfortunately, Carrie was too busy absorbing the fact that she had just made a mockery of this woman's religion, so she didn't have a witty retort ready to go.
    "Not to worry," Prandya said, forcing a smile. "You'll find some of us take certain customs more seriously than others. Teensy, she never eats the sacred meat of the cow."
    "Oh . . . sorry," Carrie said, swal owing hard.
    In her mind, Carrie vowed to be more sensitive about her love of beef. Obviously it wasn't "what's for dinner" in this neck of the woods.
    "It is all right. She will be praying for your soul tonight," Prandya said, patting Carrie on the back and nodding as if this was some kind of comfort.
    "Okay, let's get going."
    Doreen looked over her shoulder, shook her head, and sneered at Carrie as if she was the biggest idiot on the planet. Carrie managed to stick her tongue out at Doreen, which was immature but effective because Doreen turned back around. Carrie glanced back at the gate, wondering what she'd gotten herself into and if there was any way she could get out of it. Between Dormean, quirky Celia, prickly Teensy, this new sacred cow rule, and whatever else that was ahead waiting to fall on her like a two-hundred-pound anvil, this was going to be one long summer.
    Calcutta was mind-blowing. Carrie had never seen anything like it in real life. In fact, she had never seen anything like it in the movies, on television, or even in those random documentaries Mr. Phil ips was always showing in world history. There were literally thousands of people. Pedestrians walked around in droves, pressing toward the windows of Prandya's tiny automobile, shouting to one another across the street. A trail of men carrying huge sacks of laundry stepped off the curb and traipsed right in front of Prandya's car, forcing her to slam on the brakes. While they were still stopped, a flock of chickens pecked their way in front of them from the other direction, pausing to take a poke around in the center of the muddy street.
    Al around Carrie were men in suits, guys in polo shirts and shorts, women in saris, and teenage girls in jeans. Little kids sported everything from crisp school uniforms to plain T-shirts. Never had Carrie seen so many different types of people crowded into one place, moving and talking and working and shopping and playing and laughing. Sure, there were all different races and economic strata represented in San Francisco, but Carrie rarely got to see so much diversity all at the same time. It was very cool, if a little overwhelming. She dug her digital camera out of her backpack and snapped a quick photo through the windshield. No one at home was ever going to believe this.
    The rain had stopped before Carrie and the others made it to the car, leaving