A Sky Full of Stars

2. A Bitter Welcoming

The house, covered in drab from an earlier downpour, looked cold and soulless. Definitely not a home.

Emilia frowned and watched as her brother unloaded bags from the car. He brushed against her, and plopped the bags next to the garage door.

"It looks disgusting," her brother said.

"It's gray, Derrick. Gray! What type of military housing is this?"

"A Scottish one and not a good one. I'm going to get the rest of the bags. Go inside and check it out."

Emilia nodded and walked to the front porch. A letter stuck out from the small mailbox slot, welcoming them to the neighborhood and the base. She took the letter, opened the door, and silently prayed that the inside was better than the outside.

Better to a degree. The front of the house led to a light purple colored living room furnished with 1930-style furniture. Emilia walked closer and saw the floral pattern faded into the white fabric of the couch. She walked to the kitchen.

The kitchen was much smaller than the kitchen back home. Bright white, barely any kitchen space, two overs, no microwave, and cabinets hanging in the most obscure places. A washing machine stood next to the sink. Emilia sighed. Cooking was her hobby-she was excited to cook again.

She then checked out upstairs and the dining room. Three tiny bedrooms upstairs and one bathroom. One bathroom. How can she share one bathroom? That upset her most of all.

She went back downstairs. The dining room was the least disappointing. It was small, but had a nice, cozy feeling to it. The table was wooden and dark red. Empty picture frames hung on the light yellow wall, and a china cabinet was already filled with gorgeous white and gold china.

"Well?" her brother's voice echoed in the house. "What do you think?"

"It's sad. I don't know if it's better than the house we had in Houston" Emilia said, sinking into a dining chair. "Even Dad couldn't be bothered to help us move in. He just went straight to work."

Derrick sat down next to her. "I know, but it's only for a year and a half. Just like last time. Come on, the boxes are inside. We can start unpacking."

Emilia stood up and followed her brother to the pile of boxes next to the front door. He grabbed a box and walked to the living room without saying a word. It was a tradition in her family to unpack without speaking. When the house was fully unpacked and decorated, comments were made.

She grabbed a box and walked to the kitchen. The pans thumped against each other in the box and echoed across the room. When she was done unpacking the pots and pans, she went back to the front of the house and grabbed another box. She walked upstairs and into the first room she saw. She plopped the box on the bed. The room was officially her.

Unpacking the house took way less time than unpacking back home. Maybe it was the size of the house or the amount of boxes. When the entire house was unpacked, her brother and short, stuffy military official held a meeting to discuss the logistics of base living. Just like the military bases in the United States, entering and exiting the base was done by showing the proper identification. Emilia didn't know if the base had the same amenities.

"Here are your keys for the house and your parking passes," the official said as he handed both items to Emilia. "We welcome you to our military family."

Her brother showed the military official to the door. The silence was thick and it gave Emilia time to think. Everything was different and she did not like it. The house did not have enough space, the base was five minutes away from Glasgow, and Scotland's weather was not the weather she wanted. It was damp and cloudy.

"What do you think?" her brother asked when he returned. "Is it like what you pictured?"

She sighed. "It's not Houston."

"I know," Derrick said. "But it's just like the other times. Houston, Las Vegas, Bowling. You had the same hesitations, and you were fine."

"But those bases were in the same country. This is different!"

"How is it different?"

"I left everything back home! Friends and family. I couldn't go to college because of this deployment. For God's sake, I left my rabbit back home!" Emilia said.

Derrick sighed and sat down next to her. He grabbed her hand.

"I understand that this is hard for you. But, think of it like a new adventure. You'll make new friends and go to college here. It'll be like Houston."

That sentence made Emilia angry. She stood up and pushed the chair behind her.

"No. It's not like Houston. You signed up for this. I didn't! I have to follow you and Dad everywhere you go because you two can't stand me finally having my own life!"

Emilia turned and walked to the door. Ignoring Derrick's pleas, she did the one thing she always did. She ran.