Chapter 3:
The car ride was treacherous. I sat between my two brothers, and watched the scenery pass by, wishing that it would stop. But we only stopped for bathroom breaks, food, and for our parents to switch spots while one got their well earned slumber. We never turned back, and that worried me. Dad said it would only be a temporary home, and grandma would be staying at the farm for now, but that didn’t make me feel any better. Where we were headed would never be my home.
We slowed down as we approached a line of cars who seemed to be stuck in front of something. My brothers said something about “the border” but that didn’t help me. We soon passed through, and I saw a sign that read: “Welcome to Canada!”
I had seen that in our geography lessons. It was a country just above the United States, where I had been living for the past nine years. I knew where we were now, but that didn’t make me want to stay.
When I looked over at my twin, I could tell she felt genuinely excited to be here. I had never understood her much anyhow. How could she even think about being happy at a time like this? I guess she was actually open-minded about all of this, but not me. Our personalities have never really clicked anyway, and we didn’t talk much. Well, I didn’t. She must’ve loved to hear the sound of her own voice, but I got tired of it… fast. But you can’t really run away from your problems in a moving vehicle.
As she blabbed on, I decided to take a step back and find the good in the situation. Discovering nothing, I let my mind wander to thoughts of Colin. What was going through his head right now? Probably questions. We had always been quite similar when it came to things like that. He was probably wondering who could give him the correct answers to long division. Or where I was going… and why he never found out about it.
That wasn’t an easy answer, because I still had no idea. But then we passed another sign. “Enjoy your stay in Toronto!”
I had to be honest. For a place I already despised, it seemed strangely welcoming. The city was very clean compared to some of the dumps we had driven through on the way here. We turned right at the next intersection, and saw beautiful trees and a lovely neighbourhood. “Well, this is your new home!” Dad said enthusiastically, as he pulled into a freshly paved driveway. No gravel in sight. I looked around. We had a pretty nice house. Maybe it wouldn’t be completely terrible. Am I actually saying that? Well, I didn’t have Colin, but I’m sure there’s some nice kids around here somewhere. There had to be something good for our parents to drive all the way here for! I got out of the car, and took in the scene in front of me. I guess this wasn’t so bad.
A couple girls, who both looked my age, walked by on the sidewalk. I was going to wave, but before I could I heard them snickering when they looked at me. One of them quietly said, “Look what that loser’s wearing! This isn’t a farm, hillbilly.” For the first time, I was ashamed of my practical hand-me-downs. My worn overalls and faded orange shirt didn’t belong in the city, not as far as I could tell.
“Go check out the house kids! We got them to unload everything for us, so go find your rooms!” my mother ordered. The rest of the kids rushed inside, but I took my time. It was hard enough to find out your moving, but it’s even tougher when you find out the day before. I couldn’t just automatically settle in, and I couldn’t be bribed.
I opened the door to our new house, and the same feeling of emptiness swept over me. Sure, there was furniture, but there were no memories. The walls were bare. There was no stain on the ceiling from my brothers Science Fair disasters. No markings on door frames to see how much we’d grown. Nothing.
I walked into a wide hallway, to see one door open at the end of the hall. I assumed it was mine. I cautiously made my way over to it, finding it nothing in comparison to my old room. It was small and crowded, and my bed took up most of the room, while my desk and bookshelf took up most of the remaining floor space. I guess it could be worse.
The house was pathetic. But I had one last chance. The back yard had to be better than the rest of this place! I made my way back through the hallway, walking over to the back door. When I opened it, I found the yard to be no bigger than my less than average sized room. Not so bad?
Yeah right.
Hope you guys liked it! I love writing it! Next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow! Bye Bye!
-Maddy
