Dragging my suitcases behind me, I watch my sister dance around in the sunlight, my mood worsening. I can't believe my father made me come here. It's a fantastic way to ruin my perfect summer. "Michelle! Just get your damn suitcases already!" I snap.
"Lucy Heartfilia! Watch your language and don't be so mean to your sister!" my dad scolds me. "You can take as long as you want, sweetie," he adds to my sister, his voice now sweet as honey.
I groan and find my mood has once again worsened though I thought that was impossible. I then tune out my dancing, singing, happy-go-lucky sister and father the best I can and focus on the house in front of me. It's not terribly small but it's not large either. It's a wooden plank house that's painted a light blue. A porch goes all the way around the front and it's in great condition for how old my dad said it is. Though I guess the outside could be completely different from the inside.
After some difficulty getting my suitcases up the stairs onto the front porch, I get to the door. Sadly, the door is still closed as I'm the first to reach it so I let go of one of my suitcases and grab the handle. The knob has a little resistance in it but it still doesn't take much to twist. I push the door open and look around, the hand that opened it reaching back to grab the suitcase once again.
There's a small patch of floor that's tiled, probably for the colder seasons when there's a bunch of snow or mud being dragged around, but then it changes to a tan color. To the left is the living room, kitchen, and dining room only separated by floor and no walls. The living room contains a large, white, comfortable looking couch in front of a small, dinky TV with two chairs that match the couch on either side of it. There's a small oval coffee table in front of the couch. The top is glass but the legs and edges are wooden. Against the wall farthest from the entrance, there's a bookshelf filled with books from top to bottom and there's even a few books stacked on the table. Against the wall of the kitchen there's a white refrigerator, a dish washer, stove, and a counter with a tan top. The sink is built into one part of the counter and there's a microwave and toaster on it as well. There's also a small island, mostly for cooking since there's not much space anywhere else. The dining room is small and consists of only a larger than necessary brown wooden table and a total of six chairs around it, two on each side of the longer sides and one at each end. There's also two extra chairs against the wall. The whole space is lit up incredibly well despite there only being a few lights in total.
That's all I have the time I have to look around before my dad comes inside, forcing me forward. "Leave your suitcases there and look at those two rooms," he says pointing at the two closest doors to my right. "Those are your and your sister's rooms. Since you're the first one in and you're the oldest I'll let you pick yours."
I nod, my mood slightly improved with that sentence, though I'm still furious. Walking over to the first door, I look in. The bed, closer to inside wall I'm at and currently covered only by some white sheets and a light pink comforter, is to the right of the door where I stand, the headrest against the wall. There's a small nightstand on both sides of it. The left stand has a vase with pink flowers that look like they're beginning to droop and an alarm clock while the right one has just a lamp. In the left corner farthest from the door there's a drawer that I'm guessing is empty. To the left of the bed is a door and after going to it and opening it, I find it's a small closet. In the exact middle of the room, there's a small table. It's small enough that someone on their knees or sitting on their butt on the ground could easily use it. Using a chair with it would probably actually be stupid. The only other thing in there is a chair like the ones in the living room right in front of a window looking outside toward the middle of the wall. Since there's nothing else to look at, I leave and go to the other room. This second room is much like the other one except it's slightly bigger, it has purple stuff instead of pink and it's flipped around so everything to the right in the other one is to the left in this one and vice versa. The bed to the left looks exactly like the one in the other room besides the purple comforter and the nightstands have exactly the same things, of course with purple flowers instead of pink ones. The closet in this one is also empty.
I know exactly which one I want when I walk back out. I find Michelle has come inside with her luggage and is looking around at all the rooms. She's just about to go into the bigger bedroom I was just in so quickly yell out to her. "Michelle, that's my room so don't go in it!"
"Why do you get to pick your room but I don't?"
"Because there's only two bedrooms besides the Master bedroom Dad gets and I get to pick the one I want since I'm the oldest and I was the first one in here," I say matter-of-factly.
She crosses her arms and pouts. "That's no fair."
"Yes it is Michelle," I hear my father say. "You always get things first these days and it's Lucy's turn."
"She doesn't even want to be here!"
"So? That doesn't mean I'm not the oldest and most responsible!" I growl.
"What's the point of having a big room if you're not even gonna try to make friends here to share it with!"
"The point is to make myself as comfortable as possible while in this hell hole!"
