September had arrived and at 5:00 AM, John was leaving to his new home for the next few months. The drive from his home in Charleston, South Carolina, to Medford was fifteen hours, and fifteen hours with the Laurens family felt like a lifetime.
John and his four siblings, Martha, thirteen, was very mature and intelligent. But maturity drops drastically between Martha and their brother Henry Jr., or, Junior for short. Junior was nine years old and quite the trouble maker. He and their brother James, seven, were a mistake waiting to happen. It was always best to keep them separated. And Mary, poor Mary, only two years old, would soon be the only girl in a house of boys once Martha was old enough to go to college as well.
"What college are you going to, Jacky?" Asked James.
"Harvard, duh," said Junior.
The Laurens family had been on the road for about three miserable hours. Mary was asleep, Martha was reading, and Junior and James were getting into senseless arguments what seemed every fifteen minutes.
"He's not going to Harvard, dummies," interrupted Martha, putting down her book. John looked at the thick object and fancy cover that read "Pride and Prejudice". Jane Austin? Since when did Martha read books like so? John looked at her hands, and saw that she was also holding, "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas.
"Then where is he going then, huh?" Junior taunted.
"Tufts University," Martha shot back.
"What?"
"In Medford?"
Junior still looked clueless and so Martha rolled her eyes, continuing her book.
James snorted at his brothers lack of intellect and Junior got frustrated, which caused him to shout. "Dad! James is being annoying!"
"Am not!" screamed James.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
John felt like dragging his hands down his face and then scream at them to stop screaming. "It's just twelve more hours. Twelve more hours, that's it," he thought.
"Boys, just settle down. This is the sixth time I've told you to do so in the past hour. Take a nap or something, for the love of God," Henry said, frustrated with the two brothers' endless arguing.
"Yeah, James, take a nap," laughed Junior, quietly.
"I was talking to both of you," said John's father, obviously getting angry.
The two brothers stared at each other. They knew that if their father got angry, it would be the end of both of them. The truck was silent, and as another hour passed, John was falling asleep as he was leaning his head on his hand, looking out the window.
James and Junior were asleep against the window ledges of the back seats. Mary was awake now, and kicking her legs back and forth while looking out the window in her car seat which was placed in the middle, and Martha, tiny Martha, was stuck in the middle seat up front in the small space between John and their father for the next eleven hours. She didn't seem to mind - she was reading, and she probably would the whole way.
John's eyelids slowly closed.
John had slept for three hours, but it only felt like he had blinked. He hated when that happened. The car was still, surprisingly, quiet.
This time, Mary was asleep, pacifier in mouth, while Martha was still reading and the two boys, James and Junior, were trading Pokemon over their 3DS'.
"Have a nice nap?"
John was still out of it, spacey from sleeping for so long, but then he realized that it was his dad that was talking to him.
"Oh, yeah," said John. "I guess?"
"You must have been sleeping good," said Henry. "We stopped to get gas and you were out like a light. Then, Mary started to cry, and you still didn't wake up." John's father chuckled.
"Guess I was just tired," John explained. He continued to look out the window and yawned a couple times. He looked at and studied himself through the side view mirror.
His most noticeable features were definitely his long, brown, curly hair, which he usually put up in a ponytail, and his face which was covered in freckles. Or, in his mothers words, his face had been, "kissed all over by dozens and dozens of tiny Angels". John had freckles that started to fade at his shoulders. He never liked them much, but he learned to cope. John had broad, nicely shaped lips. Everyone called them perfect, and his eyes were a beautiful hazel color that fit in well.
He never knew who he looked like more - his mom, or his dad. So many people said different things.
After fifteen hours of driving, they finally reached their destination.
John got out of the truck as quickly as he could and stretched. His legs felt stiff from sitting down for so long.
The Laurens' wouldn't see Tufts until the next day, for it was 8:00 PM, and they were staying in a hotel about ten minutes away from the University.
John and his brothers helped unload a few important boxes and luggage from the bed of the truck, while Martha carried Mary in her arms.
Putting the cover back on the truck bed, Henry said to John, "How does my future lawyer feel? Are you excited?" Henry bent down to pick up two boxes.
"Not as excited as I thought I'd be," responded John. John knew why he wasn't that ecstatic about college. It's because he was going into a profession he hated. But he couldn't disappoint his dad like that - he just couldn't.
"I'm sure all the excitement'll kick in tomorrow morning. Now let's get these boxes inside," he said, walking towards the entrance.
The family of six slugged into the lobby, tired, and ready for a nights sleep. Waking up at five in the morning was something only their father did. Henry grabbed the keys, and the family continued down a hallway. John was thankful they didn't have to go up any of the elevators.
Finally getting to the room, his two brothers took a mad dash to the bed closest to them, and flopped down on it - dropping the luggage.
"Junior, James, please be more careful with my belongings," sighed John.
James mumbled something into the comforter, but it was inaudible.
Mary was asleep in Martha's arms, and Martha whispered, "Dad, set up Mary's crib, please."
John decided to use this time to wash up in the restroom. He didn't feel like showering - he'd do that the next morning. So he continued to wash his face and retie his ponytail. He hated keeping his hair down - he always thought it was weird and funny looking. Too big, and poofy, too.
After putting down the wet rag, John's father knocked on the door and told him to be quiet on his way out because Mary and the boys were already asleep. He looked at himself in the mirror for a few seconds before walking out. Was he really ready for university life?
John wasn't so sure.
