The End.

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Belligerence. Bel•lig•er•ence (n.)
-an aggressive or hostile, warlike behavior.

"Mom?" I shouted, grabbing a muffin off of the counter top and setting my car keys on the table.

"Carter, is this about not wanting to go to school again? Your dad and I have agreed that you've missed too many days this year! There's only two days left, I think you'll be fine."

I munched on my low calorie chocolate chip muffin and took a sip of my much appreciated mocha latte from my morning run to Starbucks.
Suddenly my dad appeared in the kitchen doorway. He was holding his work phone to one ear and was holding his '#1 dad' mug in the other. My siblings and I had gotten him that as a Father's Day present almost seven years ago, and now it was is prized possession. "Car," he began, calling me the nickname I had despised for going on sixteen years. Mom said even as a baby I despised being called anything but my given name. "I think she should stay home today Emily." He had a serious look on his face that told me not to question him, or rub it in my mothers face. "In fact, everyone is going to stay home today." My mom gave him a questioning look. "Tom? What's going on? Did you quit your job? Is it Grandma Nelson?-

Grandma Nelson was my dad's mother who was 87. She had lived with us for six months when Grandpa Nelson passed away, but was in perfect condition now. Her doctors even said that she was healthy as a mule. Whatever that was supposed to mean-
Suddenly and abruptly, the flat screen television in the kitchen cut itself on, and switched to a national news channel. The blue and red banner located right below the newscaster was flashing the same words over and over. 'State of Emergency. Locate Shelter and Find food." My heart skipped a beat. State of Emergency? Isn't that for when there's a bad hurricane or tornado?

My dad's face flushed to a pale white color. As if planned, my sister Alison and my brother Kyle appeared at my fathers side. "We saw the news. Is this why you want us to stay home? Because that's what the entire country is currently doing too..." Alison stated. "Listen.. There's no time for sarcasm or anything of the sorts. I'll explain in the car on the way there, right now I need you all to pack a suitcase and whatever else you need. Pack for a few months stay.. But please pack as light as possible."

My mom sighed, as if she knew this would happen sooner or later. However, my siblings and I managed to scramble up the staircase to our rooms in confusion. What could be happening to my family, and much less the entire country?
As I opened the vintage style white door to my room, a whole new wave of frustration blew over me. What should I pack? I strolled across my Victorian style room to my double doored closet and reached into the top shelf to obtain my new suitcase and set.
After getting my suitcase and carry-on bags, I pivoted around to grab a raincoat, North Face winter coat, and a light jacket from my closet. I decided not to bring any cute blouses or tops. From the way my father was reacting, I didn't think we would need any dressy clothes.

Next I moved from my closet to my dresser. I started with pants ands grabbed as many pairs of jeans and shorts as I had. Again, I didn't bring any skirts or anything dressy. For my shirts, I packed tank tops, spaghetti straps, and a bunch of t-shirts. I also brought the thermal long sleeved shirts that my dad bought me last winter, and all of my camping clothes. (Khaki shorts, pocketed t-shirts, pants with all kinds of pockets and compartments, and a zip-up windbreaker I bought at Under Armour last week.) I didn't know for sure what kind of other things to bring other than straight up necessities, so I grabbed a few basic undergarments and lots of underwear and socks. Sweatpants, sporty-shorts, hoodies, etc. And of course, shoes were a bit difficult to decide on. Flip-flops, tennis-shoes, vans, and a trusty old pair of combat boots ended up being my top choices. Then, the only thing left were a few basic things. Shower necessities, face wash, a bit of makeup, deodorant, lotion, razor and shaving cream, a few pieces of jewelry, phone charger, laptop and charger, and a few prized DVD's ended up being my narrowed down list of things. Just when I thought I had everything I couldn't live without, I saw the quilt that my great-grandmother handmade me when I was born. I shoved it on top of the clothes and things that I packed and zipped up my suitcase.

The entire house was dead silent as everyone packed and thought. What could be so important that we have to pack up everything we own and leave at once?
I was abruptly shaken out of my thought process when I heard my beloved mother's voice.
"Carter," she began, tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she had dark circles under her eyes.
"Mom? Are you okay? I-" she then interrupted me, I wasn't mad though, I didn't really know what to think of this whole ordeal and my mom always soothed my worries. I really needed her to calm me down. She was my mother, after all. This was what she was meant to do.
"We're going to be okay, I promise. This was long coming.. Your dad found out about a year ago and has been making arrangements to keep us safe since then... I know this is difficult Honey, I know. But you have to stay strong for him right now. Everything is going to be okay."
What she said only confused me more. But I could only think for a few seconds before her mother instinct must have kicked in. She gave me a giant hug and reminded me to pack everything I need.

After finishing up with shoving almost everything I own into merely one suitcase and a small carry-on duffel bag, I sighed, looks all around my room one last time-it's color coded closet, perfectly arranged shoe rack, alphabetized bookshelf, and neatly folded clothes inside my dresser, and who could forget my near-perfectly made up bed- I switched off my light switch, and reached for my phone on my bedside table when I remembered my Polaroid camera. I hung the camera's black leather strap around my neck and carefully slide my iPhone into my back jeans pocket, before walking outside of my room and pulling the door closed. This could be the last time I have the chance to see my room, and the thought of that made me nearly squint my eyes together in confusion while the same question that bothered me less than twenty minutes ago swarmed my mind, what the hell is happening?

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{an}
hii I'm Chloe