"Mom, I really don't want to move again. I mean it is the 4th time we have moved in 2 years." I, Melissa, snapped.

"Look, honey, it isn't my fault that your dad's job keeps moving him around! We have to keep this family together. That's it." Mom snapped. She was stressed out by all of the moving. You could totally tell.

"But it's not fair. I try and make friends and then boom off to the next town." I said as I put my dirty blonde hair in a pony tail.

"I know. Look I am stressing enough I would appreciate it very much if you didn't whine at me now." She snapped. I didn't say another word. I just walked away and headed to my room. I felt like crying for my mom.

"Mom never gets mad like that." I though as I walked down the narrow hallway. I enter my room. It is covered with posters of Nsync, the Backstreet Boys, Kelly Clarkson, Hilary Duff, Ashlee and Jessica Simpson, and last but not least Britney Spears. I don't even remember what color the wall was. That's pretty sad. I plopped down on my bed just to think. "I can't believe we have to move again. You know what I need to put my foot down! I am sick of moving. I mean really. We move so much. I can't take it anymore. But like what I say will make a difference." Next to my bed was a little one drawer white nightstand. I opened it and pulled out a baby blue, glittery and had a Lance Bass picture right in the middle of it, journal. It was my song writing book. When ever I needed to get my head clear I would write in it or my diary, which was a black journal with stars all over it. I was just about to start writing in it when my father, Chris, knocked on my door.

"Hey, can I come in?'' he asked.

"Well it is a free country and if I say no you are going to come in anyway." I replied. He walked into my room.

"Hi honey." He said sweetly. I just rolled my eyes at him

"Look, I know you are mad at me. But I promise on my life that this will be the last time we move." He said trying to convince me not to be mad at him.

"Dad, every time we move I hear the same thing," I put the book down and looked him straight in the eyes, "this is the last time we move. Get settled in. Make all the friends you can. Cause this is it. Well I am tired of hearing it. Why don't we actually stay in one place? Have you ever heard of stability?" I said beginning to scream.

"I know we say the same thing over and over again but things happen..." he was about to keep talking but then I had to say this,

"Well then don't make promises you don't intended to keep." I snapped, grabbed my books and a pen, and walked out of room.

"Melissa!" dad screamed trying to get me to come back. I saw my mom on my way out the door.

"Mom, I am going to the park to get my head clear." I told her and walked out.

Fifteen minutes later

I was just sitting on a park bench and taking in all my surroundings. It looked peaceful and beautiful. It didn't have to move what seemed to be like every five minutes. It got to stay in one place. (That isn't fair at all!)

Opening my journal I just began to write.

Saturday June 28, 2004

Dear Diary,

What a big shocker we are moving again. At this rate we might as well live in a freakin' motor home! I might as well not even unpack! Well at least I still have a few things that never change. My music and my writing. I hope this next town isn't a drag. Like the last place we lived. If I could have one wish it would be that we would find a home and never have to move again! But that's never going to happen. See this is where a friend would come in handy. They would make sure you where ok. They would petition for you to stay (or just whine at your parents).

Does dad know what he is doing to our family? I mean does he really know. When I was younger I remember mom and dad going on dates. Now they are lucky if they say hi to each other in the morning. You know. Mom and I have grown closer. She's my best friend. Dad and I don't bond. At all, I am a teenage girl well lets just say he isn't as young as he used to be! Lol! But even so I'll try to strike up a conversation and he will shut me down. The only time he will actually talk to me is if he says we are moving again. This is what I should have figured today. Even if I had figured it out doesn't mean that it would change anything. I don't want to go back home. I don't want to move. But who really cares what I think right. I am just a teenager. I have no voice. My opinion doesn't matter to my parents. Oh well I think I should go home. G2G!

Bye Bye Bye,

Melissa

I packed up my things and headed home. Knowing that I should start packing. Dad only gives us a three day warning.

It was only a fifteen minute walk home, which was good because that gave me more time to clear my head before I walk in the door. It clams me down and I know that my parents have had more time to clam down also. I stopped in front of my small gray house (which mom calls a box), and took a deep breath before my feet started taking me to the door. I had to slowly open the door see if my parents where close by. The coast looked clear so I came in.

"You're home!" I heard coming from the kitchen. I looked to see my mom standing by the counter.

"Yep!" I said trying just to get to my room.

"Look, honey I know moving all the time is hard but we are a family. Families stick together. Goodness I remember when you where four and you had those blonde braids that just wouldn't give in. Now you are becoming a woman and are still blonde."

"I know mom." That's all I could say. If I had said any more I would have gotten a two hour lecture! With that I went straight to my room. I opened the door and there where boxes already in there.

