First thing I noticed is a soft nudging at my arm. Looking up, head feeling heavy and my vision a little blurry, I looking over to my left, seeing my sister, hands white and gripped tight at the steering wheel.
"Wake up, Val, we're here." Maddy, my sister gently said as she pulled into the icy drive way. The garage door was shut and locked so we couldn't drive in yet.
I groan and stretched my stiff limbs, reaching high up to the ceiling of our car, and extend out my legs, tensing each little and big muscle, and eventually sighing as I relax them, letting some sweet relief fill them from top to bottom before shoving my door open, and being greeted by the harsh bitter cold.
Dropping out to the car and landing with a soft thud, I gazed up at our new home. Maddy and I moved to a small town named Burgess to find peace from the world we left. Back at our old home, a long time ago, with lived as a happy family with both Mum and Dad. Time flew by, and withered our small family. First Mum and Dad got a divorce. Dad left and Maddy and I stayed with Mum. For a while after that, we found happiness again until Mum who was at the time driving home from work, got into a car crash. She was paralyzed from the waist below, and with money shortening out and care for Mum starting to wear on both me and Maddy, my Aunts son had just got hitched and moved out, and with a lot of discussion between the adults, which was just about everyone except me, they decided that Mum can live with my Aunt and I can start over with my sister.
Maddy, had just had a deal breaker job in animation in a small studio within Burgess, hence why we moved here. Now things are finally looking up. We waited till Christmas holidays so I didn't miss out on any school to move. I think it is very convenient, not only does it work around school, but it give a bit of time to settle without jumping back into action. And it will be a new year, a perfect time for new beginnings.
The home we chose was a nice Victorian styled home, with greying paint, peeling and chipping in places, and a rather squeaky steps to the porch, but over-all, it was quite lovely for first impressions.
Inside was a different story.
Dust and the smell of something I really didn't want to know about was the first thing to hit me. After a few coughs, I took the time to take in my new surroundings.
Old, eaten carpet lay under my own feet and the feet of a small table to the left of the door. A large, grimy mirror hang above that, with a beautiful emerald frame with faint gold swirls tracing within it. A few steps through the hall, I reached two archways leading to different rooms. On the right was a kitchen/dining room, and on the other side was an empty room. Looking at the empty room, I first thought that it would make a good living room. Seems big enough and it is certainly public enough to be.
Further ahead of me were large stairs leading up to the next floor. I proceeded down the hallway towards the stairs when Maddy piped up. "You going to help me or not." I turned my head to see her heaving a large box. Masking on the tap said 'KITCHEN'. "You can explore after we have unloaded the car, okay."
"Sure, alright." I began to head towards car, but then wondered when the rest of our stuff will get here. "Hey Maddy, when is the big stuff getting here?"
"The moving man," she breathed as she lightly placed the large box on the bench in the kitchen, "Will get here the day after tomorrow. Auntie said she wanted to give us a few things and pack it away in the truck before it came here so its a little later than I would have preferred, but that's okay." She strode past me but paused by the door. "Anything that is yours or mine, or for any other room other than the kitchen can you put into the living room."
"Sure" I shrugged and she walked off to the car. After another quick look around I followed her lead to the car and made a started on unloading the car.
A few circuits of grabbing a box or bag and hulling them to the lounge and walking back, I noticed this time round, a group of children giggling and skipping round, talking about whatever and playing on the road. The road at this time of year was pretty safe, very few people would risk driving on this terrain. Maddy mentioned something about hoping there was no black ice along the way here.
I looked away from the kids and focused on not slipping down the stairs. I wasn't used to this much snow. It was quite a spectacular site to see. White, soft snow everywhere, the crisp crunch beneath your feet, the glassy ice and thick frost which creeps up upon windows at night. All of it was just so beautiful.
When reaching the car I was snapped out of my thoughts when a snowball hit me, narrowly missing my face but covering my ear with its thick coldness. The snow, quickly melting, dripped down my neck, reaching my shoulder beneath my jacket, penetrating the warmth. That feeling tickled. Before I could hold it back I was laughing hard, leaning against the car and burying my face in the crock of my arm.
Quickly getting my breath back and pulling myself together I looked up to seen a kid with brown hair and huge, adorable brown eyes either skipping, hoping or maybe running up to me. I couldn't really tell.
"I, I'm sorry about the snowball...miss." He looked almost terrified, as if I was the one who did something wrong, but it was just so cute at the same time that I chuckled. Only a little, careful not to lose my self again.
"Hey, it's fine." I gave the guy a small guy and just before I was to turn around and grab a box he said so sweetly.
"I'm Jamie, whats yours?"
"Valley, but please, just call me Val."
"Are you just moving in? That house has been on sale for ages now."
"Yep, and I can tell nobody has been there for ages. It's so dusty and dirty, but once its all cleaned up it will be as good as new" I smiled then added, "well, that's the plan."
That earned me a small giggle from Jamie. He glanced back at his friends then asked, "When you're done, do you want to play with us?" Hope then filled his eyes.
