Moving Day

    I woke up to my mom yelling at me. “Hey, today’s the day!. Get up, so we can load your bed onto the truck.” I sighed at her, and rolled out of bed. Today was moving day. I didn’t want to go, we had been in this house my entire life. My two older brothers had already moved out, and my parents decided that we were going to move to another neighborhood, in another town. Before I walked out, I took one last good look at my bedroom. The walls were an emerald green, and the carpet was a shade darker than that. I looked over the tiny holes in the drywall, where I had my posters hung on the wall, with thumbtacks. My mother had forced me to take them all down last week, and made me pack them up. “Hurry up, it’s time to go, I need your help to unpack at the new house.” My mother hollered to me. I quickly went outside, and hopped in her SUV. “Took you long enough.” She said to me. As we were driving off, I could see my Dad loading my bed into the truck. “Look, I know you don’t want to move, but maybe you’ll like our new place! You didn’t even want to go with us when we did the final walk-through. You’ve never seen it, just give it a chance.” She said to me. “I didn’t want to move in the first place. I will never be able to see any of my friends, and I have to change schools too.” I huffed. She just glared at me in response.

     We were silent for the rest of the car ride. I was surprised when we pulled into the drive. I expected a smaller, crappier house. I was wrong. “See, I told you to give it a chance.” Said my Mom, when I didn’t complain. It seemed bigger than the house we had moved out of. The house was slate gray brick, with a dark shingle roof. It had a nice front yard, with rosebushes that had the most deep shade of red I had ever seen flowering out. There were purple hearts lining the walkway, and there was a dark red ornate door, leading inside. “Go ahead, here’s the key.” My Mom handed me the key, and I unlocked the door. I took a breath, and opened the door. “Oh. MY. GOD!” I yelled as I took a look around our new home. I couldn’t be upset, as I looked around at the ornate entrance. (My parents know that I’m a sucker for beautiful architecture.) The foyer, had hand carved ornate molding, and the carpet was a deep, dark red, and plushier than anything I had ever walked on. The living room was a giant room, with a beautiful dark gray brick fireplace, with sliver metal doors.

     I walked around the corner to the kitchen. I got excited, because it was also a giant room. There was a 6 burner stove-top, an oven and microwave combo built into the kitchen wall, a stainless steel double sink, and black and white tile floor. There was a sliding glass door that led out into an incredible sight. We had an in-ground pool, that went as deep as 8 feet! There was a beautiful deck built around it. At the very back of the yard, there was a little house. I went out the sliding glass doors, and walked around the deck to investigate. I smiled as I saw my reflection in the pool water. As I approached the front of the little house, I stopped to admire the beautiful garden surrounding it. It was similar to the front yard, but there were other flowers that I didn’t immediately recognize.

     I looked back to the sliding glass door, to see my mother, looking at me with an encouraging look on her face. I shook my head at her, and let a giggle escape my chest. I turned back to the house, and walked to the front door. I reached for the knob, and turned it. I pushed the door open, surprised to see what was inside. There was a small living room, with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. Underneath it, was a multitude of consoles, movies, and games. There was a sectional that lined the walls, and a round coffee table in the middle. The walls were painted a dark red, and the carpet was black. As I walked past the living room, mesmerized, I found the kitchen. It looked like a smaller version of the kitchen in the main house. Towards the back of the ‘little’ house, there was a hallway that turned off to the right. The walls were the same color throughout the house.

     At the end of the hallway, I found the master bedroom. There was a huge king sized bed, a beautiful dresser, with a hanging wardrobe attached. There was also a TV mounted to the wall in here, with consoles, movies and games. I kept looking around the room, shocked. Had my parents won the lottery or something, and they didn’t bother to tell me? Or did they somehow get rich? There was a wide opening in the room. I went through it, and found a hot tub style bathtub, and a standing shower to the side of it. There was a counter with a sink and vanity mirror on the other side. I was taken away at the thought of living in this house. To think, I was so angry about having to move, but my mother was right. I had to give this beautiful place a chance. “SO, what do you think?” My mother asked, breaking me away from my own thoughts. “Did you guys win the lottery or something????” I practically yelled at her.

     She laughed. “No, your father has gotten a new job, and we needed to move closer. Also, we thought you needed a change of scenery.” She answered. I wasn’t satisfied with her answer, and thought about how much my friends would have liked our new place. “Is this our house, for real?!” I asked her. “Yes. We were thinking that you could live in this little house, and the other rooms in the main house would be guest rooms. You have more than one bedroom in here too, you know.” She explained. I looked at her, with a shocked look on my face. How would be actually be able to afford a place like this, even with a fancy new job for dad? I walked out of the room and started opening the other 4 doors in the hallway. One of them was an office, one of them was a big closet, and the other two were bedrooms. “Are you serious?! I have an entire house to myself?! OF COURSE I WANT TO LIVE IN HERE!!!” I responded. She just laughed. “So, you didn’t really need me to wake up early and unpack and all that stuff, huh?” I asked her. She just smiled at me and shook her head.

     My mother and father usually had a hard time hiding things from me, especially surprises. So you can understand why I was completely taken away by the fact that they hid this from me for so long. “You never really answered my question though.” My mother said to me, interrupting my thoughts again. “I LOVE IT!!!!” I responded, hugging her tightly. “That’s wonderful! I do actually have some stuff to go unpack, and so do you! Just not as much as you thought. Come up to the main house if you need anything! I love you!” My mother said, as she walked through the garden, towards the main house. I walked through my house, just taking it all in. I saw some boxes in the corner, and decided to finish unpacking my things.