"Here we go….again." I thought. After about an hour of packing. I had my cds, DVDs, posters, and pictures packed (pictures of the family). Now all I had to pack was clothes and I could stop for the night. Going through my closet I found clothes I hadn't seen since the last move, which wasn't to long ago but long enough for me to forget I had it. I found my Nsync Celebrity Tour T- Shirt, a pair of really cute jeans and the tie-dye shirt my mom bought that I can't stand. So if she asks if I found it I didn't! One hour later I was crawling into bed, which had a white comforter a baby blue blanket on it plus my self made cloud pillows, and dreaming of this new place dad's company is taking us this time!

When I awoke the next morning I came into the kitchen to see my mom and dad bonding. That was kind of scary. Though they looked very happy. I didn't want to disturb them so I just snuck back to my room.

On packing I went. Boy that was fun not! Same old routine. Last time we had to move I made up some games to make it fun. Those games where lame. I had finally finished packing all of my clothes when I heard a knock on my door.

"Hey." My mom said quietly opening my door.

"Hi." I replied hoping this wouldn't be another lecture.

"Looks like you did almost all of your packing." She said trying to make small talk.

"Yeah I did most of it last night, you know all the little stuff. " I said to her.

"Okay well in case you were wondering we are moving to Tree Hill. For once it is a tiny town North Carolina. Oh and we are packing your bed in 2 hours."

"Thanks for the warning mom." I replied. That's all I could really say. It is too late to stop this move. Plus mom seems in a happy mood so why ruin that?

Two hours later my bed is in millions of pieces.

"Mom it is 10:00(am for your information) when are we leaving here (here being Boston!)?

"Well by noon and we will be there at about 5:00!" she said trying to sound excited about moving again.

"Ok what else needs to be done?"

"Well the photo albums from our room need to be boxed up! Oh do it quickly we are going to start packing the van when your dad shows up with it."

"I'm right on that mom." I grabbed a box and off to work I went, again. We have so many photo albums it isn't even funny! I opened one of them and I saw a picture of my mom and dad back in the day! The hair, oh lord the hair. Sadly my dad's hair was crazier than my mom's. They looked so happy! What happened to that?

Beep Beep I heard come from outside.

"Crap dad's back!" I took the photo album and any others that where still lying on the floor and shoved it in a box. Grabbed the box and took it out to our 2000 Toyota.

"Hey daddy."

"Hi" he said angrily.

"Man he is stressed." I thought "What's new?"

He rented a cheap version of a u-haul. It's is pretty big. I don't care how big it really is. All I care is that it moves me from place to place. Maybe not the last time though maybe I won't like it in Tree Hill and I'll want to move again.

"Hey honey we have 1hour to get this moving van packed so let's go!"

"Ok mom!" Surprisingly we did have the van in 1 hour! I think all the practice has its benefits when you are under crunch time.

"I pick the music!" My mom said when we were in the car for about five minutes.

"Oh no," I thought. "She is going to make me listen to jazz! Save me!"

Then I heard the beat of Don't Cha (By the Pussycat Dolls if you have been living under a rock). Wow mom is listening good and NEW music. That is a major shock. Even dad was shocked. Mom and I sang the entire c.d. 3 times before she changed her mind and put in one of her jazz c.d.s. The other 2 ½ hours that is what we listened to. Thank goodness we showed up to Tree Hill when we did. If I had to listen to one more second of jazz I was going to go crazy. We pulled up into our drive way I was surprised it was bigger and nicer than the house we were just in. There are trees in our front yard. It was two stories high. Which probably meant I have my own bathroom. Hallelujah. Mom got out of the car and stood in front of the house and just stared at it for 20 seconds.

"I love it here all ready." She said.

"Mom you may love the outside but how do you know the inside isn't a dump." I reminded her.

"Because your father's company picked it out, not your father!" she replied.

We both began to laugh. Then my dad snuck up behind us.

"Ok instead of just staring at the house why don't we actually move stuff in it!"

I rolled my eyes at him. My mother actually replied "We need to soak it all in." Sadly she was right. I really wished she wasn't. Once again we had to start over. I had to attend a new school, met new people. When is this madness going to stop.

I ran to the truck and began unloading. Of course again we had it done in an hour. The new house looked pretty nice even with all the boxes in it. My room, located up stairs, had white walls with a tan carpet. My bathroom, which is connected to my bedroom was wallpapered and not that tiny. Well that's because I took the biggest bathroom in the house. My room is right next to my parents and has a great view of our pool. Man did my dad's business hook us up or what? With all of the times they make us move they better hook us up. The rest of the looked like something you would see out of a magazine.

That house that looks why to expensive. That house you could never own. Well that is what our new house looks like.

