Chapter 1 Moving...For the Summer
"Can't we talk about this?!" I asked desperately. "I'm afraid it's settled." My mother said. Unnoticed tears slipped down my cheeks. I ran to my room and locked the door. Everything I had planned for the summer was gone. I was going to spend the summer with my Aunt Beatrice. In Gravity Falls, Oregon! Not Chicago, Illinois! I had to pack up and leave on June 16, when school ended. Which meant that I had only a whole school week to tell my friends I wasn't going to be here. Okay so maybe my situation wasn't that bad, but still! Who wants to shipped off to a small town in the middle of nowhere with weirdos and nothing to do?! I grabbed my phone and opened up my texts.
'Veronica, sorry but I have to cancel ALL of our plans.'
I pressed 'Send' and it went off. I sighed. How was I going to explain this? How? I wiped my damp face and looked in the mirror. Maybe, it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe I'd make friends. Maybe-my train of thought was interupted by a familiar whistle. Four notes. Simple, yet beautiful. I opened up my texts again.
'What?! What do you mean ALL?! Addie, why?! Oh no! Your parents ARE sending you off to Oregon! Addie, omg!'
I sighed once more.
'Yes Veri, I'm being shipped off to nowhere for the summer just to 'bond' with some relative I don't even know! Disaster! We can talk Monday, okay?'
I sent it off and almost immediately, a reply came.
'Fine, but you'd better explain everything!'
She had replied. Again, tears pooled in my eyes. I blinked them away rapidly. I heard a knock at my door. I ignored it. Then I heard footsteps. They became fainter until I heard a door closing. I truged my way to my door and pulled it open to find three suitcases there. I groaned. I pulled them into my room and left them by my bed. Well, on the plus side, at least it's my first airplane ride. I thought weakly, trying to smile but to no avail. It was already 9 o'clock. I took out my contacts, put on my nightly acne creams, and went to bed. After a long period of tossing and turning out of restlessness, I fell asleep.
"My dear, why so glum?"
"You know why."
"You know your situation isn't anything to be upset about."
"What?! Of course it is! I have to cancel everything to spend time with another family that'll just ignore me!"
"You don't know that. Maybe she's different."
"No, no she's not. They're all the same. All adults are. They've forgotten what it's like to be 12. They ignore us."
"Maybe your parents do, but it's all in your head. They love you."
"Prove it."
"I can't."
"I knew it."
"Only you know if they love you or not."
"Lies. Never once in my entire life have they ever said 'I love you'. They only sit me down for long lectures."
"If that's how you see it."
"Shut up."
I woke up with a start. My vision became inky and I felt dizzy. Ugh, bad move. I grabbed my glasses and put them on and looked at my alarm clock. 5:45 A.M. It's becoming a habit to wake up this early. I cleansed my face, put on my contacts and went to school.
"My parents are sending me off to Gravity Falls, Oregon to meet my Aunt Beatrice. She's my mom's younger sister. I still have no cousins or an uncle over there, but they expect me to make friends. I have to cancel all of my plans for this summer since I won't be here. And that's it." I said sadly. My friends were all crowded around me. There were many different expressions. The bell rang. Thank god. At the end of the school day, I made my way to the gym when I felt a hand on my back. When I turned to see who it was, I came face to face with Marcus. "Hey. Something you need?" I asked. I was a bit snappy but then again, I was kind of on edge all day. "Um, well..." He handed me an envelope. "Bye!" He said, walking away. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the envelope in my backpack. "Coach Anders?" I asked. The tall blonde came out of her room in the gymnasium. "Yes Adelaide?" She asked sweetly. I opened my mouth to speak but she beat me to it. "Don't worry, your parents explained it. You won't be here for our summer practices. I understand. You may go now." She said. I nodded. I made my way towards the exit, humming while I walked. 'You were walking on the moon, and now you're feeling low...' I got home and plopped on my bed tiredly. I took my notebook and opened it up to the latest page. It held multiple poems and random thoughts. Another one crawled its way into my head. (A/N: I actually own this poem, I have it written in my poem book and I'm still working on it.)
"They tell me to hold on tighter
But my hands are slipping free
I'm nothing special, I'm not a fighter
That's just how it's meant to be
Why can't you just realize
You can't change my personality
I see everything with different eyes
Finally seeing reality"
When I finished it, I re-read it and was surprised. Did I really write that? I shook it off. I couldn't believe I had put my explanations off until today! June 16. A few hours later, I was looking down on the city, watching it disappear behind intermittent clouds. Tears stained my cheeks once more. My stomach was nervous. And the poem came to mind again. All of my poems were written for a reason, albeit some a minor reason, a reason nonetheless. I don't know when but my eyes started to slip when I snapped them open. I can't sleep with my contacts on. I inwardly groaned. Then I remembered Marcus' envelope. I stuffed it into my pocket before I left. I didn't feel like reading it though so I just took out my IPod nano. It was a 9th birthday present from Aunt Beatrice. I plugged it into my ears and turned it on.
"Don't know, don't know if I can do this on my own
Why do you have to leave me?
It seems I'm losing something deep inside of me
Hold on, on to me
Now I see, now I see
Everybody hurts some days
It's okay to be afraid
Everybody hurts, everybody screams
Everybody feels this way
And it's okay, it's okay
It feels like nothing really matters anymore
When you're gone, I can't breathe
And I know you never meant to make me feel this way
This can't be happening
Now I see, now I see
Everybody hurts some days
It's okay to be afraid
Everybody hurts, everybody screams
Everybody feels this way
And it's okay, it's okay
So many questions, so much on my mind
So many answers I can't find
Wish I could turn back the time
I wonder why
Everybody hurts some days
Everybody hurts some days
Everybody hurts some days
It's okay to be afraid
Everybody hurts, everybody screams
Everybody feels this way
And it's okay, it's okay, it's okay
Everybody hurts some days
It's okay to be afraid
Everybody hurts some days
Yeah, we all feel pain
Everybody feels this way
And it'll be okay
Can't somebody take me away to a better place
Everybody feels this way, it's okay
It's okay, it's okay
It's okay, it's okay"
This song fits me perfectly right now. I hummed along to the lyrics. Avril Lavigne reminded me so much of Veri. I love her songs. I remember that Veri said if this ever happened, she would listen to Demi Lovato songs to remind her of me. We listen to each others' favorite artists instead of ours when we miss each other! Then I got a brilliant idea! I carefully got out my tablet/laptop and watched 'Class of the Titans' which is my absolute favorite cartoon! My favorite character is Theresa. She's so much like me in so many ways. When Phantom Rising Part Two was over, I tried super hard to keep my fangirling to a minimum. I got a couple of weird looks but ignored it. I calmed down and realized we were close to the airport. Wow, I spent a lot of time reading. Again, an unnoticed tear slipped down my cheek. I hope this summer will be amazing, I wished. Stupid. Wishing. I always wished. Always. A warm drop of water landed on my red heart locket. I hadn't even realized I had been fiddling around with it. Nervous habit. I brushed it off. The plane landed. Here goes nothing...