Chapter One: Good-Bye
My heart is pounding as he gets closer. All I see is the figure of his body and his beautiful smile. Stepping toward him my body begins to heat up and my mind becomes flustered. My head spins and my straight path begins to swirl and I see no way of reaching him. My heart rate speeds up as I reach the center of the spiraling path. Before me he stands his beautiful smile gleaming at me. I reach out to grab him and pull him into the light that now shines on me only. The bright spotlight is making my stage fright kick in. My hands begin to tremble. Sweat starts falling from my face. My heart is leaping out of my chest. A tingle runs through my fingers as I touch the nice leather of his jacket. I take a step forward slowly making my way out of the light. He stands before me in the darkness now, straight faced, no smile. His arm extends to me and I reach out to grab it. My head begins to pound and my ears start ringing. I touch his fingers and suddenly I drop.
*Ring...Ring…Ring…* I jump out of bed with the sound of my phone going off. I look to see who was calling me. "Kristen, of course it would be her." I sigh as I click the end call button. Kristen is my best friend. We've known each other since I moved to Los Angeles with my mom. I don't want to talk to her right now for one reason only… I'm moving. We have spent the last three weeks crying to each other hoping that the decision my mother made would change. Our hopes were not heard and left unanswered. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be Juliana of Los Angeles. I will now be known as Juliana the new girl of Forks, Washington. I will be moving with my dad to this one horse town.
Slowly I drop to the floor my body does not want to leave the comfort of my home. I wish things could be different but like they say 'It is what it is.' The strange pattern formed on my ceiling catches my attention one last time. As I stare into the multiple swirls memories of my first day here flash in my head. A tear forms in my eye, this is it my last day here. Quickly I jump up. "Starting today Juliana you will become a new person. You will better yourself and will work ten times harder than you have ever worked in your life." I say to myself. I scurry to my closet searching for something to wear on my final day of my first semester of my junior year in high school. My head drops as I realize my closet is empty. I look around at all of the boxes in my room stacked in the corner next to my door.
Hesitantly I reach for the box labeled clothes at the top of Mt. Boxious in the corner of my room. Afraid that everything would start tumbling down on me I slowly pull the box toward me. It's at the edge almost in my reach then like that one file you want to download it hits 99% then cashes down on me. "Just my luck."
The car pulls up in front of my school. Everyone in a flurry as they realize they forgot to do the homework for Ms. Plante's chemistry class or noticed they left something important at home (deodorant for some.) The atmosphere here seems different, maybe it's because I know I will no longer be walking the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School. It seems as though everyone knows I do not belong here anymore. As if I had been exiled from the plains of Africa or even banished from my mystical kingdom. Eyes seem to gleam at me as I enter my homeroom. Kristen is standing at my desk her appearance different than usual. She is dressed up as if going to a wedding or some fancy diner. She curled her hair and straightened her bangs in order to show a transition where her pink headband lays. Her dress a nice polka dotted black and white dress with a pink sash across her abdomen. Surprisingly she has nice black four-inch heals with a little white bow across the toes. This must really mean a lot to her. Kristen is typically your blue jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl. My eyes begin to burn as the factory starts producing my tears. Our eyes meet as I make my way to her.
"Good morning Julia" she says forcing a smile upon her lips.
"Good Morning Krissy"
We reach in to hug each other. As our bodies touch all the emotions we are feeling fill our bodies and intertwine with one another. I can feel the pain she feels right now and I'm sure she feels the same. We don't want to let go. I feel the sudden trickle of her tears flowing down here cheek as it safely drops on my shoulder. I let go in order to look her in the eyes hoping to talk her into thinking this situation isn't as bad as it seems.
"Krissy you know this won't change anything, right?"
"I…I...I know." She says as her tears interfere in her talking.
"I will only be in Washington so I would always be able to visit. Like on the weekends or during vacations."
"I prefer the weekend option." She says with a little chuckle as we both realize that it is impossible to travel both ways each weekend without having a job.