We start bickering back and forth until our dad comes in, obviously fed up with us. "Enough you two! We're here to get away from our everyday lives, not bicker over pointless things!" This shuts us both up. "Now go to your rooms and get things set up. If either of you need any extra blankets or anything, come find me. I brought a lot of extra stuff with me and there's a closet full of stuff in my room. I'll get you both when dinner is done." We both nod, grab our suitcases, and head to our new rooms. With my terrible mood completely back, I slam my door extra hard to get out some frustration and I swear it shakes the whole damn house.
After making the bed with my blankets and pillows, putting away all my clothes in the dresser, and putting up pictures of me and my friends back home, I sit in the chair in front of the window and look out, already bored of this place now that there's nothing else to do. It has gotten dark already and dinner should be ready soon. The scene outside is peaceful yet it makes me want to shoot myself. I want the view from my window back home. Instead of the peaceful woods I want the empty road. Instead of fireflies, I want street lamps. Instead of a neighbor ten minutes away by foot, I want my neighbors ten seconds away by foot. Sighing, I turn away from the window. I still can't believe I'm here in the first place and what's worse is that Dad is restricting my electronic time. One hour of TV each day and while I'm allowed my phone all day long, I'm restricted to calling, texting, and internet depending on what I need it for. He didn't let me bring along my computer and tablet. He has my charger too so he can keep me in check by keeping track of when it charges and how charged it is every time it's used. If I get out of line, he will simply take away the charger and let me use my phone 'til it runs dry.
Looking around the room, my eyes land on my notebooks and pencil case on top of the table. I'd brought everything I could find to occupy my time without any electronics so of course some art supplies came along. With nothing else to do, I walk over to them and take out my colored pencils. I flip to the first unused page in the notebook and stare at the it. It's been a long time since I've sat down to just draw and I have no idea where to start. After minutes of just sitting there I remember what I used to do when this happened. I would just draw the first thing that came to mind and draw it. If that was a vase, I'd draw it. If it was a dog, I'd draw it. If it was cheese, I'd draw it. If it was a friend, I'd draw it. So that's what I do. The first thing I think of is home so I start drawing. I first start with a pencil light sketch that I'll edit, darken, and color later.
At least that's what I try to do. I've barely finished the basic outline of the house by the time I'm sighing of boredom and putting the pencil down. I put all the supplies away and stand up, moving to the next thing I see, my old guitar. I pick it up and sit down on my bed with it. I pick at a few of the strings before deciding to actually play it. Of course I have to tune it first. So I go string by string until I think they're about perfect. With tuning done and out of the way, I play a simple tune for a few minutes to warm up and after a while of getting rid of the rust that has built up, I decide to move on to actual songs. It feels good to play this again. It's been maybe a year or so since I've even looked at it. After playing a few songs, I put the guitar away and sit back down on my bed to decide what to do next.
Multiple attempts of trying to find something entertaining, I'm lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. My plan of staying locked in my room is going terribly so far. It's almost not worth it. At least out there I have people to talk to and a television to watch, even if that's for only an hour. It's one less hour of absolute boredom. So with a huff, I stand up, walk to my door, put on my grumpy face, and walk out. My dad is in the kitchen and Michelle is at the dining room table coloring. They both look up at me and Dad smiles. "Well look who's left the solitary of their room. Only took an hour, too."
"An hour! That was an hour? Felt like a lifetime."
Both of them laugh and I just growl at them "You're right on time though. Dinner is done."
"Great," I grumble as I sit down in the end chair closest to my room. Before I know it, a plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and a buttered up roll sits in front of me. With a thanks toward my dad, I'm gobbling it up. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I was eating. Now that I think about it, I haven't eaten much since our small breakfast this morning.
With food in my stomach, I'm in a better mood and decide to stay out here with my family to use up my hour of television, which also improves my mood greatly. The hour goes quickly and soon enough, the TV is turned off but I don't get mad somehow. Instead, I stay out of my room and play Candyland at Michelle's request with her and Dad. All throughout the game we're talking and laughing together. By the end of the game, we've added about 10 inside jokes to our family joke list, which didn't have many before today.
At the end of the game, we all agree that it's time for bed so we separate and go to our own rooms. My room now seems lonely and everything seems even more boring than they had before so I change into my pajamas and settle into the sheets and blankets, exhaustion hitting me like a freight train as I close my eyes for the night.