Dirt

The Move

Holly took one last look at her hometown and stepped into her mom’s tan suburban.  She had grown up here, how could her parents just up and move her senior year.  She understood her dad got a fantastic job offer in los Angeles doing what he loved and they would be living right on the beach too, but this place would always be her home.  There was no turning back now.  She put her headphones in and cranked up the volume.  There was only one way she would get through this and it was country music.  She watched as the last glimpses of her hometown faded away.  She soon drifted off to sleep thankful that her grandparents were driving her car out.  Holly was jolted awake as her mother suddenly slammed on her brakes.   “What is this?” she asked.

“It’s traffic Holly!” her mother explained aspirated.

“This is not traffic this is slower than the homecoming parade.”

“Well get use to it.”

Holly sighed there was no way to get  use to this.  Her mom got off the freeway and exited onto a road that looked directly at the ocean.  If the road didn’t have a turn near the end they would have driven straight onto the beach.  Holly looked at the houses that lined the street.  They were painted different pastels colors with white shutters.  Her mom pulled up to a light blue house that looked something like the house, her best friend Callie, would vacation to.  The only difference was it was the other side of the country.  “We’re here!” her mother exclaimed, “I would go claim your room before your brother does.”

“Thanks mom!”

“Go on sweetie, you don’t want to miss out on the room with the ocean view.”

Holly opened the door and was hit by the smell of ocean air.  She wrinkled her nose it smelled very fishy.  She ran up to the house and up the stairs.  She could see the room her mom was talking about as soon as she got up the stairs.  The door was wide open and the window looked straight at ocean.  She entered the room and was surprised to see a spiral staircase in the corner of the room.  She went up the staircase and entered a room that looked like it had been an old lighthouse tower.  The light had been taken out and replaced by a crystal chandelier, which made little rainbows all over the room.  Holly gasped this was better than she could ever imagine.  Suddenly she was interrupted from her perfect escape.  “Holly!!!! You took the better room! I should get the better room because I’m older and have more people to impress.” Her brother whined.

“Oh like who? All those girls you think are going to fall over you?  News flash country boys are so 5 years ago.  It’s all about the surfers and the actors! Get it together Brian!”

“Really holly! That was low even for you!”

“Whatever.  Can you just leave me alone to unpack please?  I start school in a week.”

She shut her door and looked at all the boxes in her room.  Her furniture was already in here.  That’s weird she thought, mom must have known this would be her room.  She started organizing the boxes putting away all of her clothes first then she got her speaker out, then her desk stuff, then her bedding, and finally her laptop and ipad.  She set them on her desk and looked at everything she had accomplished.  Her mannequin would have to be moved closer to the closet but the pearl necklace did look perfect.  Thank you mee maw she thought.  Something was awf though, not awful but just off.  Then she realized it all of her pictures.  Where was the box? “Mom! Mom! Mom! Mother! I’m missing a very important box!”

Which one sweetie?”

“The one with all my pictures”

“It will turn up don’t worry” holly really hoped so that was the last piece she had connecting her to her friends back home.  Those pictures recounted countless memories.