Lost and Found

Chapter 21 | The new house

Julia lays in her little nest of blankets and pillows. The warmth of her bed is too good to leave. Lucky for her, her mother let her skip school today. She needed the sleep, but she should get up, though. Yesterday, her mother found a house, and today they will check it out together. It's weird to visit a house she's going to live in permanently. It makes her stay in the US real.

She picks up her phone. Behind Robin's name stands a three.

     Robin: I called, but your mom told me you were sleeping. I'm so sorry about yesterday. You were upset, and I let you walk home alone. I should've come with you. I'm so sorry.

     Robin: You weren't in class. Don't worry. I made notes for you.

     Robin: Mason asked where you were. I wasn't sure what to say. So I told him it wasn't his business. I didn't want to lie.

Mason asked about her. She suppresses a giggle. No, wait. She's with Ash now. The one who's been kind to her and who she likes—and who she's been avoiding.

     Julia: I'm sorry I ran away like that. You have nothing to apologise for. Thank you for taking notes. Hope I see you soon.

Sighing, Julia turns around in bed. She should really get up, take a shower, and find something to eat before she has to see the possible new house. Bye, Julia's sweet, soft, warm blankets. She's going to miss them.

Stepping out of bed, her muscles ache. The cold world outside her bed sends a shiver through her body. Why, oh cruel world? She tiptoes over the cold floor, collecting her clothes from the floor. Her stiff neck and shoulders muscles relax under the warm water washing over her body. Yes, this is exactly what she needs. Too bad she can't stay here in the warmth forever. Stepping out of the shower, she reaches for her towel.

Today will officially be yoga pants and loose t-shirt day. Bless the clothes, Julia giggles.

Her mother has already made her some tea and a bowl of different kinds of fruit. "I heard you coming out of bed," her mother explains. Julia sits down across from her mother, eating her brunch. "The new house is within walking distance from Hill-forest. I thought it would be nice to have a house close to a place to hike," her mother says.

"That's great," she hums as she takes another sip of her tea.

"It's also closer to school, and the roads are safer. So we can look into buying you a bike if that's still what you want?"

Julia's face lights up. "Really?"

Her mother nods. The corners of her mother's mouth inch up as she looks back at her phone.

Could she ask her mother for a bike, though? The house sounds expensive. She doesn't want to become a money burden.

"Or you could go for your driver's licence."

Julia's eyes widen. "Nah-ah. No, thank you." She's not the right age to drive. Except she is in the US, but driving sounds scary. Julia–driving around in a car–let's not do that to the world yet.

"If you're ready, we can go to the house." Her mother stands up and puts her coffee mug in the dishwasher.

Julia stuffs the last pieces of fruit in her mouth and chugs her tea. Hot, hot, hot. "All done." She jumps from the chair and puts on her sneakers.

The car rumbles to live. With every house they pass, Julia wonders if this is the one. The car turns into a dead-end street. Most of the houses have a combination of wood and stone, and the lawns of the houses are all green and well maintained. The car pulls into one of the driveways. A tall apple tree cast a shadow on the pink car already parked there.