"So are you gonna tell me what's with this elaborate dinner or am I going to have to guess?"
Maria and Jose Montez looked at each other before turning back to their perceptive daughter. "Well, here's the thing–"
"We're moving, aren't we…" Gabriella interrupted.
"I know how much you love New York, sweetie, and we'll keep our apartment here so we can always come back and visit, but with Dad being traded out to Denver and you going into junior year, we figured it now was as good a time as ever."
"So we're moving to Denver?" Gabriella couldn't help the scowl that graced her lips.
"No," Jose chuckled at his daughter's face. "We're moving home to Albuquerque. Mom got an amazing professorship offer down there and my parents are down there, remember?"
Gabriella sighed, taking a sip of water from her glass. "When do we go?" She was used to this. In her short sixteen years of life, Gabriella's life had been uprooted more times than she'd like to remember. Having a professional basketball player for a father had a lot of perks, but the moving really sucked. They'd been lucky for the past five years to live in New York while her dad played for the Knicks, but, alas, as all good things must come to an end, he got traded. They had lived in Los Angeles for a while, Portland and Phoenix before they'd settled in New York.
"We're closing on a house and we'll probably move at the end of June. We figured it'd be best to let you finish out these last few weeks of school and have time to say goodbye."
She let out another sigh before putting her fork down. "I have homework to finish, may I be excused?"
"Sure, sweetheart."
Gabriella scraped her chair back before walking out of the dining room towards the stairs to her bedroom.
"She took that surprisingly well," she heard Jose say to his wife.
"I hope it's real and she's not just putting on a face. I'd rather get the blowout over with now than deal with it while we're trying to move."
Gabriella walked the rest of the way up to her bedroom. A move from New York wouldn't be the worst thing. While she loved the city, her years here had not been easy. Another move meant another chance to start over. Start fresh somewhere no one knew her name or who her dad was. She sat down at her desk to finish her work and think more about her impending move.
One month later, Gabriella's feelings on the move were very different. Albuquerque was hot. And though it wasn't humid like summers in New York were, moving in the heat was horrid. Jose had gone a little overboard and purchased a ridiculously expensive 6 bedroom home with a huge backyard and a pool. Instead of getting to know people around the neighborhood, Gabriella spent her summer helping her parents get the house furnished and set up.
She had her spacious room repainted in a shade of amethyst, and against one wall stood a king-sized dark-wood framed bed with a gray upholstered headboard and footboard. A set of matching wooden drawers stood against the wall with a large mirror mounted on the wall above it. In the corner, there was a desk to match with a gray upholstered swivel chair. But her favorite part of the room was hidden by a pair of gray blackout curtains. She opened the curtains to reveal a set of glass double doors that led to a balcony that looked over the pool and yard. She stepped out onto the balcony and looked out over their property. Her eyes swept over the metallic blue Audi Q8 her dad had bought in an overzealous attempt to appease her. She closed and locked the door before throwing herself down in her bed with her new Macbook.
"Sweetheart?" her dad's voice carried through the wall as he knocked on the door.
"Come in," she sighed, closing her laptop as the door opened and her dad stood in the doorway. "What's up?"
"Hungry?"
"Could go for some food, yeah, I guess."
"Great. Your mom and I were thinking you could go pick up a pizza? Maybe you'll meet some kids your age."
She sat up from her bed, moving her laptop onto the pillow next to her. "Yeah, sure, I guess." She rolled off of her bed as her father walked out of the room.
"Money's on the counter!" he called in the hallway.
She slipped an olive-green knee-length cardigan over a pair of light wash denim shorts and a cropped gray tank top. She grabbed the keys to her Audi before walking out of her bedroom.
"Dude, I'm starving, can we give this a break?"
Troy dropped the ball at his feet before wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm. "Giving up so quickly?"
"I am hungry," Chad emphasized again. "Let's go grab some pizza."
"Ten more minutes?" Troy attempted to coerce his best friend, picking up the ball again.
"Hoops." Chad took the ball from his friend's hand before walking towards the exit of the outdoor court. "Get in the car or you're walking home."
Troy grabbed his bag from the bench and took off after Chad, realizing that if it came down to him or food, Chad would one hundred percent without question pick food. The two hopped into Chad's car and he drove the short distance to their favorite pizza spot. The boys walked into and nodded at one of their friends who worked at the shop.
