Quiet Enlightenment

Part 2, Chapter 4 - Homesick

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Ten days passed since the first day of school. Olivia woke up to the sound of her phone's alarm clock like it was any other day. After looking at the weather app on her phone to see how warm it was going to be, Olivia pulled on her clothes and opened the door to the hallway. She barely got her two feet onto the ground when she felt herself almost be knocked down by some force that was now squeezing her.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Toby cried out as he continued his death-gripping hug on his cousin.

"Thanks..." she said as she tried the best she could to reciprocate the loving gesture. Birthdays weren't her thing, but she wasn't about to disappoint the closest thing she had to a younger brother.

She walked into the dining room to be surprised by four adults sitting at the table.

"Bud, we are not moving to Boston. Toby's in a good school here." Olivia's aunt said as she put a plate in front of her husband.

"What good is it when you only see your kid on the weekends?" Bud, Olivia's uncle, replied.

"Who the hell knows with the vacations you're always taking!"

"You know what, you can go fu-..."

"KIDS!" Olivia's mother and father both said in unison. Bud looked up and saw his niece and son (who was once again on the verge of tears in embarrassment of his parents arguing).

"You can go love yourself." Bud said to his wife quietly.

"Always do."

"BIRTHDAY GIRL!" Harlow cried out as he got out of his chair and hugged his little girl. He knew that Olivia didn't like birthdays, but anything was better than his brother and sister-in-law tossing innuendos.

"Fifteen. Wow, you're practically an adult." Bud said as he took a drink of his coffee.

"Can we give her the present?" Harlow asked his wife. She shook her head.

"Please? Pretty please?" He replied as he crossed his arms and pouted just like his daughter liked to do.

"Fine, fine. Here you go, sweetie." Olivia's mom said as she got out an envelope from a cookie jar. Olivia opened it up and just about dropped them in shock.

"Are these... real?" Olivia asked in amazement.

"I ask your aunt that all the time." Bud said as he munched on a bagel. Harlow took a deep breath to remind himself that he does indeed love his brother.

"Yep. Your grandma moved into our old house out west and she wants you to go out there for the holidays. You fly out on the 19th of December and you fly back to us on Christmas."

"Thank you so much!" Olivia said as he almost felt both the tears of happiness and nervousness.

"We know how much you miss your friends." Harlow said as Olivia wrapped her arms around both him and her mother.

Less than an hour later, Olivia quietly filed into her first-period classroom with the rest of her classmates. Just like clockwork, the teacher came into the room and the room quieted down in anticipation of the morning announcements. When the clock struck three past eight, the intercom speakers emitted a chime announcing the start of the class.

"Good morning, my lovely moose!"

"MYAW!"

The entire classroom rolled their eyes and snickered a bit at the secretary and school counselor's attempts to inject humor into the morning routine.