Stories To Be Told

chapter two

The plane trip was uneventful. I mostly just slept, that being my only talent. There was a guy in the seat next to me who was going to meet his newborn son. It was refreshing to see someone so excited and positive for once. When we landed, he thanked me for putting up with his stories as we walked to baggage claim.

"No problem," I smiled politely.

"I guess I'm going to have to get used to this whole dad thing. What does yours do?" he asked.

"As long as you love him unconditionally, you'll be fine. My dad always says, 'Do everything with your heart in mind.'"

He looked grateful. "And your mum? Got any advice for me there?" he chuckled.

"Erm, well, my mum. Huh." I looked down at my shoes. "She was my best friend." That was all I could say without letting my whole story slip out. But he seemed to understand.

"Thank you," he said. I looked up to see him take his suitcase from the conveyor belt. He shook my hand before walking away, a smile stuck on his face. I had a feeling he was just about the happiest person alive at the moment.

I took my suitcase and turned around. Suddenly, I realized I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Where would I go? Who would I go with? I didn't know what Lillian looked like, for one thing, or if she was even coming to pick me up. Panic started to settle into my bones, making itself at home as my heart sped up. That was when I saw a woman holding a sheet of paper with "Rigby" written in Sharpie on it. That was for me, Eleanor Rigby.

I walked over, careful not to get in anybody's way. If there was one thing I hated, though there were in fact many things, it was drawing attention toward myself. Brandon used to call me his shadow because I would follow him instead of doing things by myself, such as talking to people.

"Eleanor! I haven't seen you since you were a baby!" she said cheerfully. She hugged me and whispered, "I am so sorry I couldn't be there for your mum's funeral. She was one in a million, that woman." All I did was nod.

"Anyway, I am very excited for you to be spending the summer with us this year! Funnily enough, my husband is away on business for the next few days, so it's just you, me, Daniel, and Kat. I doubt you remember Daniel, you were both less than a year old when you guys met! I'm sure you'll get along great, nonetheless. He is actually still in school, so you'll be alone with Kat for most days. Are you hungry at all? We can stop somewhere? You probably don't want airport food, do you?" I could understand why she was babbling; I would feel uncomfortable if I had the teen of my dead best friend coming to live with me for a few months.

"I'm okay," I said simply.

"Alright, well we better get home!" We walked to her car. I awkwardly tried to get into the driver's side before realizing that it was switched in England. She just chuckled and said, "You'll get used to it."

The drive was actually quite boring. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there fiddling with my hands. Aunt Lillian (or whatever I was supposed to call her) kept talking, but I wasn't really listening. I felt kind of bad about it, but she wasn't really doing anything about it, so I just shrugged the guilt off.

We drove through the unfamiliar city of London, weaving through the streets. Apparently it was the fastest route.

The Smith family lived on the outskirts of South London. It was a different kind of suburban than I was used to. There were more buildings, more concrete, way less yard space. But everything still seemed gray to me; it was almost disappointing. I guess I was subconsciously hoping that a change in scenery would bring color back to my life. It somehow seemed like just another depressing day as we parked and exited the car.