A Change Of Scenery

We're Moving.

"Nichole!"
I heard my mother yelling from downstairs.

I sat upright on my bed for a brief moment listening to the unintelligible words being thrown around by my parents downstairs.

It sounded like fighting, and I was convinced if I sat there long enough they would forget to include me in their most recent quarrel.

My eyes fell on the screen of my phone illuminating across the room.
I made my way to the dresser where it was charging.

I slid my unlock button on my iPhone.

"Hey there"
was the text I opened from the one person I never thought I'd talk to again, Chris.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the yelling of my full name.

"Linley Nichole Hunter!"
I placed my phone back down on the dresser and proceeded to make my way down the stairs.

"Sorry!
I was doing some math homework and I had my ear phones in!"
I lied.
I was such a bad liar I knew they probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

I walked into the living room where my sister Sandra, who was 13 years old and my older brother Ben who was 22 were seated.
Their legs crossed on the floor with a deck of cards sitting between them.

My parents were on the couch staring at each other like they weren't entirely sure how to word whatever they were about to say.

I swallowed hard.
This presumably wasn't going to be good news.
I sat next to Ben and looked him in the eye skeptically.

He looked just as bewildered as I did.

My father cleared his throat and began
"Ben, Nichole, Sandra..
We have been thinking a lot lately about moving into a more modern house.
However the listings around here just aren't what we want."
He looked at my mother who nodded at him with a slight smile.

He continued
"well your mother and I think it might just be best if we move somewhere... else"

I looked at Ben hoping he would say something to stop this nonsense but he just sat there looking down at his hands in his lap.

He probably didn't care anyway all he really wanted was to drop out of his current college and since he couldn't do that transferring to a new one was the next best alternative.

I, however was not going down without a fight.

"We can't just leave"
I began.
"We're leaving everything, our whole entire life here behind, and for what?"
I demanded.

Just because they couldn't find a house here that held their interest?

"Nichole we know you are not happy but we've come to this decision and it's definitive.
We all need a change of scenery and we have everything figured out."

"A nice house in the mountains of North Carolina will be a wonderful place to finish raising you children, minus Ben who is practically an adult, even though he doesn't always act like it.
There are plenty of wonderful colleges there too!"

My mother gleamed seemingly thrilled by the thought of throwing our whole life here away.
Packing everything we owned up and moving to a place none of us had even been to.

"I just don't think we should.."
I was cut off by my fathers voice.

"Nichole listen this discussion is over.
You have two weeks to say goodbye to your friends and pack your room up."

I opened my mouth to contend, but the look on his face told me all I needed to know.

There was nothing I could say or do to persuade them to stay.

Trying not to cry I pushed myself up trying to gain my balance and ran up the stairs.
I threw myself onto my bed in the room I was going to be leaving soon and cried myself to sleep.