My Life As A Peanut
Chapter 1: The Move
Ok,I don't know where to start with this,but I guess all I can really do is tell you how I got where I am now. My name is Alex Morales,I'm 16,now my life up until this point has been stellar to say the least. At the beginning I seemed to have a typical childhood,I lived in a small neighborhood in Florida and it was me,my mom,and my dad. We all did typical stuff that a family would do,celebrating Christmas without snow,go to theme parks,and I even won a field trip to a trampoline house for reading 791 books in elementary school. This all changed one night however and that was the night before my 4th birthday,I'm shocked I can remember in such detail but it was around 6:00 in the evening so there was a little bit of sunlight left,we were having a pre-birthday party that year. Since my birthday fell on a weekday and my parents were gracious enough to let me stay home that day,they moved my party to a day before so my friends could be there. Me and my friends were playing tag as well as one of those Plug and Play systems called the Penguin,but that's beside the point. My dad had arrived home with my birthday present,of course I was anxious to see what it was but he insisted that I waited till the next day to let me see it. We had fun and finished up the party with a Mario Kart tournament between me and my friends which I of course lost,at the end of the party my dad got a phone call that required him and mom to go in the other room. I held my ear against the door and I recall a heated discussion between my parents,I was obviously confused not knowing the full context of what was going on and when I found out I was devastated. You see my dad had a job in the military that required him to travel away a lot,this resulted most of my life being just me and my mom. We all dealt with it since the most amount of time he'd be away was a few weeks,but this was nothing seeing as he had to be away for a undetermined amount of time. They broke the news to me and I was more than a little upset to see that my dad was leaving for this long supposedly,he assured me that he would be back before I knew it,he had to leave the next morning but before we went to bed he decided to go ahead and give me my present to cheer me up. He went to the trunk of our minivan and pulled out a small cardboard box,I opened it excitedly anticipating what toy or game it could be,but I never imagined that I would be looking at a puppy beagle. I remember having such a mix of emotions,because even though I loved dogs at that time,I never imagined or even thought of owning one especially since I never asked my parents for one. I was trying to process it but my thoughts were not so subtly interrupted by the puppy pouncing on me and licking me for what seemed like an eternity.
It was after the puppy finally got off of me that my dad was given the chance to tell me what this meant,I remember him saying something like "This dog right here,is a special kind of dog. This is a way for you to have a friend whenever you are alone,he'll always be there for you. Don't you forget that little guy." He said as he pointed to the dog. I remember hugging my dad very hard and crying that I didn't want him to go,but the reminder that I had someone to talk to that wasn't my mom made me feel slightly uplifted. It was getting very late and way past my bedtime so we decided to settle in. Morning eventually came and I got up to see that dad had already lift,my mom was just sitting alone on the couch drinking a cup of coffee with a sad expression. As soon as she saw me realizing that dad was gone,her face changed to one of optimism as she said "Well it's just you and me again,but we'll get through it like we always do." Those words couldn't have been more wrong.
Days turned into weeks,weeks turned into months,and those months unfortunately turned into years,dad was not coming back,no phone calls,no letters,no updates,no nothing. During that time despite me having a new dog,I spent very little time with him since I was always staring out the window just hoping to see a truck or my dad walk up the highway to no avail. I remember getting angry at my dog because I was so torn about dad being gone for so long that I snapped at someone who didn't deserve it,after all he was just being a dog. I saw him as just a replacement instead of a friend and I regret it. One night I was laying in bed watching the stars from my window and I was feeling down as usual,but I recall seeing the dog on the dresser as it jumped right on my bed. I was expecting myself to just tell him to go away,but instead I felt a sense of comfort as the dog slowly but surely got up to my chest and lay down on me. For the first time in a long time,I raised my hand and petted him. I remembered that even though it had been weeks since I got him,that I haven't even named him yet. So after a few minutes I suggested "You know,how does Stan sound?" He perked up and did a cute little bark to signal that he agreed,and out longtime friendship kicked off.
Everything changed after that night,for the most part whatever I went,he went and we became inseparable. Growing up without my dad was pretty painful as we assumed that he was either dead or MIA due to no word back from him,but as I grew older I tried to move on as I developed a big appreciation for music,especially guitar music to the point of forming a band with my neighbors that was so bad anyone with good taste would rather pass a kidney stone and caused a miles worth of glass to be broke which included windows. Due to all the alone time,I also had a very big imagination with Stan somehow being able to be part of my fantasies and some of them were so off the wall ridiculous that I won't dare reveal here. It sure was a way to grow up,but it all changed again when we had to move.
Fast forward 12 years to my current age 16,it was the beginning of Autumn and we were just getting ready to move to a new town states away called Birchwood. Seeing my childhood home be completely empty made me feel a little sad,but the move was for the best since the neighborhood was going down the crapper. Break ins and robberies were becoming a lot more common so we decided to move. My mom was doing last minute signatures with the moving people and they eventually left,leaving us the only ones left. My mom clapped her hands together and said to herself "Okay,now I need my last two pieces do cargo."
