Welcome Home · l.h.

Chapter 1. Canberra to Sydney

Canberra; August 23rd, 2014

"Are you sure you have everything with you?"

"Yeah, mum."

"Call me as soon as you get there, alright?"

"Yeah, mum."

"Yeah, mum" she said trying to imitate me. We both laughed.

The bus driver insisted one more time to those who still where saying goodbye to their loved ones to get on. I hugged my mother and kissed her on the cheek for the last time. She tried not to drop any tears while I walked away from her embrace.

I showed the driver my bus ticket and started climbing the stairs. Once I got up, I looked for my seat number and rested my head against the window once I found it. My destination was three hours and a half away and I only got my iPod. I hoped that would be enough.

Ten minutes later the bus started its route and I waved my mum goodbye through the window. I was leaving the city I had been living for four years to get back to the only one that I've always considered home: Sydney.

*

Almost four hours later, I was in front of my new apartment's door with two big suitcases behind me. I met my roommate through a website about apartments for rent. She was two years older and her last roommate was leaving her so she needed someone to replace their position.

I rang the bell for the second time. Just a few seconds after that I heard her voice calling me from above.

"Sorry, I forgot not to lock the door. Here, catch them" she said just before dropping the keys to the apartment from one window on the second floor. I moved from where I was standing to be able to catch them. Lucky me I've always been agile.

I opened the door and stepped inside with some difficulties. My suitcases where a bit too big and I had to do multiple manoeuvres to get them inside. I closed the door behind me and looked around. There wasn't any lift there, so I had to carry my suitcases all by myself to the second floor.

Charlotte, the girl I was going to live with for the months appeared at the top at the stairs.

"May I help you with these?" she offered pointing at my belongings.

"That'd be great, thanks."

Thirty minutes later we were sitting on the coach while my luggage was waiting for me in my new room.

"So you were born here, but you moved to Canberra when you where fourteen, and now you've come back to go to university."

"Yep."

"So, are you still in contact with your friends from when you lived in Sydney?"

"Just two of them. Although I've seen them just three or four times since I moved out we're still best friends."

"That's nice" she smiled "and do you have a boyfriend?"

"No," I laughed "what about you?"

"Hmmm, we aren't that close for me to tell you" she said sticking out her tongue.

"Okay..."

"Nah, I was fooling you. I'm as free as Dobby the elf."

"You're a freak."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment!" I laughed.

That afternoon I learned that Charlotte was studying pharmacy at Sydney University, among other facts like that she was a potterhead and loved punk music (her favourite bands were Blink-182 and Green Day), loved wearing black, had three tattoos (she got one of them when she was fifteen and hid it to their parents for three years; when they found out they kicked her out for a week, so she had to live with her grandma's farm as a punishment) and she worked in McDonald's after her classes so she could pay for her studies and accommodation.

Although my parents paid for my education, I had to get a job to pay for the rent, food and other things. Before coming to Sydney I looked for some job offers on the Internet but none of them had a work schedule combinable with my studies. When I met Charlotte on that website, I asked her for some help and three days later she got me a job in a nightclub serving drinks. It wasn't the best job but I only was going to work from Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 9 pm to 5 am. And I wasn't going to miss any of my classes.