Chapter 2: Arrival

June 5, 2016

Robert parked the moving van in front of the house and got out. He unhooked his car from the trailer, drove it off and into the driveway.

He then unhooked the trailer and backed the van into the driveway next to his car. He then went back and opened the rear door.

Just then, a woman with red hair walked up towards him.

"Hi!" she said as Robert stepped into the cargo bay after extending the loading/unloading ramp.

Robert turned his head towards the woman when he heard her voice.

"Hey!" Robert replied as he loaded a few boxes onto the dolly.

"So, I see you're new here?" the woman said.

"Yeah, I just got here." Robert replied as he wheeled the dolly onto the driveway.

"I'm Will, Will Vandom, nice to meet you." Will said as she extended her arm out.

"I'm Robert, Robert Castellanos, nice to meet you, too!" he replied as he shook her hand.

Just then, three more women, one with long, flowing blonde hair, another with brown hair that had curls at the ends, and an African-American with dark hair, walked towards the two.

"Hey, Will, I see you met the new guy!" the African-American said.

"Taranee! Cornelia! Irma! Hey, This is Robert, he just got here!" Will said to the others.

The others waved at Robert, who waved back.

"Hi, I'm Cornelia." Cornelia said as she shook Robert's hand.

"Hi, I'm Taranee." Taranee said as Robert shook her hand. The third woman blushed slightly as she walked up to him.

"Hi, I'm Irma." she said as she shook his hand. Robert could see that she was blushing.

They helped Robert get his belongings out of the moving van over the next several hours.

That night, Will, Taranee and Cornelia waved goodbye as they went home.

"Well...it was nice meeting you, bye!" Irma said with a smile as she walked away. Wow, she seems to be really nice! Robert thought as he settled into his couch.

Then again, they all are! I love it here already! He thought as he drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile, the girls were hanging out at Irma's house, which was next to Robert's.

"So, what's new?" Hay Lin asked Will.

"Someone just moved in next door, his name's Robert." Irma replied.

"Wow, what's he like?" Elyon asked. "He seems like a nice guy; I like him." Irma replied. Cornelia noticed that Irma began blushing after her last statement.

"I see what you mean." she said. Irma gave Cornelia a surprised look.

"What?! Are you saying I have a crush on him?!" Irma asked.

"Your blushing is saying 'yes'!" Will said with a smirk. "Well...OK, so I think he's cute, so what?!" Irma replied.

"I knew it...he seems like he would make a good boyfriend for you." Hay Lin replied. Irma just sat there and looked around.

Later, as she went to sleep, she thought about her feelings.

I can't believe that I'm getting a crush on a guy that JUST moved here! I know that he LOOKS handsome, but, what kind of guy is he, for real? I'll have to get to know him better.

As she slept, Irma wondered how she was going to get to know Robert better.

The next morning, Robert woke up early and went to take the moving van and trailer to the local rental yard.

After he got back, he saw Will, Cornelia and Taranee standing on the sidewalk in front of his house with three others.

"Hey, this is Hay Lin, this is Elyon and this is Alchemy." Will said as she pointed out the three other women, who waved as Robert waved back.

"So, where did you move from?" Hay Lin asked. "I moved here from Colorado." Robert replied.

"Wow, it must have been cold up there." Alchemy replied.

"Yeah, but my true hometown was colder." Robert replied with a smile.

"Where was that?" Elyon asked.

"Portland, Oregon." Robert replied.

"Wow, I'll bet you loved it up there." Will said.

"Yeah, it was great, I can't wait to go up there again." Robert replied.

Just then, Irma walked up with a hopeful look on her face. "Hey, Irma! You look like you have something on your mind." Robert said as Irma stood in front of him.

"Actually, I do; I was wondering if you would like to see a movie sometime." Irma said as she began blushing heavily.

Is she asking me out? She does seem nice. Yeah, I should go, it sounds like fun. Robert thought briefly.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Robert replied. Irma's face beamed as they went into Robert's house to plan their movie day.

"What'd I tell you? She's crazy about him!" Cornelia said. "Come on, Cornelia, she just wants to get to know him." Will replied. Cornelia and Elyon chuckled, but stopped when Will glared at them.

"Oh, get your mind out of the damn gutter, you two! It's just a friend-date!" Will said. Irma and Robert then walked out and got into Robert's car as they began driving to the theater.