    Once I finished, I picked up my phone. Holy hell! I had 4 missed calls, 10 missed texts, and a couple of voicemails. I started with calling my best friend back. “DUDE, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for a couple of hours now!” My best friend screamed into the phone. I sighed into the phone. “My mom made me come to our new house to unpack and stuff.” I told her. “SOOOOO, does it suck like you thought it would?” She asked me, with hope in her voice. I wanted to lie to her, and tell her that it did suck, and that I couldn’t wait till I graduated and could legally get my own place, so I could move back. We had planned to be roommates while we were going to college. The only problem was, I was already in college, and she was still in high-school. Even then, I still had a couple of months till I turned 18. I graduated high-school early, and had started college. My mom made me transfer to a new school, closer to our new house before the new semester started.

     With a couple of weeks of summer left, my parents wanted to finish the move. “Vic, I’m not gonna lie to you, our new place is pretty amazing.” I admitted. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Damn! I hurt her feelings. I felt bad, but I didn’t want to lie to her. Victoria had been my best friend since I was 12. We met in middle school, when she was being picked on. I got angry, and stood up for her, and I had been fighting her battles every since. As if she could feel my guilt, she suddenly said, “No, it’s okay! If it’s really that awesome, I am happy for you!” She said. I sighed in relief. “Since there’s only a few of weeks before school starts again, why don’t you come here and stay with me! I practically live in my own house, Vic!” I exclaimed. She just laughed in response. “Nemi, I think that’s a great idea!” She says, after what seems like a million years. I don’t tell her about the pool, I don’t tell her about the multiple bedrooms, I just want her to see it all for herself.

     “Can you come get me? My dad STILL won’t let me even get into his truck after what happened last summer.” She asked. Victoria took a joyride in her dad’s truck last summer, and got pulled over. She was also drunk, on top of all of that! She was barred from getting her driver’s license until she was eighteen as a result. Her dad literally wouldn’t take her anywhere, or let her even ride in his truck since then. She had to find her own way to school, and her own way to do anything. It was me, I was usually her way. “Of course, Vic! I’ll pick you up around 8 o’clock!” I say to her, wanting to get a shower and change clothes before going to pick up my best friend. I flip through the other notifications, and respond accordingly. Most were from Vic, a couple from my mom and dad, and one from my brother.

     I walked up to the main house to talk to my mother about Vic coming over. My mother didn’t really care much for her, but she understood that she was my best friend. “Hey mom, can Vic come stay the last couple of weeks of summer with me?” I ask her, interrupting her unpacking. She looked at me, out of breath and sweaty from picking up heavy things and getting the house arranged the way she wanted it. “I guess so. Just make sure you wait for your father to get home before you go.” She said, sounding frustrated. I decided to hang out in the main house with my mom, and help her unpack everything. Before long, I heard my father pull into the driveway. He honked, and me and my mother walked to the front door. Before I could walk out, my mom put a bag over my head. “HEY! What is going on?!” I yelled and started trying to fight her. “Stay still, and let me walk you out the door to greet your father.” She said, like this wasn’t crazy as hell.

     I nodded my head, and went along with it. I kept walking with my mom, and heard another horn that didn’t belong to my dad’s car. My mother ripped off the bag to reveal a brand new Honda Civic. I looked at them for a moment, in all kinds of shock. “We wanted you to have a way to get to and from school, and to see your friends, since we knew you would miss them a lot.” My father said to me. I could have died right there! This whole time, I had been a royal brat. Like I was so mad about having to move, I didn’t consider any positive outcome to anything. What can I say? I’m seventeen, and I’m in college, and don’t get to even remotely live a normal life!? My eyes started tearing up, and I just went to my parents and hugged them. “Thank you so much! Why would you do this for me, even though I acted like a total asshole to you guys?!” I asked them, now ugly crying. I was overwhelmed by the amount of spoiled I was getting today.

     “Happy early birthday, babygirl!” My parents told me, in unison. “We know you’re birthday has never been just about you, and we were never able to do a lot for you, when you were younger. Now that we can, we are!” My mom exclaimed to me. Her and my father were exchanging loving looks at each other now, and I was still standing there in shock. They both laughed at me, and hugged me. “Go get Vic, I know you want to see her.” My mother said to me. I nodded, and headed back to my house for a shower first. I opened my wardrobe to find all of my favorite clothes inside, and some off of my wishlist. “Mom has been shopping.” I say out loud, and laugh to myself. I grab my favorite black skirt, my favorite shirt, boots, and my fishnets. I set them out on the counter in the bathroom area. I strip, and step into the shower. I let the hot water flow over me for what seems like a long time. Remembering that I have to pick Vic up, I step out of the shower, dry off, and get dressed.

     After drying my hair, I head out to my new car. I holler at my dad, who’s in the driveway working on his lawnmower, “Hey old man! I’m going to go get Vic! I’ll be back in a bit!” And I get in my car. “Okay, Nemi! Have fun, and be safe!” He hollers back. I laugh at him. That man will mow his lawn in the rain! I shift my focus on my car. It has a push start button, leather seats, and all of the upgrades. I will have to remember to ask my dad what his new job is! I push to start the car, and then I hook up the Bluetooth on my phone to my car stereo. I call Vic. “Hey! Where are you?” She asks, instead of answering the phone like a normal person. “I am in MY NEW CAR, on my way to come pick you up!” I practically yell at her through the phone. “WHAT?!?! Your parents bought you a new car?” She sounded jealous. Vic was a jealous person. I had never had a successful relationship because of that. “Yes, as an early birthday present.” I responded. “Who do they think you are? The queen of the universe?!” She asked. I laughed.