Refuse to Love

Chapter 2- Gum Smacking

"Pass the syrup," Maggie instructed as soon as she reached the table. Her ginormous stack of pancakes were looking dry. I did as she asked and slurped the rest of my Frosted Flakes.

I ran up to my almost completely furnished bedroom to get ready for my first day of the new school. I threw on a red t-shirt and some khaki shorts that I found on my dresser. Flip-flops were slipped on my feet and my hair was combed quickly. It took a few minutes to find my backpack but after I finally did, I was officially ready for the first day of torture.

Jogging down the hallway, I searched in Maggie's room to make sure she was getting dressed. Not the best idea. Never again do I want to see anyone in a neon orange bra. Gross and blinding.

"Get out, you freak-a-zoid!" Maggie shrieked.

I threw my hands up in defense. After quickly shutting the door, I ran through the hallway, completely mortified. Repeating yesterday's history, I jumped on one of the new sofas, my backpack hitting the ground with a quiet thump.

"Hey Eli," my dad's voice boomed from above. I molded into the couch as he plopped down on it. "How are you liking the new house? How does your bedroom look? You haven't made a mess out of it yet, have you?"

I sighed. "I have one word: different." I leaned my head back on the arm of the sofa. Everything was different. Mom had tried to get the movers to set my room up like it was before we even moved. But it was no use. The walls were a total different color, this room had wooden flooring, and it wasn't as big. I still didn't understand how Mom and Dad could be so excited about this move.

"You'll get used to it soon, bud." Dad pat my knee. "You'll make new friends, take better classes. Everything will be great once you get the hang of it."

"Don't be so sure of that."

This time it was dad who sighed. "Lighten up, kid. It'll be fun."

He picked himself up and began upstairs, calling out to Maggie that we had five minutes until we had to head out. I took in the rest of my surroundings. There were boxes piled high everywhere you looked, silverware was scattered on the counters in the kitchen. Everything was just a mess. A mess that I was not willing to clean up.

I tried pinching my arm to wake myself up from this nightmare. No use. This had really happened. I was living in the worst dream possible and it wasn't even a real dream. Everything I never wanted to experience, I was experiencing.

"Get up chunky-butt. Time to go," Maggie said, jumping off the last step to hit me with her backpack. I sat up and followed her out of the front door, in order to begin the long walk.

The blazing sun smacked my skin like a semi truck on the highway. I was starting to feel relieved that I put extra coats of deodorant on, because I knew that after this, I would've gone through the first in seconds.

"Today is going to be great," Maggie said, excitedly, clapping her hands as a result of her emotion.

"I'm not so sure," I commented. Meeting new people isn't my thing. It took forever for me to interact with people in Michigan, other than my family.

Maggie slapped my arm. "Stop being so grumpy. You'll be fine. If you make a new friend, I'll give you twenty bucks. Each." Yay for her sarcasm (note mine). "Look, there's two over there. Go mingle!" She shoved me forward. To my dismay, they spotted me.

The two walking on the sidewalk approached me. One a girl; the other a boy. "Hi, I'm Becka," the girl said, "You must be the new neighbor." She was very... odd. Becka had electric blue hair, tan skin, and she flaunted a giant green tutu and suspenders. She wasn't the only being analyzed; I noticed her scanning up and down my body and I began to get uncomfortable.