Mr. Johnson walks in his grey hair perfectly combed today. His blue dress shirt buttoned all the way up with a blue and black stripe tie. He even got to the details and used a silver tie bar to keep his tie from moving around or ever eat before he does. I wonder what the occasion is. He motions for everyone to sit down by waving his hand down. We all go to our seats somewhat assigned to us. The great thing about Mr. Johnson is that he allowed us to choose where ever we wanted to sit and let us make the rules to the class in the most logical way; once we decided and were full hearted about it we were stuck with it. This made me love having him as a homeroom teacher. He treated us like adults unlike everyone else.
"Good morning class." He says with his strong European accent.
"Good morning Mr. Johnson" we all chime as if in a choir.
"As you may have noticed today I have put a lot of effort into what I am wearing."
"Yeah, I thought so. What motivated you?" Christian says from the back row.
"I have found out that there will be a visitor in the building today." He says rolling his eyes.
He was talking about the school board officials. They always tend to come at the worse times. Whenever an official is in the building all of the teachers become anal about every little thing. If you forget a period in a sentence you get three detentions. I'm being serious Mr. Trotsky my English teacher gave me three detentions last time they were here because I forgot a period when I wrote a response on the board. Of course it was his class. He is the one teacher that hates me more than a child hates vegetables. Hopefully today he isn't an ass and is extremely nice to me because I'm leaving. We'll see.
"But that is not the reason for this." He says with a smile. Boy do I love his smile.
"Then why mention the visitor." Shelly asks.
"To warn you not to skip any classes, to be polite to your 'favorite' teachers, and to prepare you for all the detentions some of you will get."
The class laughs.
"But on a serious note I am letting you know that today is the last day for our lovely Juliana. And so, I decided to dress up to give her a beautiful final impression." He says with his dazzling smile.
The class begins to whisper. No one knew I was leaving except for Kristen of course. I was hoping to become the talk of the school and just stop showing up. That way they'd all think different stories of why I stopped coming. This was supposed to be my chance to become a rebel in a sense. I imagined everything that could come from my disappearance. 'I heard that she got pregnant by some college graduate and now she lives in San Francisco.' Or 'I heard she ran away to New York to become a famous actress.' I like the running away one better but you know once girls disappear from school they typically get the pregnant talk.
The bell rings and the whole class stand up each person saying good bye to me as they walk through the door. This actually is a lot better than sneaking away and waiting for Kristen to tell me all the rumors that were going around. Mr. Johnson stops me at the door. He hands me an envelope with the cutest little smirk on his face. 'Don't open until you leave' was printed on the front.
"Have a nice day" he says to me.
"You too." I reply.
In all honesty I just hope that one day I get to see him again. After all he is my favorite teacher.
I stare at the moving van filled with all of my stuff. This is a bitter sweet moment for me. I don't want to leave my home but I can't wait to see my dad. I absolutely love my dad. Unlike my mother he gives me space and knows that I am a growing adult and that there are things that I want to talk about when the time is right. He owns a diner in forks so that means I will never be hungry so that is a plus. He is an amazing cook as well as a great guy. I don't know how my mother managed to let go of him.
The drive there took forever…my legs felt numb and my neck was stiff. My excited heart was pounding as we pulled into the driveway. There is a sign posted 'Welcome Home Jules!' on the front door. I could only imagine what is inside. I knock on the door and it slowly opens on its own. A surprise party maybe? I slowly walk into the house waiting for everyone to jump out and say 'Welcome home!' I really hate surprise parties. They always seem to catch me off guard.
"Hello?" I ask expecting someone to answer like the white girls in scary movies. No one replied like I thought. I turn on the light switch to the right of the door waiting to see all the people jump out. Once again nothing happened. Maybe my dad forgot I was coming today. Which if he did is completely ridiculous because I spoke to him about ten hours ago. Oh well I guess I will unpack then head to the diner to see what time he gets off if he is working. The house is cleaned as always which makes moving in easy. The movers and my mom help me lift every box up to my room. It's cute, my room that is, painted a nice pail purple and a queen sized bed sitting in the corner. He managed to get the sheets to match the curtains color wise which surprises me (seeing as he's a guy and all). Everything looks amazing I am extremely proud.