She yelled out "Stan! Come on Stan we're leaving!" Stan didn't come out,but she did get a smile on her face and said sarcastically "Okay,I guess we'll leave with everything,including the dog treats." Immediately Stan dashed towards her with a trail of dust behind him and she threw the box into the minivan as he jumped in. Stan had grown into a brown and white beagle with a load of brown spots on his back,he did have black ears and very smooth looking fur,topped off with a red collar I got him a few weeks back since he had grown too big for his old one.
"Okay,now where's my son? Alex! Let's go!" She called out again and again,unbeknownst to her I was sitting up in a tree with my headphones on listening to music. I had short brown hair,with glasses,and a small mustache on my face. Eventually she realized where I was when she saw my foot having out. She went to the car and took out a baseball bat and hit the tree I was in very hard. The vibration from it caused me to fall right out of the tree on my back. She looked down at me and told me "Come on let's go."
I shrugged and asked "Mom,why do we need a baseball bat? We don't even like baseball?" She put the bat in the truck and replied "It's like my mom always says,when in doubt,you whip out the baseball bat." I accepted it and got in the van,we took one last look at the house as mom said "Goodbye old house!" And I added "And may angels guide you to your fiery death." And we were off,we pulled out and made our way towards this mysterious Birchwood. All I wanted was to be far away from here,I didn't know what to expect out of Birchwood or who our neighbors and potential friends would be,I just wanted this to blow on by. But that's not what I got,the ride took days seeing as we didn't even bother to stop for a motel,almost nonstop driving for days through desserts and wastelands was not pleasant. The only thing that kept me sane was some of the videos I saved onto my phone,but it was hard to watch them with me being constantly pushed with Stan's butt in my face and the luggage we didn't put in the moving truck. I decided to make the best of this trip and listen to some tunes on my phone. It was going to be a LONG ride.
Mother told me,yes she told me
I'd meet girls like you
She also told me "Stay Away you'll never know what you'll catch"
Just the other day I heard of a soldiers falling off
Some Indonesian junk that's going round
Mommy's alright,daddy's all right
They just seem a little weird
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Hey,hey
We drove past a few landmarks that included a giant statue of a fist,and a restaurant that was styled like a 1950s diner. It was pretty good but what it did to my stomach was nightmare inducing.
Father says "Your mother's right she's really up on things,before we married mommy served in the WACS in the Philippines"
Now I had heard the WACS recruited old maids for the war
But mommy isn't one of those I've know her all these years
Mommy's alright,daddy's alright
They just seem a little weird
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Hey,hey
Eventually we did make it to our new neighborhood,I looked out the window and being hypnotized by how beautiful it was.
Whatever happened to this season's losers of the year?
Every time I got to thinking,when they'd disappear?
But when I woke up,mom and dad are rolling on the couch
Rolling numbers,rock and rolling got my kiss records out
Mommy's alright,daddy's alright
They just seem a little weird
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Hey,hey
Away,away
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
Surrender,surrender
But don't give yourself away
It was your average neighborhood no doubt,but compared to the stuff I was forced to look at on the way here,it was like entering heaven's gates although I was weirded out by a tree that was loaded with kites. I thought to myself "Jesus,one kid sure can't seem to fly a kite." The trees were all colored with red,orange,and yellow leaves and there wasn't a single leaf falling down wherever we went. We also drove by one house,it was pretty normal looking but in the backyard I saw the strangest site. It was a red doghouse but there was a black and white beagle sleeping on TOP of it on its back,not IN it,and there was also a yellow bird laying on its belly.
I thought to myself "Okay?" as I pointed to him as I directed Stan's attention to it with "Look Stan,you have a new neighbor." He looked at the beagle with curiosity and merely rolled his eyes. We were going to have to get accustomed to this house being my next door neighbor because the house to the left to it was our new house.
Finally getting out of that god forsaken car and being able to walk was a feeling I don't think I'll ever be able to experience again. As I observed my new neighborhood,I recall hearing multiple voices that belonged to kids. One of them clearly shouted "Hey gang look,a new kids moving in!" I heard stuff that ranged from "I think I see a piano,I hope he loves Beethoven!" and "Beethoven,Schmeethoven. Maybe he will appreciate my natural beauty."
"Keep dreaming sister." I chuckled quietly as I faintly listened but not to the point of making them be aware I was listening.
"Who cares about that? As long as he's a better goalie than Marcie."
"Your hurting me sir."
"I'm sorry but it's true."
"No,you're pulling on my hair."
"I just hope he has an open mind about the great pumpkin." When I heard that,I thought to myself "Great what?"
"I think they have a toaster." Another girl said with strange enthusiasm and it was then and there that I decided to ignore them and take a look inside the house. On the outside it was blue with two windows at the top and a big window in the front. Moving our stuff inside would have to wait till the next day as we were all so tired from the nearly nonstop driving that I passed out on the conveniently left behind couch that smelled of cigarettes but it sure was comfy to say the least.
"SURRENDER" COPYRIGHT OF EPIC RECORDS
Authors Note
This is not going to be a full on musical like the last story,I just added this song as a montage song.