"I don't I can today," the light faded a little as that was not what he wanted to hear so I said, "But tomorrow...noon I'll be free."
The joy which momentarily left was back and he smiled. "Sure thing, we'll see you tomorrow, and maybe you can meet Jack too!" Then with that he skipped back to his friends.
Hmm, Jack, must be a friend who wasn't here today I presume.
As I grabbed a box, I heard one of the kids say, "Wow, a princess is playing with us tomorrow!" I shot a brief glance back to see if I could tell which one said that. A small blonde girl, younger than the rest hopped round the group, tugging on coats excitedly. It was probably her, the voice sounded young enough. Shrugging, I went back to the routine of grabbing a box and carrying it inside.
Slumping down on the nearest box beside me in the living room and sighed. Maddy join me seconds later. We sat in a comforting nice quiet. The kind of quiet in which few close people can share and no one else can. The kind of quiet which just says everything there is to say.
Maddy and I were very close, for sisters. I mean, in some sense I see her as my older sister, but in other ways, I see her as my parent. My guardian. My Mother.
When Mum and Dad were fighting, this was before the divorce, I was between nine and eleven so I was still kind of young. Young enough to have someone like Maddy come into my room at night, while Mum and Dad were screaming bloody murder at each other, and have her hold me, sometimes tell me random stories to sooth away my fear and help me fall asleep peacefully. At that point, Maddy was between fiftieth and seventeen. It was at that time, what made her so motherly and mature for her age. From then on, Maddy and I have never fought, only occasionally disagreed and we were close. We had this strong, unbreakable bond.
"What do you want for dinner, Val?" Maddy's came across soothingly.
"Mmmmm," I thought.
"I'm going to need more words than that, Val."
"Sorry, don't you understand what 'Mmmmm' means?"
"Nope. Didn't study that language at school."
"Chinese."
"Sure thing kiddo." Maddy got up and stretched. "Ya coming for the ride?"
"Nah, I think I might explore a little."
"On one condition."
"Yea..." I said, cautiously.
"I get first dips on rooms."
"What!" I exclaimed.
"Yep, its only fair, I'm paying for dinner, so I chose the room."
"Fair enough."
"I'll see ya soon, don't get lost."
"The house ain't that big."
"Whatever." With that she shuffled out the door.
I stood up and shrugged off my jacket, dumping it on a nearby box before proceeding up the stairs to explore.
When reaching the top, more of the old carpet lay across the floor in the hallway. I walked to the left end of the hallway and decided to search the rooms, systematically from one end to the other. There was not much to say about them. There were three, supposedly bedrooms, each with their own small bath room. None of the bedrooms had carpet, only wood. The bathrooms at least had nice charcoal tiling which also covered the outside of the bathtub. The taps were rusted and grimy, so were the ones in the sink, but the bathroom as a whole was pretty good in comparison to the rest of the house.
I hear the door open and slam shut downstairs.
"Dinner time!" rang out Maddy voice, and as I ran down the stairs, the some of Chinese filled my senses.
I found Maddy laying out the food in a make-shift table formation among the boxes in the living room. I sat down and begin eating immediately when I realized how hungry I was.
"Slow down girl, You should make good stuff like that last." I shrugged at Maddy's comment. I was too hungry to care.
When I finished I chucked my stuff in the bag and waited for Maddy to finish. My mind drifted back to the kid I met today.
Hmmm, whats his name again... Jamie, that's it. Nice kid. I'll be seeing him tomorrow. Hope Maddy won't mind too much, I mean, I'm making friends, even if they are, what, twelve and I'm sixteen.
"By the way, Maddy. Thought I might mention, tomorrow afternoon I'm hanging out with these kids."
"You mean, babysitting." A smirk settled on her face.
"No, I think they were just being nice and I couldn't say no."
"Who are they?"
"I only met one, but his name is Jamie."
"Hmmm, bet ya his has a little widdle crush on you."
I immediately recoiled, then replied, "Well, even if that is so, I have made an enemy on my first day, so I think things has been successful."
Maddy just rolled her eyes and packed up her empty containers.
It was dark now, and I was tired. I asked Maddy about who is sleeping where and what we will do for bedding. She told me to find the sleeping bags while she choose her room. Personally I would prefer the room on the far right of the hallway. It was small, but it had a nice view of the back yard and a forest just out of the town.
Maddy came down to announce her choice.
"The room on the far left for me, which one do you want?"
"Yes! You didn't take the one I wanted." I punched the air before answering her question. "Far right."
"That rooms quite small." I only shrugged, then, very slowly, let out a huge yawn, which heaved my lids and pulled my body down, as if begging me to sleep here at this spot. I grabbed the sleeping bag and pulled a torch out of the box where the sleeping bags came from and wish a goodnight to Maddy before trudging up the stairs.
Sleep came easy, and soon it was morning once again.
A/N
What do you think? Good, bad, need more to think with, well its coming whether ya like it or not. Anyway, please leave comments, feedback would be great thanks
Happy Reading :)