Veronica sighed as she flopped back onto her bed. She glanced around her room at all the half opened boxes and sighed again. The room was a mess, and with her starting school tomorrow, she really didn't feel like unpacking. She really wished her dad had picked a better time to move, or you know not move at all. This room was nothing like her old room. Her old room was big, and the walls were painted pink, and everything about it felt like her. This room was the size of a cupboard, and the walls were white. Could it be more boring? She wondered. Everything about this house was new and sterile, and she hated it. She knew she could dress the room up and make it like home in no time, but she was feeling stubborn. She missed LA already and she'd only been here a day. She remembered the day, the day her dad had told her they were moving, after all it had only happened a week ago,
"Honey?" Keith called
"Yeah dad? I'm in my room" Veronica called back. She sat up from where she'd been lying down sprawled back against her many pillows. She looked up with a smile, as her dad came into the room.
"What you up to?" He asked as he came in and sat down on her bed.
She pulled her knees up to make room, and smiled "You know, the usual" points to her headphones.
He just nodded in reply, "So, there's something I need to talk to you about"
"This can't be good" Veronica replied, "Wait, I'm not in trouble am I?"
"What? No sweetie, it's nothing like that" Veronica just nodded, so he continued, "Well there's no easy way to say this, but … we're moving!" Veronica just looked at him, "Honey?"
"What?" She exploded, "You can't do that? All my friends are here!" she exclaimed. "You can't do this" She suddenly looked serious, "Did something happen? Are we being chased out of town?"
Keith just looked at her incredulously, "Where do you get your imagination? And no! I've just been offered a job is all"
"A job? What kind of job?"
"You are looking at the new sheriff of, Neptune, California," her dad said proudly
"Neptune?" Veronica rolled her eyes "How lame does that sound?"
"Very" Her dad replied. "Honestly, I was expecting you to be more mad"
"Oh don't worry, I'm plotting you death as we speak" Veronica mumbled putting her head on her knees, "Do we really have to go?"
"Fraid so honey, afraid so."
"This is because of mom, isn't it?" She asked
Her dad, sighed, "No, Just … I think this is the best decision for us right now."
Veronica knew her dad was lying, but she didn't want to push it. Ever since her mom had left six months ago, her dad had been distant, and hard to talk to. Her dad had just become more involved in work, throwing himself into case after case. Her dad was just looking at her expectantly, so she just nodded her head once. He gave her a bright smile and kissed her on the forehead. All Veronica could do was give a weak smile, when what she actually wanted to do was cry, but she didn't want to upset her dad. "It'll be great," he whispered, before leaving the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him, she burst into tears.
Veronica felt tears pricking at her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. She needed to be strong; she couldn't let her dad see her like this. After all, she was all he had left, now. She got up slowly and walked over to the boxes that were cluttering her floor and sat down. She started rummaging through one of the boxes trying to figure out where she'd placed her camera and computer. Most girls have their hobbies; photography is hers. She'd learnt a lot about how to take pictures from helping her dad out on cases, and taking photos of cheating spouses. Somehow, she didn't know when, but photography developed into a hobby for her. Now, she was constantly snapping pictures, capturing moments that would otherwise be forgotten. She was rummaging through one box when she pulled out a small music box, the music box her mom had left behind,
"Hey Dad!" Veronica called, as she came in the front door and dropped her book bag on the floor with a thump.
"Hey honey. How was school?" He asked as he came to greet her
"The usual, some girl got …." She trailed off as she saw her dad's face. "What's wrong?"
Keith sighed, "Veronica, your mom is gone" he stated, no sense of emotion in his voice.
"What do you mean, gone?" Veronica asked, her eyes beginning to well up with tears.
"She, she just took off. I came home early today, and all her stuff was missing. No note, nothing."
"Well how do you know she just took off?" Veronica screamed, "She wouldn't do that to me. She wouldn't!" Tears were streaming down her face "Maybe she was kidnapped!"
"Veronica, honey," Keith grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug, "She's gone" He started whispering soothing things, as he trailed his hands through her hair.
Veronica couldn't take it anymore and she pushed her dad away abruptly, briefly she saw hurt flash across his eyes, but she couldn't feel guilty for that as well. "I need to be alone," she mumbled before running down the hallway to her room. Once inside she flopped down onto her bad and sobbed into her pillow. When she felt like she had cried enough, she slowly sat up, wiping at her tear-streaked face. It was then she noticed the small wooden box on her nightstand. She didn't have to touch it to know what it was. It was her mother's music box. Veronica had always loved playing with it as a child, and her mom knew that. The fact that it was sitting on her nightstand was a signal that her mother was really gone. She picked the small box up and held it in her hands. Clutching at it tightly, she curled into a ball and stared blankly at the wall, willing sleep to wash over, so she could pretend this day had never happened.
She was broken out of the memory by her dad calling her, "Yeah?" she yelled back.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed? We don't want you to be tired on your first day" came the reply
"We wouldn't want that" Veronica mumbled, "Yeah in a minute," she shouted. Picking up the music box she threw into the trashcan. Why did I pack that thing? Just looking at it brought back memories, memories that were a lie. She looked around the room, a lot of work needed to be done, that was for sure, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Who are you kidding Veronica? This royally sucks, you know it. Heck, even backup knows it, and he's a dog. She grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom to change. Tomorrow would be the real challenge, her dad had told her nothing about Neptune, so honestly, she had no idea what to expect. She wasn't sure she was ready to be the new girl, to endure all the whispers and stares that came along with the territory. At this moment she really hated her dad, wait, no that wasn't true. She hated her mother, she sighed, that wasn't true either. She wished she could hate them both, it would make things easier, but she couldn't. Sighing, she rolled over, praying that tomorrow wouldn't be as bad as she was anticipating.