The Lamp sits peacefully on the night stand to the right of my bed. A door that leads to a balcony type set up directly across from my bed lets a little bit of light into the room. There's a beau with a mirror containing various perfumes and lotions next to my closet. I guess he wasn't sure if I would bring the ones I already had at home. Fortunate for me he left the closet open and the draws empty which means I don't have to turn down his taste in clothing.
Once we had all of the boxes in my room I looked around for the box labeled clothes so I could take a shower and head to the diner. My mother knocks on the open door interrupting me from my search for my missing treasure.
"Honey, are you sure you want to move back?" she sighs.
"Yes mom I'm sure. Don't worry, I will be visiting you as much as I possibly can." I say with a little smile on my face.
"Ok well I'm going to head home now. Come give me a kiss." She says opening her arms for me to come in.
We lock arms and hold each other for a while. I don't want to let go of her. If only she could stay here too, but I know that is only something you get in a dream. Letting her go I turn around as tears form in my eyes. She slowly walks away; I know she is crying as much as I am about to.
I feel refreshed as dry off my curly brown hair. My skin smooth from one of the lotions my dad got for me. I decided to wear my pink dress similar to the one Kristen was wearing. No polka dots and instead of a sash I had a black belt. I wore the same shoes she had on because we bought the dresses and shoes together a few weeks ago. This was the first time I managed to put this on. I curled my hair and the light highlights mixed with my natural brown hair managed to look amazing. I snapped a pick and sent it to Kristen. 'Just figured you should share this moment with me' I sent to her.
I stare into the mirror admiring the dress. The way it hugs my torso perfectly and releasing around the waste. The color compliments my hair well and my hazel brown eyes give off a more innocent look. The sound of my phone vibrating interrupts my fascination with myself.
'OMG SEXYYY! ;)' Kristen texted me. The text caused me to blush. I know in my inner mind I am somewhat conceited, but my self-esteem isn't the highest in reality. It is 6:30 I guess it's time to check on my dad. I grab my new set of keys put aside for me. I get drawn aback as the beautiful shades of purple and pink blend as the bright orange sun sets in the horizon. The gentle breeze makes the walk to the diner seem worth it. Although I am somewhat afraid of walking alone at night this setting makes all my fears fade away. I can smell all of the fall scents. It's amazing how time flies by I'm still amazed it is mid-November. The weather here expresses the season a lot louder than LA does. It's chillier and my nose is turning pink. Should've grabbed a sweater huh?
It doesn't take too long to get to the diner seeing as it is only a few blocks from the house. Shows a little bit of my dad's lazy side. The building is oddly different, it no longer has the old school diner them. Now it looks like a mini restaurant. Outside repaneled showing off the brick lining. The windows are a lot larger now allowing you to see into the building in certain areas. Strangely most of the lights are off. "Maybe he's closing early to spend time with me" I say with the biggest smile on my face. I walk up the steps leading to the entrance, my heart races anxiously. I push on the door allowing me to walk into the dark mini hallway.*Ding Ding.* The next door is already opened awaiting anyone hungry enough to extend his early hours. I stand at the sign stating 'Please Wait to be Seated.'
There is no one within three feet of me. I become impatient so I decide to let invite myself into the back room. This could be my first time scaring my dad with something reasonable. My inner spy kicks in and I sneak my way to the door leading to the kitchen. I peak around the corner and see a light in the distance he must be in the break room. Slowly I tiptoe into the kitchen. I have to make it to the wall before he comes out of the room. My body speeds up some and I make it to the wall before the light shuts off. Suddenly my guide disappears and I am in total darkness. This is do or die time; I have to scare him before he accidently scares me. I turn the corner and enter the room. It is extremely dark and I don't remember where the light switch is located. I take a deep breath and try to allow my eyes to adjust to the room. I hear something rustle in the corner. "Dad" I whisper hoping for a response. Nothing. Maybe this isn't dad closing the diner. Someone could be breaking in. Suddenly my heart rate speeds up. I stop in the middle of my hunt and I'm frozen from fear.*Flash* the lights turn on and I am suddenly blinded.