Chapter Song: Home - Philip Philips
Carlos was roused from his nap by the car jostling over a pothole. He groaned and sat up, fumbling around the back seat for his glasses. The world swam into focus as the glasses slid up his nose. "How much longer?"
"Any minute now- look! There's the sign right there!" His mom replied, pointing out the window at a purple sheet of metal on a post positioned on the side of the road. It read "Welcome to Night Vale. Population: Varies Dailey"
Seems a little ominous, he thought to himself.
...o0o...
As his family's minivan pulled up in front of his new home, he wondered how he was EVER going to "get used to" this town. Although it looked rather normal, something seemed... off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something.
The moving van had arrived about 20 minutes before his family, so most of their boxes already littered the curb in front of the sand-colored house. Carlos gathered a few boxes labeled with his name and various categories of items inside, and trudged off to his new house.
His room was on the second story, second door to the left. Someone, probably his father, had already set up his bed. He set down the boxes and opened one labeled "Carlos linens," before the freshmen pulled out two bedspreads. One was simple galaxy print, and the other was most of the periodic table stretched across the cotton. After a moment's pondering, he decided on the cosmos. Once finished making his bed, he grabbed his pillow from the bottom of the box and stuffed it into his pillow case, depicting an atom in the center. Carlos placed the remaining set of sheets back in the box and plopped himself on top of the fluffy comforter.
A new town, a new school, the first day of high school. He honestly didn't mind the change, with his father's job of a scientist. The company his father worked for had his family move a lot. He didn't particularly miss his old school or anyone there. Carlos had always been independent. "A scientist is self-sufficient" his father always said. And if it was good enough for his dad, it was good enough for him.
One or two friends wouldn't be bad though, he thought. Just one or two. He would find someone completely unique.
Boy was he in for a surprise.