"That's the last box, dad."
"Alright Annabelle, I'll help you unpack-"
"No, it's okay dad. I can do it. Thanks though."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I love you." I walk into my new room.
It already had my bed in it, my dresser, desk and chair, bookshelf, and my TV. It was my job to set the rest up.
Where was I gonna start?
I decide to start putting my desk together. I open the boxes that are labeled, 'Annabelle desk', and start putting stuff in my drawers and setting stuff on top.
I got lost in thought as I set things out.
How was I gonna survive here? How was I gonna go to college, when I had little understanding of the Korean language?
I start to get one of my mildly rare panic attacks.
I tell myself the things I tell myself every time I have a panic attack.
My name is Annabelle Trent. I have brown hair and blue eyes. I have pale skin and freckles. I am 18 years old. I wear green and silver glasses. I was born in Vermont, United States. I love to read. I love to sleep. I love animals. I love nature. I love Kpop.
I was mostly calm by now. But then, the other thoughts came into my mind.
My mom died in a car crash a year ago. I was in the car with her. I survived. My dad is in the army. My dad was stationed in South Korea when my mom died. He came home and stayed home for a year with me. Then he got called back to South Korea, and then we decided to move there. I live in South Korea with my dad.
My mom is gone forever.
I tell myself to stop, and I repeat my other statements.
My name is Annabelle Trent. I have brown hair and blue eyes. I am 18 years old...
I am calm now.
I close my eyes, then open them. I take a deep breath, then continue to set my things out. After a few minutes, the silence starts to bother me way too much, so I find a plug in the wall and plug in my iPod and it's speakers, then I put on my Kpop playlist. Most of it consists of Exo and BTS, so when I put it on shuffle, BTS's 'Fire' comes on, and I smile and sing along.
I finish setting up my desk, then place all of my books in my bookshelf.
I move my other, smaller bookshelf that I keep my stuffed animals on into place as well and place as many as I could fit on there. I loved stuffed animals.
There were shelves already on the walls, so I placed some of my breakables on them. I set up my nightstand beside my bed. On it, I set the framed picture of me and my mom. Then I plug in my lamp and put a few small stuffed animals on there as well.
By the time I was done, I was completely exhausted. I find my way to the kitchen, which was mostly empty, since we literally just got here today. I went to the fridge and took out some milk, found a glass, and poured it in.
I loved milk so much. I always drink it before bed.
I find my dad sitting on one of the armchairs in our living room. He was just sitting there, and I watched him for a few moments.
I walked over to him and stood in front of him. He stood up, and we hugged for a long time.
I think we both cried.
"I love you, Annabelle. And so does your mom." He says, his voice cracking.
"I love you too, and mom." My voice cracking as well.
"You look really tired, you should sleep." My dad tells me.
I step away from him. "Okay, but it feels like I'm taking a nap, not like it's night time."
My dad nods. "It takes time to get used to the time change, but you will."
I nod. "Goodnight, dad. I love you."
"I love you too Annabelle."
I go to the bathroom then get into my pajamas. I turn my music off, then remember that I was supposed to FaceTime my best friend back home.
Well, back at my old home.
So I do. I get on my laptop and call her.
She answers almost immediately.
"Finally! It took you forever!" She says.
"I was unpacking, stupid." I say, then yawn. "It took a lot of energy from me. What have you been doing?"
"Waiting for you to call me. And watching Netflix. I'm really mad that they don't have the fourth season of The 100. Like, what?"
"I told you that it was really good, didn't I, Sally?" I tell her.
She rolls her eyes. Then she gets a bit more serious. "So how's South Korea?"
"It's really... different. Most of the signs are in Korean, and even though I know what the symbols stand for, I don't know what most of the words translate to. And people look at me a bit strange, probably because I have no idea what I'm doing." I shake my head. "Sally, how am I going to live here if I understand so little?"
"Ya gotta study, that's all I can say. You should get like, Rosetta Stone or something. Or some iPhone apps. You know some words, don't you?"
"Yeah, but they are just bits and pieces, nothing to really make a sentence. I just... I don't know."
"Find a tutor. I'm sure there are some. And didn't your dad say he knew a lot? You can ask him to help teach you."
"I don't want to bother him..."
"Anna, you gotta get closer to your dad. He's the only person there that you know that speaks English, so you need to. Your dad loves you."
"I know, and I love him. I just-"
"No, no buts, just do it. Wait, hold on."
Sally starts typing in her keyboard, and I get a message from her.
"Look at it." She says, trying to hide a smile.
I click on the link, and it's a vine. Of Shai Leboeuf.
"Just do it! Don't let your dreams be dreams! Yesterday you said tomorrow, so just do it!"
I laugh a lot at this. When I was younger I had always mimicked him and this speech, which was how I met Sally in the first place. She was a strange person, but I loved strange people.
"Alright, I will do something about it. I promise. Now, I'm tired, I'm gonna sleep."
"Alright girl, love ya! Call me tomorrow!"
We say goodbye, and I put my laptop back on the charger.
After about 10 minutes, I fall into a restless sleep.
