Not In The South
"Zellie, what am I supposed to be looking at?" said Zell's dad, Steve Corona. Zell pointed at the house across the street. "There was a boy in that window, I swear!" she said. "He was literally right there!"
"Zell, are you trying to make fun of my comment about making friends?" He said as he walked inside their new house. Zell frowned. "I know what saw." She muttered.
"Zellie, help me with these boxes!" Mrs. Corona said. "We need to be unloaded before lunch."
Zell reached into the red and white moving truck. Her eyes scanned the Sharpe-marked packages until she found a brown box reading "Zell's Stuff."
"There you are!" she said with excitement. Zell lifted the heavy box, carried it inside, and shut the door.
The sound echoed through the empty house, seeming to bounce off of every blank wall. She stared into the infinite brownish-tan that seemed to engulf the place, wishing she was back in North Carolina.
The simple people, simple town, and simple ways seemed like a dream. And now that she was in New York, things seemed like they were never going to be simple.
Man, how she missed simple.
"Steve! Bring the paint! I want to start on the dining room right away!" said Mrs. Corona.
"Sweetheart," Mr. Corona replied. "Shouldn't we focus on getting unpacked first?"
She frowned. "Darling, it's just the dining room! You can start moving furniture inside with Zellie while I paint!" she said, already figuring out which colors looked best. "And can you hurry up with that paint?"
Mr. Corona sighed. "Women."
"So, which one is my room?" Zell asked as she and her father carried boxes upstairs.
"You can have any of these rooms up here. Your mom and I are sleeping downstairs, so shout if you need us." He replied. "Now, I have to go make sure your mother isn't painting the dining room a ridiculous color, like turquoise or something." He said as he walked down the stairs, leaving Zell with nothing but a small box of her belongings and thoughts to keep her company.
The first room she looked at was way too small. The walls seemed to be closing in on her, and she gasped. Zell shook her head. Stop it, Zell. It's just the claustrophobia kicking in. she told herself.
Ever since she was little, Zell had been very claustrophobic. It was in her genes, she supposed. After all, both her parents had the same problem. Apparently, that was how they met.
There was a big annual school field trip back in the day, and about five or six schools where invited. It was at a famous battle field and the submarines where the best part. Apparently though, when the group went into the torpedo chamber, two of the students where claustrophobic and couldn't take the tiny space.
And since they were the only ones, they had to wait outside for the others to finish touring the sub.
So they started talking, and ended up getting married and having a beautiful little girl named Zell.
Zell quickly shut the door, and walked to the next room. It was not quite as small, but definitely not big enough for her. Even though the open room seemed big, with a bed and shelves, it would be way too cramped.
Definitely not. She thought as she closed that door as well.
Finally, she found the perfect bedroom. It was huge! The walls stretched higher than the other rooms, and the ceiling came to a point, like a tower.
She smiled as she imagined all the possibilities. Hmm. I could put my bed there… ooh! And my dresser there!
She spun around in every direction until she tripped on her own two feet, the box crashing to the ground.
Zell shook her head and stood up. She reached for the box, but was startled when it started to move.
She jumped back in surprise, eyes wide with fear. The box shook for a moment more, and then a small green creature emerged.
It had wide eyes, almost identical to Zell's. The creature slowly crawled over to her feet, and licked her shoe.
Zell giggled, and slowly picked it up. Once she really looked at it, she knew at once what it was.
"You're a chameleon! I've never seen one up close before!" she said in awe. "You must have gotten trapped in the moving truck."
The chameleon beamed up at her, turned a bright pink, and climbed into her shirt pocket. She could barely see him once he changed color. "Whoa. That's awesome! But, you need a name, little guy! Hmm, what about Crayon?" she asked.
The creature shook it'd head, as if the name where distasteful. Zell frowned. "Um, ok. How about Pinky?" she said hopefully.
If the chameleon was unsatisfied with Crayon, he was furious with Pinky. He turned a dozen different colors, and Zell sighed. "Well, how about… Pascal!"
The lizard tilted its head, as if thinking about the name. Finally, he nodded. Zell smiled. "Yay! Pascal it is! I'm Zell. At least, that's what everybody calls me. But, I guess you can call me by my real name, Rapunzel!