The Life I Left Behind

Chapter 1- Breaking the news

“Dude, can you believe he ask her out!” my funny, but slightly annoying friend Julie ask me.



“I know they are just too cute!”  I replied.



We both laughed as my friend Elizabeth-we call her Ellie-blushed. “Guys! You have been taking about this since lunch”

“Cause that’s when he asked you out stupid.” Julie replied laughing making Elizabeth (Ellie) blush even more. 

“Ha-ha whatever” I said shaking my head at these crazy people I have as friends.

I opened the door to my upper middle-class home and stepped inside, placing my coat and bag on the hook. Suddenly my little brother came stomping from the kitchen with the most pissed off face you could ever see in a 12 year old boy. He saw my friends and me standing by the door and smirked.

“Enjoy the news” he said with an evil smile. Before I got to ask what he meant, his phone buzzed and he walked up the stairs without the sour expression on his face. Leave it to Dylan to forget about everything just to get some weird text from his friends.

“What was that about?” Julie asked cocking her head to the side.

“I have no clue and I don’t really look forward to finding out.” I said looking cautiously from my friends to the door in which my sour faced brother came from.

“Um, I think you guys might need to leave. Something just doesn’t seem right.” I said a little worried.

“No way girlfriend, we ain’t going anywhere” Ellie said pulling Julie closer to her side.

I had to laugh. Even in this time of nervousness and anxiety, Ellie still had her stubborn, protectiveness quality moving at full speed.

She gave me a playful glare.

“You dare doubt me Ms. Ross.” She taunted

“Oh bring it on blondie” I said, knowing she would attack me at any moment. She hated it when people thought she was “blonde” and stupid. The fact of the matter is that she is really smart.

 “Oh you’ve cross the line.” She paused and then an evil grin spread across her face.

Oh shit, I’m screwed.  I thought in my mind as she opened her month to speak.

“I wouldn’t be taking… Mrs. Baker.”

My eyes widened as she said it a little too loud.

“Oh that’s it” I said lunging for her.

Now I know what her thinking. Are these girls animals? Well, the current state is undecided but we are goofy girls that-like any other girl- tease their friends about crushes. So don’t worry, any second now, Julie will-

“Girls knock it off.” Julie scolded right on cue.

“Amateurs” she whispered as she grabbed her bag and walked toward the kitchen.

Ellie and I laughed at how loud so “whispered” that. We grabbed our bag as ran to catch up to her.

“Who knows Annabeth, maybe you will become Mrs. Annabeth Baker…” she said dramatically looking off into the desistance. I thought about the thought of my crush Ryan Baker actually thinking about asking me out and smiled. Then i looked back at Ellie.

I laughed, looking where she is look at. “And what are you looking at.”

She looked back at me and said “that spider way up in the corner of you ceiling.”

I glanced up and sure enough, there was a spider on our ceiling. I look at Ellie and I laughed.

“When will actually be a normal person?”

She looked down at her figures and started counting. “85 years 2 months and 11 days.”

I shook my head. “Ya, okay you keep counting.”  

Julie popped her head out from the kitchen. “You guys coming or what?”

We laughed and followed each other into the kitchen. I grabbed and apple from the fridge and turned to my friends. My face fell as they looked at me. No, not at me, but past me. I turned and saw my parents sitting at the kitchen table in a position I knew too well.

This “position” was always the way they sat when they had something bad to tell me or my brother.

“Hey hon. how was school?” my mom asked. Typical mom, even in this really nervous moment she still asked me a completely random question.

“Oh, it was…um…normal, I guess.” I replied glancing over at my friends who were still looking quite confused themselves. They knew about this who certain position my parents sit in. They sat in that position when we had the “drug and high school talk”, when they told me my grandpa died, and when they told me my uncle got cancer.

“Girls, I think you should come back in an hour or two. We have some things to discuss with Annabeth. “My dad said with a faint smile.

Julie and Ellie looked at each other before slowing nodding and heading out the kitchen. I heard the front door open and close. I silently chuckled at myself. I knew they were both still here listening from the doorway. There was no way Julie could get her new designer shoes on that quickly.

“Mom, Dad, what’s going on…” I said slightly whispering.

My mom smiled. “Honey” she began.

Oh no, this can’t be happening. I thought no panicking. The last time she said that, my grandfather died.

This can’t be happened.

I finally look back at my parents and my mother continued. “We are moving!” she said jumping up from her seat.

I was too shocked to speak. But that was the wrong thing to do because she kept talking.

“To England!” she concluded.

This time my mind went insane. What!? How could they do this to me? I have a perfect life here! How?!

This time my friends were the first to speak.

Julie and Ellie ran into the kitchen. “What?!” they both screamed together.

All three of us were speechless. Who knew my life could be thrown away in this one moment.

I had to find some way to not move away, just some reason to stay.

“We’re moving…to England” my mind echoed over and over again.

“To England”