The vast horizon stretches for miles out in front, dotted with patches of beautiful crimson. A scorching tangerine sun bakes
the heart of the west Country. Towering palm trees are situated randomly around the town, their branches like arms stretching to greet friends. Straining to keep my blood shot eyes open, I continue to take in the surprisingly appealing town in which
I will soon be living. Ear piercing rock music pulses through me, drowning me from the outside world. Suddenly, a plump hand grips my shoulder, shaking it more and more violently by the second. "THOMAS!" Shouts a deep voice. Snapping out my daze,
I jerk up and swiftly remove my headphones, "y.. yeah.." I reply, rubbing my eyes. As I open my eyes my gaze falls to my dad, his emerald eyes fixed on mine, "Son, just know that you'll be ok and this is for the best.." he whispers, his hand finding
the side of my face where he squeezes reassuringly. "Yeah, I told you I'll be fine," I reply, my voice barely audible. "Look we're only about 10 minutes from the house now so why don't you switch off that music for a while," suggests my dad, still
beaming at me as if the world is all happy and joyful. I return his smile, and proceed to switch off my playlist for a bit. The truth is that I really don't want to be here, back in London I had a ton of amazing friends and my life was more than perfect.
Now just because of a terror threat, my parents have decided to move halfway across the damn world to some meagre place called Glade Town. Huffing, I avert my gaze back to the window, and watch as two boys around my own age sprint up an alleyway as
if racing. One seems to be Asian who definitely looks capable of running a whole marathon without even breaking a sweat. His buff arms pumping as he sprints like his life depends on it. Beside him is another boy, however he seems a whole lot slimmer
and slightly younger with ruffled sandy blonde hair. I watch intently as the Asian speeds up, overtaking the blonde with a smug grin creeping onto his face. In return, the younger boy pushes harder, but obviously not enough as the two slow to a halt,
panting like wild dogs. Seconds later, the two collapse in a fit of laughter, rolling around on the floor. "Maybe they go to Glade high, they look around your age and by the looks of it live on the same street as us," comments my dad, who had noticed
me watching the boys."Yeh, maybe" I reply, attempting to sound as enthusiastic as possible. Soon enough, we pull into a wide driveway beside an average sized house. Hesitantly, I push open the car door and climb out, quickly spotting the two boys
approaching. Nervous for what the two would be like, I simply pretend I haven't seen them and continue towards my new house. Suddenly, a hand pulls me back: my dad. "Come on, you can't shy away from making new friends," he says, patting my back. Forcing
a smile, I turn back around towards them. The blonde speaks first, smiling kindly, "Hey you new here?" he asks. "Um, yeh, just arrived actually.." I reply, nervously. "You like any sports greenie?" Asks the Asian kid, his tone suggesting that I probably
should. The blonde shoots a look him, leaning his bony elbow onto the Asians broad shoulder, "lay off Minho, he's new." Laughs the blonde haired boy, before returning his attention to me. Up close, I can make out his features better. He looks around
a year or so younger than myself and looks to be quite slim, even slimmer than myself surprisingly, yet he still looks quite strong. On the other hand, the Asian boy – Minho as the blonde called him – looks to be extremely muscular and athletic. "Sorry
mum," giggles Minho, earning a sour glare from the younger boy. "Don't mind his Sarcasm, you'll get used to it," he says, before extending his hand out to mine. "I'm Newt," he says, making me feel a whole lot better that I might actually have a shot
at making friends. "Thomas," I reply, grasping his hand and shaking it lightly. "And I'm Minho, this shanks only friend," exclaims Minho, ruffling Newts hair playfully. In return, Newt slaps his hand off and Minho smirks before grasping my arm and
shaking a little more violently than Newt. "Don't mind him, he can actually be nice believe or not," Newt smiles, as Minho shoves him lightly. "What school do you guys go?" I ask, secretly hoping that they go to the same as I will be starting tomorrow.
"Glade high," Minho grunts, obviously unimpressed at the mention of school. "Oh, that's where I'm starting tomorrow," I exclaim, a little more excitedly than I intended. "That's great! Wanna get a lift with us, if Minho here doesn't mind," Newt offers,
glancing at Minho. "Yeh I guess, as long as you don't fart and stink out my car," Minho replies, causing me and Newt to giggle slightly, yet Minho sure seems serious. "I would but I think my mum wants to see me in tomorrow, you know first day at new
school and stuff, I guess it's a mum thing," I reply, although it sounds kind of lame. "That's alright, my mum was like that for practically my first year here," says Newt. "Well you were like 5 when you moved here," Minho adds, a smirk still sits
on his face. "Have you two lived here most of your lives then?" I inquire. "Yep more or less, I've spent most of my life with this," Minho teases, wrapping one of his arms around Newts neck and pointing at him. Newt shoves him off and Minho laughs.
"THOMAS!" calls a high pitched voice from the house. "Yeh what is it Abi?" I ask as my sister strolls out of the house dressed as if she's going out. "Mum wants you in now, unpack and get yourself ready for school tomorrow," calls Abi, who waves at
Newt and Minho before heading back to the house. "Who's that?" Asks Minho. "That's my sister," I reply, sighing. "Why exactly did she try to flirt with us?" Minho presses. "Oh that's what she's like, she's one of those sassy popular girls and trust
me, it's annoying to have one of those living with you," I reply, annoyance crossing my face. "Hey well I guess we'll see you around then," Newt says, running his hand through his hair. "Yeh, see you guys around," I reply before turning away from
my new friends. "See you around klunkhead," calls Minho from behind, as the two walk off. Feeling slightly more confident about this whole new experience, I enter my new house for the first time. The interior seems quite a bit larger than I imagined,
which is a positive. I enter what seems like a kitchen, which is littered with cardboard boxes with different names written on the side. "Hey Thomas, do me a favour and make sure you keep your two new little friends close, especially the blonde, I
could use a boyfriend," chirps my sister, her comment disgusting me. Suddenly, I feel anger spark inside of me, I will not let my sister use my new friends as a boost to her popularity. "Hey, listen to me sis, if you wanna get popular, you can do
it without using my friends," I shoot back at her, causing her to look slightly taken aback. For a minute we stand in complete silence as I wait for her to do something back. But she simply smiles slyly at me and replies, "ok," and walks away, the
sound of her heels echoing through the house. Sighing, I rub my eyes and glance at the clock which reads 10pm. As if reading my thoughts, my mum turns up behind me and asks, "shouldn't you be off to bed soon, you'll probably have to leave a bit earlier
to find your way around the school." "Yeh probably," I reply, heading for the stairs. "There's a temporary bed in the bedroom on the first door to the left, I left your boxes and stuff up there for you to sort out after school," she explains, pausing
before walking over and pulling me into a tight embrace. "You'll be okay," she whispers, sensing my fear. "I know I will," I reply, trying to sound strong. After a few seconds we pull away and I head up the stairs, "I love you Thomas," she whispers
from behind.