ReaderXPeterParker

Your head seemed to pound as you watched the unnaturally fast paced city appear closer in the car window, you were wondering if this was because of the stark contrast from the slow country roads or because the car was just being a car and going 55 mph. Of course, you knew that this wasn't a real internal debate, but instead another approach to confront your feelings on moving away from Iowa.

Stupid brain, trying to be all coy on me

Instead you turned to your phone, ignoring the city encroaching on the horizon, you pull up the website of your new school. As far as first impressions go, the website made for a nice start. The nerdy part of your heart squealed at the color coordinated event schedule, followed by the even neater club itinerary, grading curve chart, and bell system. The more you read into the site the more amused you became. On top of all the organization, you noticed small jokes hidden at the bottom of several of the pages. It was as if the creator treated his (or her) work like it was a video game with easter eggs rather than a high school website. For example, on the page that listed commonly asked questions for new students there was, in tiny print

the answer to everything: 42

You were ready to mock whatever individual that had no life to create this intricate work of art before you read at the bottom of the site...

Website created and maintained by the Midtown High School Tech team

Underneath this message you saw a picture of a bunch of high schoolers holding two thumbs up like Fonzie.

You snorted and chuckled

"What's got you laughing so hard over there?" Your dad asks

"Just the site for the new school." You respond.

"I never thought a school website would be the source of such humor." He says, as he puts on the turn signal to get off the highway.

"There's a school twitter page too," Though not as comical as the official site "It has pictures of the grounds. It looks ummmm" You showed the pictures to your dad as he slowed the car at a red light.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, "That place looks more like a college campus than a high school."

You grimaced at the photo and took a deep breath.

"Something wrong?" your dad asks

"It's just a bigger school than the one back in Iowa... Plus" You clench your hand into a fist as your words trail off.

"Hey, no need to worry about that. You're such a star student that no one's even going to be paying any attention to it." He said, nodding to your fist.

"Right." you said, allowing your fingers to relax.

Well okay, great.

You thought as you stared at the peeling wallpaper of the tiny apartment. You were amused at how you could survey the entirety of the apartment from the threshold of the front door. Turning the corner into the kitchen, you flinched at the pungent scent of mold and staggered into the rust colored, laminate countertop.

"That bad?" Your dad asked from the doorway.

"My eyes and nose are contending for who is being tortured more." You replied with a shudder.

"Feel free to refrain from the dramatics, whenever you see f-"... "Oh my lord, that is bad." Your dad said as he keeled over from the overwhelming smell infiltrating his nostrils.

"I may be a flair for dramatics, but I think that is a fabulous example of how the universe is overly enthusiastic to let my enemies get karmically punished when they cross me." You grinned as you left your father gagging into the sink, and headed back down to the street to gather another load of boxes from the moving van.

"You are a cruel and bitter girl!" Your dad's voice called out.

You chuckled as you continued down the flights of stairs, taking in the layout of the building and its dismal green walls. You shook your head, trying to imagine this place look any less miserable in its hay day. Unlike the building, the street bustled with life. The noise of children playing in the alleyway coupled with the sound of car horns and traffic filled your ears.

Just another adjustment.

You thought to yourself, as you unlocked the van. The noise would just be another thing that you would have to add to your list of things that will take time to adjust to. Mindlessly, you stack boxes to bring back up the steps, trying to avoid thoughts about Iowa and how it was the last bit of your home that you had to hold onto.

You made it up the front steps of the building before realizing that you were carrying a stack of five boxes worth of kitchen appliances and a stereo. You rushed back to the van and put back a large portion of your load. You took a look around for any sign of onlookers before taking a sigh of relief.

I guess I have to be more careful in the city when I decide to carry heavy loads.

You turn back to the front steps with your smaller load to see a high school aged boy stand there dumbstruck.

aw crap.

Wow, okay that was my first story I ever published. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews, and please follow/favorite my story if you feel it is worthy of your love. lol, is this chapter length okay?

alright that's all