"Yo, Newton, can we get a booth?"
"Sure thing," Eric said, grabbing a few water cups and placing them at the booth for the boys. "I think Zeke said he and Jase were on his way here a little while ago."
"Sweet, thanks, man."
Chad perused the menu, debating if he wanted more than his usual while Troy kept up small talk. As Eric had suggested, Zeke and Jason walked into the door a few minutes later and joined the two boys at the table.
Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross were two other boys who played on the travel team with Troy, Chad and Eric. The four guys joked around at the table and ordered a few things to share for the table while they waiting for their pizza.
And then in walked Gabriella, her cellphone glued to her ear as she spun her Audi key around her finger. "No, Cat, it's not as bad as I remember it being. Granted, I haven't been around here since I was, like, seven, but a decade of growing up brings clarity. Okay, but I'm at the pizza shop so I'll give you a call later, okay? I love you, too."
"Hey, how can I help you?"
Gabriella looked up at the kid behind the counter while sticking her phone in her back pocket. "Yeah, can I just see a menu?"
"Sure thing, you staying or going?"
"To go, please."
Eric handed over a menu to Gabriella, who leaned against the counter as she read it. "You new to town? I feel like I know most faces our age around here."
"Uh, yeah, just moved in a few weeks ago. Can I get an order of mozz sticks, a small white pizza and a large buffalo chicken pie?"
"You got it. I'll be a bit of a wait."
"That's okay," she smiled. "I'm just gonna sit over here, is that okay?"
"For sure!"
Gabriella sat down at a small table nearby, tucking her hair behind her ear while she waited.
"Dude," Chad nudged his best friend as gestured towards the girl sitting alone at the table.
"So," Eric started, coming to sit across from Gabriella. "Where're you coming from?"
"Most recently? New York. Before then, Miami, Oklahoma, Boston… You name a place, I've probably spent some time there."
"Parents move around a lot?"
"Yeah, my dad, for work. We're here for the long haul, though, my mom got a new job here and my grandparents live down here."
"Cool. Where ya going to school?"
"Um.. East High?"
"Nice. I go to West High - big rivals, we are - but some of my closest buddies go to East. We play ball together on a travel team. If you look over there, they're hopelessly failing at trying to make it look like they're not looking at you."
Gabriella giggled despite herself. "I get it all the time. It's not easy being the new girl."
She turned her head and caught a shaggy-haired boy turning away from her. The brown-haired boy sitting next to him, however, did not turn away fast enough and their eyes met. Gabriella found herself drowning in the ocean of his bright blue eyes. The bell rang on the counter and Eric stepped over to get Gabriella's order. "I didn't catch your name, new girl."
"Gabriella," she smiled, taking the food from his hands.
"Well, Gabriella, I hope to see you around."
"Yeah, same here." Gabriella walked out, feeling the eyes of those two boys still on her. She picked her phone up to call her best friend, Cat, back.
As soon as the door closed, Troy and Chad were up at the bar to grill Eric.
"Who the hell was she?"
"Easy tiger," Eric laughed, making Troy roll his eyes. "She just moved to town. Apparently, her dad moves around a lot but they've got family out here and her mom's job."
"Damn, did you just get her whole life story?" Chad snorted.
"Can't help that I'm warm and welcoming and not creepy like you two staring idiots."
"Oh, shut up, we weren't staring," Troy said with another roll of his eyes.
"Yeah okay, sure, dude. Whatever you say. You're in luck, though, she's going to East so you'll get to see her quite soon."
"God, I can't believe the summer is almost over and I made zero attempts to move in on McKessie."
Eric and Troy both burst into laughter, prompting Chad to narrow his eyes at them.
"Pizza's here!" Gabriella closed the heavy front door with her foot as she kept walking towards the open kitchen. She placed the boxes before opening the bag with the mozzarella sticks in it and biting into one. Her parents shuffled in from the living room, her dad holding a bottle of sparkling cider as was their custom when moving to a new place.
"Here's to a longterm home!" Maria Montez rose her flute of cider.
"To starting junior year," Gabriella sighed, lifting her own glass.
"To a new season with a new team," Jose grinned, clinking his glass with his two girls before taking a sip and opening the box of pizza.