Purely White

Addison

Northville Greene High School: the new hell hole I'd be attending every week, five days a week, until June.

My parents hadn't intended on getting divorced; they also hadn't intended on moving to two completely different states without any warning.

They had sprung it on my brother Jackson and me one day during dinner. We were all sat stuffing our faces with spaghetti when Mom cleared her throat and Dad set down his fork and they both announced how they had come to the decision of a divorce. It was pure hell.

We were once extremely happy people with a life and friends and neighbors who always thought about us in moments of need. We were the family that could last. Well, not anymore.

Nobody could believe that the Connor's were going through a divorce or that they were leaving the state. Nobody.

We were the talk of the town for weeks, and when we left I bet we still were the talk of the town. I bet they're talking about us right now.

I pick at a loose string on my sweater, staring out at the school with reluctance.

"I can't do this, Mom," I whisper, turning back around in my seat. Maybe I can persuade her to turn around and drive us right on back to Tennessee.

"Addy, we live here, you have to go to school here," she says, resting a hand on my thigh.

"Nothing will ever be the same again, will it?" I ask, desperately. My eyes watch the road and the cars that speed past. I watch the teenagers emerge from cars of their own and walk towards the front doors. Hell.

"I suppose not, but we'll make the best of it," my mom says and she gives me a hug.

"You'll do fine today, make some friends, don't be shy," she says. I nod my head, and after what felt like hours of this heavy weight pressing down on me, I finally open the car door.

It's nice to smell the fall air. The crisp scent of leaves and warmth, the red, orange, and yellows of the leaves that fall from the trees. I look down at my pale black converse, being covered by a layer of leaves.

I look back to my mom and swing my book bag over my shoulder, waving a goodbye and shutting the door. I turn and stalk through the leaves awkwardly, humming along to my thoughts and listening to each crunch of leaves made as I take a step forward.

Northville Greene High School.