Adopted (Book 1) *EDITING*

Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home.

 I looked out the window and smiled. I was looking over most of Los Angeles, my new home. I've always wanted to go to California and now I get to live here. The plane slowly touched down on the runway of the Los Angeles airport.

 I grabbed my backpack that held my laptop that Jamie gave me as an early birthday present. It also contained my sketchbook and my ukulele. My ukulele, of course, was in a protective case.

 As I walked off the plane, I switched on my music. I smiled when I finally got into the airport, soon I will be in my new home with my new family.

 I made my way to the baggage claim. After finding my bag, I began my walk to the entrance of the airport. Maybe my new family will be there, excitement bubbles in my stomach.

 I finally made it to the entrance and looked around. No one noticed me. People continued to brush and walk past me to get to their loved ones. I stood there for a while and waited. Still, no one.

 Then all of the sudden, I heard someone call my name. I turn around to find a tall man wearing glasses and a hat walking towards me. He had a beard and many tattoos, he looked strangely familiar.

 "You must be Sydney, I recognize your face. I'm here to take you to the house." He said with a smile. He grabbed my suitcase and started walking to a black car. I walked to the car and sat in the passenger seat. "By the way, my name is Zack. You'll be seeing me a lot." He says.

 "Cool, nice to meet you." I say, a little nervous. He started the car and merged into the LA traffic. "So um, what's my family like? Weird question, sorry." I said in a small voice as I looked out the window. There were lots of palm trees. I could live with this.

 "Oh it's not a weird question, they didn't tell you?" He said looking over at me then back to the road. I feel my heart drop slightly.

 "Tell me what?" I said slightly worried. What does this mean? Oh god, what did they forget to tell me? Damn you Seattle Adoption Center and your horrible communication skills.

 "You're not going to be living with a family." My heart dropped again. What? He continued "You are going to be living with a guy." Crap... what the hell? I've heard horror story's about men adopting girls and doing horrible things to them. "But don't worry, he's pretty cool. You've probably heard of him before. He's my boss and I make sure he doesn't do stupid things." He chuckles. I nervously tapped my foot. What does he mean?

 I noticed we were driving in a neighborhood with some decent sized houses. Before I got a chance to say anything else, we pulled into a drive way. The house was white and gray on the outside with a gate and a small driveway, it looks pretty nice.

 "Well, it looks like we're here." He turned to me. "I wish you luck, I think your gonna love it here. See you around." He smiled and I got out, go the car grabbing my bags on the way out. 

 Is the guy who adopted me rich? Well, by the looks of this house I'm guessing he is. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. A new life.

 That moment, I cleared my mind from the past. That moment, I was leaving all the bullying and pain and loss behind me. I opened my eyes and started walking to the front door. 

 I knocked on the door. Nothing. I knocked again but a little louder. Still nothing. Then I thought, what the hell, I'll just open the door. When I opened the door, my jaw dropped. It's as if this house is bigger on the inside. I scan my surroundings. Something catches my eye. On a coffee table that had magazines scattered on it, there was a neon pink piece of paper. Curiosity got the best of me. I walked and picked up the paper.

"Dear Sydney,
 Welcome to your new home! I'm sorry I'm not home at the moment. I'm working on some business stuff. I can't wait to get home and meet you. Feel free to look around the house. See you soon.
Love, your new father."