"Wow mom can you believe we live here?"

"No honey I can't. This is way too nice. But hey I'm not whining."

"Oh trust me I'm not either…yet. I haven't gone to school yet so I could change my mind."

"Don't be so negative." My father said as we all started to unpack the kitchen.

"Listen, Dad we don't know how these people are. For all we know they could be murders." I responded. My dad just gave me a look and started at the glasses. My mom noticed my effort and walked over to me and gave me a hug. I swear this woman is my best friend. Without her I don't know where I would be, well actually I would probably be in an asylum. But there is still a part of me that wants to have friends my own age or closer to my age. As I was pondering some ideas of what these people are like mom just said out of the middle of nowhere "Let's just order pizza tonight. Lord knows we aren't going to have our entire house unpack tonight. Even if we did I really don't feel like cooking tonight."

"Whatever you say mom."

Dad didn't say a word he just kept on working. He didn't even turn and look at mom. I am beginning to believe that what I saw yesterday was all an act. I mean they were happy. They were actually having a conversation. Dad didn't shut her down. They were looking into each others eyes. I don't know what they were talking about but I know it wasn't bills, his company, or the move. I wish they have that more often.

Well in an hour we all took a break and sat around our table and ate dinner (Mom ordered a pepperoni and pineapple pizza which is my favorite). Though no one said a word. I was temped to say something but I figured why try. At least mom kept a smile on her face! I don't know how she does it. I love her so much for it. After dinner we all headed back to work. I headed to my room and began to unpack. First up the clothes. A girl can't live with out clothes and everyone knows it. That took like 20 minutes to finish. So I called my mom up and asked her to help me put my bed together. Normally Dad helps us with this but he is putting their bed together. It took mom and I an hour to get my bed up and made. I can't believe it was already 8:40 today has really gone by.

"Hey mom I am getting in the shower can you tell me where all the towels are." "Oh they are in the box by the closet in my room."

"Thanks."

I grabbed the towels and all the other stuff I needed and jumped in the shower. I turned the shower to boiling hot. Boy did that feel really nice after all the work from today. After about 20 minutes I was ready to go to bed (in my comfy blue clouded p.j.). But I figured I would spend a little more time unpacking.

When 11:00 finally rolled around I gave up on unpacking and went to bed. I had to get up early and go to school the next morning.

"Melissa wake up. It's time to get ready for school." My mom said the next morning at 6:30 am.

'Give me five more minutes' mom."

"No now, it's your first day you can't be late. Remember we want to make a good impression on these people."

"Mom I am not going to pretend to be someone I'm not to impress people."

"You don't have to just be on time."

"Fine, plus I just lost some of my five minutes anyway."

I pulled myself out of bed and began to get ready for school. I decided to wear a red sort of low cut t-shirt and my most comfortable blue jeans. I also put on very little make. I chose to wear foundation, blush and lip gloss. That's it. It's amazing what little make-up can do for a girl. Well anyway after 30 minutes I was ready for school. This left me 15 minutes to do nothing so I unpacked my stereo and plugged it in. Then grabbed my Bring It on Soundtrack and just went crazy.

"Melissa get your butt down stairs I am taking you to school!"

"I'm coming mom."

I ran down stairs to see my mom already out in the car. Man did she mean business if beat me to the car.

"Crap she might leave with out me." I dashed out the door and made it before she tried to leave the driveway. We were quiet on the way to school. I was so nervous about what these people were like. Were they major jerks or sweethearts? Was this a party town or was a fun Saturday night spent watching movies at home?

Well does it matter I can't make friends I will just end up moving again.

"Ok we are here Tree Hill High School."

Butterflies came in my stomach at that instant.

"I will see you when you get home Melissa."

"Ok Bye Mom."

I got out of the car and headed into the school and started my first day as a student at Tree Hill High. I was given a schedule and tour of the school.

First period I have Spanish. Great I am not even a wake and they expect me to speak a foreign language. These classes are 70 minutes long. I am going to go crazy. Second period I have Computer Applications (Also known as typing). Then comes gym. After that science and lunch combination. Then last but not least Math. The school wasn't that big but it did do its self justice. Walking around with the guidance consoler made me feel like a major nerd. It felt like everyone was staring at me. They probably weren't thought. Well I headed on to first period and that didn't go as well as I planned but hey what can a girl do it was my first day. The rest of the day went by really slow and wasn't good until lunch. I was sitting all alone because that is what new kids do. Then this really cute guy came over and started talking to me.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked me.

"No go right a head."

"Thanks. I'm Lucas."

"Hi Lucas, I'm Melissa."

"So let me guess your new here."

"Hey we just moved here last night."