A Turtle's Heart

New City Life

Y/N yawn and stretched their legs. Being stuck in a car for hours sucked. They really didn't want to move but what choice did they have.

"Y/N, wake up, we are here," said the tall woman in the driver seat. Y/N groaned and sat up, looking out the car window and taking off their headphones, resting them on their neck.

It was an apartment building. 4 stories tall with pale yellow walls.

"yay, new home," Y/N stated sarcastically.

"don't give your mother that attitude, Y/N, you'll love it here, there is so much to do in New York," retorted their father from the passenger seat, turning to look at the teen in the back.

"let's just go, I want to see my room now," Y/N rolled their eyes, unbuckling their seatbelt.

The family of three got out of the car and Y/N reached into the backseat and pulled out a cage with a blue Parakeet in it.

"Hey there, Pudgy, long trip huh," Y/N chuckled, their sarcastic tone replaced with a sweet one as they spoke to their pet.

"Y/N, hurry up," demanded their father as he held open the door to the lobby. Y/N speed walked into the building, bird cage in hand. Y/N followed their parents into the elevator and up to the 3rd floor.

Y/N stood behind their father as he unlocked the door to their new apartment and opened the door for his family.

"here we are, the moving truck will be here with our stuff by Tuesday, you start school tomorrow," explained the tall, fit man.

Y/N entered and looked around. There was a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and two bathroom. it was smaller than their old house but it was big enough to fit them all comfortably. Y/N walked to their room, the smaller of the two, and set Pudgy's cage down on the floor. Y/N laid down on the carpeted floor, stretching out their arms and legs as their parents went down to the car to grab their things.

When Y/N went out to the living room 10 minutes later, their parents had moved all their things from the car to the empty living room. They looked around to see their stuff in a pile. Y/N picked up their blanket, pillow, sleeping bag, and duffle bag of clothes and bird food, taking it to their room and setting out their sleeping area.

"Y/N, we have to go check in at work, we will be gone a few hours, you'll probably be asleep by the time we get back," shouted Y/N's mother from the living room.

"what?! but we literally just got here, you're already leaving for work?" Y/N complained, looking out into the living room from their doorway.

"oh don't be a baby, you'll be fine," their father groaned, opening the front door. Y/N might have resented them for their lack of attention to them, but it still hurt when they'd leave for hours with no regard for their child.

"whatever," Y/N murmured as their parents shut the door, locking it behind them and leaving. Y/N went to their room and opened the window. To their surprise, they had the fire escape. Y/N had heard online that the view of New York City after dark was a sight to see, so they waited until the sun had set to go up to the roof and check it out themself. In the meantime, Y/N unpacked the bird food from their bag and shut the window to make sure Pudgy didn't escape while eating.

Y/N opened the cage and Pudgy hopped out and into Y/N's hands. Y/N lifted Pudgy up and booped his beak to their nose.

Pudgy chirped and hopped onto Y/N's shoulder. Y/N smiled and opened the bag of bird feed, pouring some into their hand and holding it up so Pudgy could eat. Pudgy climbed down Y/N's arm and began eating out of their hand.

As Pudgy ate, Y/N pulled out their phone and decided to google what else they could do in the city, hoping to make the most of their new city life. After playing with Pudgy for the next little while to pass the time, Y/N looked at the window to see the sun had completely set and it was now dark out.

Y/N put Pudgy back in his cage and stood up. They walked over to the window and opened it enough to climb out onto the fire escape. Y/N climbed up the stairs and up the ladder to the top, standing up and looking around to see the most amazing view they had ever laid eyes on.

The sky was lined with light of many colors. Each window aglow with different stories to tell. The stars and city lights melting together. Y/N looked in awe at the view before them.

Y/N sat down, crossing their legs and taking a deep breath, closing their eyes to bring themself into the moment. The city air didn't smell very good, but the chill of the Autumn breeze made the smell not so bad as the cold inhale numbed their senses.

The amazed teenager watched the skyline for an hour before deciding to go back inside and get some sleep. They had school the next day and didn't want to be too tired for their first day of their sophomore year in New York.

Once inside, Y/N shut and locked their window before setting up their outfit for the next day. It was their favorite outfit they had with them.

Y/N yawned and turned off their light before crawling into their sleeping bag and pulling the covers on. Y/N pulled their comfort plush close and exhaled deeply, allowing the security of sleep to wash over them.