Chapter 3

Alex POV

I saw a car driving down the street slowly. Sadly, it wasn't the new neighbors. It was my next door neighbors. They were an elderly couple and I didn't see them much. They kept to themselves most of the time.

A few hours later…

My parents decided to go into town today and shop, so I was home alone. It was a really nice day, so I decided to find my skateboard and go skateboarding on my street. I put Tank on a leash and tied it to the front of my house, and took off down the street.

After going around in circles for a while, it got a little boring. I went back to my house, put Tank inside, and went back outside. I decided to go skateboarding on the main road. It wasn't a very busy road, but there were some cars occasionally, so I had to be careful.

About a mile down the road, there was a gas station, and I decided to head over there and buy some gum. On my way to the gas station, I passed 2 cars.

I bought some fruity gum and headed back up the road to my house. I would have skateboarded longer, but it was getting dark, and I wanted to get back before it got hard to see.

Going back to my house took longer than going to the gas station because it was mostly uphill. It wasn't that steep, but it was tiring. I ended up walking up the last ¼ mile. It took me about 20 minutes, but finally I arrived back at home. But it was so dark, and hard to see. I had forgotten to leave the outside light on, and my parents weren't home yet, so my house, along with all of the outside, was pitch black. I could barely see. Except… Through the trees in the front yard, I could faintly see an upstairs light on in the house across the street. Finally the new neighbors were here. I decided I would say hi in the morning, since they were probably unpacking and settling in.

I got my keys, and unlocked my front door, and turned on the outside light, and the kitchen light. Tank was barking, so I let him out of his crate.

After about 30 minutes, my parents came back home. It was getting late, so they decided to just go sit in bed and watch TV for the rest of the night. I was fine with that. I sat in my room too. I was in my bed watching YouTube on my TV, and I was eating some candy Katelyn had given me. My cat, Angel, was laying next to me with her head sticking out of the blankets, purring…

It was late now. Almost midnight. I was tired. I brushed my teeth, shut off my TV, and got in bed with Angel. Before I laid down, I looked out my window and saw lights on across the street. I wondered what my new neighbors were doing… Probably unpacking. I desperately wanted there to be kids mine or Katelyn's age. Well, I would find out tomorrow… I planned on introducing myself and seeing if they needed any help.

I thought about meeting the new neighbors as I slowly drifted off to sleep…

2 Hours Later…

Alex POV

I was woken up suddenly when I heard a few knocks on my front door. Not wanting my dad to scream at whoever it was, I got up to answer the door.

I looked at the clock… 2:47. Who would be at our door this late? I would find out shortly… I slowly got out of my nice warm bed, and trudged down the hall on the freezing cold floor to the front door. At this point, I started wondering if I had just imagined someone knocking. Almost 3 o'clock seemed a bit ridiculous. However, I was reassured I wasn't crazy when the knock came again.

I unlocked the front door, and opened it. There was a woman standing outside.

"Hi, I just moved in across the street. I was just wondering if you had a phone book or a phone number of a plumber. We don't have any water, so we can't flush toilets, take showers, or use the sinks. We have a well but my husband just can't find out what's wrong," she said.

"Wow. That's… Not good," I said. I walked over to the coffee table and pulled out a phone book from under it. I handed it to the woman.

"Thank you so much," she said.

"Do you want me to wake up my dad? He could come over and try to fix it," I said.

"Oh, no that's ok, I wouldn't want you to have to wake him up. I'll just call a plumber," she replied.

"Ok, well if you change your mind, I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking look at it," I said. I knew this was a complete lie, but I felt bad for her.

"Thank you so much. I will definitely keep that in mind. I'll give you the phone book in the morning, and you and your family can meet my family if you guys want. I am really sorry I woke you up," she said.

"No, it's fine, really. I hope you get your water fixed," I said.

"Thanks again. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a good night," she said.

"You too."

Well I got what I wanted. I met one of my new neighbors. I walked back into my room. I looked in the mirror and realized just how ridiculous my hair looked. Great first impression…

I got back into bed and went to sleep, not knowing the next day would have such a big impact on my life…