Ch.1
~ Tom
The doors of the bus hissed closed behind me as I threw my bag down on an empty seat. Well, all the seats were empty actually and by the looks of the driver he looked like he wished his seat was empty too – and who could blame him! I sure wasn't looking forward to the five hour bus ride to Raven Hill from beautiful, sunny Nuk Nuk. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't beyond nervous - I hadn't been back to Raven Hill in nearly four years, seeing as the last couple of holiday seasons my mum, stepfather and half brothers wanted a holiday on the coast and came to see me in Banyan Bay. Sure, I was nervous to see Brian again, and Adam and Jonathan; but for the last few months – ever since my dad finalized my bus ticket – I've been thinking about the Teen Power gang. From the few MSN conversations I had with Liz, Elmo and Sunny, the gang isn't really a gang at all anymore, and really, I doubt they even remember me. I'm probably just that guy they think about sometimes, the one that told some ok jokes but generally just got on everyone's nerves. Some loss.
I leaned my head on the window, the summer sun feeling incredible on my skin. I could've sketched, after all the scenery was beautiful, or I could have pulled out my iPod and successfully zoned out, but neither of those options really appealed to me. Worrying came easier, and passed the time just as well.
It's crazy to think of just how long after I left Raven Hill that I wanted to go back; it doesn't make much sense really, I mean, there's no denying that I fit in better in Banyan Bay than I ever had in Raven Hill. Not only at school, although the new high school in the Bay is close to a million times better than Raven Hill High for almost every reason, starting with a complete lack of Brian and finishing with the fact that everything is so laid back. But also my home life – living with dad and Faye is almost the complete opposite of living with mum and Brian. We eat whenever we want, and usually in front of the TV, we sleep with the doors open and a sea breeze floating in, and they never lecture me about my looks, my grades or my future. Take today as an example; Brian would never have let me miss a day of class, even if it was to catch a bus to see my family. As much as I get sad sometimes, a lot of the time I think back to my life in Raven Hill and wonder what the big loss was.
I miss the close friendship of the gang though, I mean, it's hard to not be incredibly close to people who went through as much as we did together. Of course I have friends in the Bay, some guys from art class and stuff, but they're mostly just people to sit with at lunch and go to parties with. Then there's this girl – isn't there always – Annie Lane. I work with her at the supermarket in Nuk Nuk on the weekends; I've been trying to get up the courage to ask her out for weeks, but it turns out some jerk with a hotted up car got in before me, so my love life's pretty much as dead as it's ever been.
I guess it's no wonder I feel so lousy sometimes. Sure, I try and cover it up with all my clowning around, but sometimes it just feels like I'll lose my mind if I have to live through one more silent evening of painting in my room while dad watches the news with the volume down and Faye reads some article about god-knows-what. I used to crave a home life so quiet and peaceful, no arguments or little brothers tearing around the house; but I guess all that silence is eating away at me. To tell the truth I haven't painted in months. Not a sketch, not a cartoon; it's like all the imagination leaked out of me. I start my final year of high school next year, and everyone is expecting some great art project – it makes me feel sick. I'd never tell my dad any of this, but it's the real reason I was so keen to visit Raven Hill these holidays. Almost two months in a house with Brian, in a suburb where I'd been long since forgotten, in a state of mind I'd rather avoid.
I must have nodded off somewhere in between my trip down memory lane and my compulsive worrying, because the next thing I knew it was late afternoon and a cool breeze was floating in the now open doors. The driver was turned around in his seat scowling at me.
"Oi, are you deaf boy? We're at the depot, Raven Hill," he rasped, a smokers voice if I ever heard one, "you gotta get off and change to the suburban bus, come on, I got places to be"
I rubbed my eyes and stumbled down the steps, the bus station crowded around me and the butterflies in my stomach going insane. Even the smell of hot chips wafting from the Depot Cafe couldn't make me hungry, which is saying something. I sat down under the peeling 'Raven Hill Route 102' sign and tried to take deep breaths, in and out, in and out...
This was going to be a long holiday.