Unraveling Who We Are

2: Changes

Gracen's view

I think I was the most optimistic sibling when it came to moving to another country. Don't get me wrong, I was upset that my parents dropped this news on us so suddenly, but I knew how important this job opportunity was for my dad. I know that the most important thing for my parents is making sure that we have the best chances when it comes to life, but it still doesn't make the move any easier. I'm going to miss everything about Australia. I loved the atmosphere and the people, and I'll miss the friends that I have grown up with and the family members I have left behind, but I'm also excited for this. I have never left Australia before and now is my chance to see a bit more of the world. I can't wait to experience new things and hopefully make new friends.

I arrived in California around 2 weeks ago and I can already say I love it here. The weather is just wow. I normally hear most people talk about how horrible the weather is, but it really isn't. Sure, it's a bit warmer than other places, but at least it is consistent. And luckily during winter there won't be snow, which is a big plus because I hate snow and any cold weather.

I also still haven't finished unpacking, unlike the rest of my family. Everyone has already done wonders with the outlooks of their rooms, except for me. My room is still a complete mess. There are piles of boxes and clothes everywhere since I still don't know how I want my room to look. And instead of trying to take things of the of the boxes, I take out some clothes to decide what I want to wear tomorrow since it's my first day of school. After a while of digging through one box for clothes I finally decide on what I want to wear and I settle down for the day even though I'm not tires since I didn't do anything. I make sure to set up my alarm and I lay down in bed and try to close my eyes.

The next morning my alarm blares loudly and I groggily get up to turn it off. Then I fall backwards onto my bed and groan out in protest. I hardly got any sleep last night because I was so nervous.

After contemplating how to get out of going to school, I finally give in and get up to wash my teeth and put on my clothes that I laid out yesterday. Now, I'm currently pacing around my room thinking of all the different scenarios that could happen today.

"You're going to wear down the carpet if you keep going back and forth, you know," remarked my older sister, Spencer, scaring the hell out of me.

She moves from leaning on the door to sit on my bed and my little brother follows close behind her. They quietly watch me as I continue to pace around my room to try to calm my breathing.

"She looks like a lost puppy," giggled my six-year-old little brother, Skyler.

I sneered at them before laying down on the bed and grabbing a hold of my brother so I can hug him.

"Gracen, everything is going to be okay. You are going to do great and make friends in no time, especially with our accent. Everyone wants to be friends with people with accents," encouraged Spencer.

I rolled my eyes at her, but I'll admit she succeeded in making me smile. I realized that's she's right though, I'm worrying so much over something I can't control. Anyway, it's just a year and then I'm done and I'll probably never see people from my school again.

My brother squirms out of my arms, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look over to my alarm and notice I should be going before it gets late. I kiss my brother on the head and hug my sister before going to say goodbye to my parents. They reassured me I'll do just fine with school and friends like my sister. I say goodbye to everyone one more time before driving to my new school.

When I got to school, it's a bit overwhelming. It took a while to find administration to get my schedule.

On the way to 1st period I took a few wrong turns and tried asking for help, but no one would help. A few guys even tried to flirt with me. Wow. This one dude named Kai tried extremely hard to get my number, jokes on him when a stranger ends up answering the phone. Jokes on all of them because I'm gay as fuck.

I check my phone and notice that the bell is about to ring and I make a run for it to class, accidentally startling the teacher as I barge in, woops. We have a brief how are you talk and I inform her I'm new. She makes me introduce myself to the class, ughh I hate when teachers do that, as if I wasn't stared at enough today already. So, she gives me my new seat, which is next to some girl named Emery. Hmm, that's a real pretty name. However, no one answers to the name at first, until the teacher says it again and a girl replies.

I turned in the direction of the voice and, wow, I was stunned. This Emery girl is seriously adorable. She has these dark blue eyes that seem to shine brightly and I can't stop staring at them. I realized I was making direct eye contact and I look away quickly while blushing deeply. I make my way through the aisle of desks and sit down without looking at her. I'm sure one look at her and I would be speechless.

After a few minutes of the teacher lecturing I finally gather the courage to say something to the gorgeous girl next to me. I take a deep breath and turn to face her and just as I was about to introduce myself she looks up and damn she's so beautiful. I blank and squeak out a hello.

She answers with a quiet, adorable hi and immediately looks away. Well, that didn't exactly turn out as I expected. Sitting next to her the entire year is going to be rough.

Unfortunately, we didn't talk the rest of the class, bumming me out. I wanted to get to know more about her even though she kind of flat out ignored me. But, every occasionally, I'd look over at her and make accidental eye contact and we'd both look away fast blushing. I wonder if it's because she is timid and nervous or if there is another reason.

Other times I would notice her staring of into space in deep thought, making me what to know what was going on in her head. Other times during the class I would notice her trying to pay attention so hard, but after a while she would go back to moving her legs or tapping the desk with her pencil and daydreaming. Either way she looked so cute.

Suddenly the teacher announced, "Partners for the project will be decided based on who you sit next too,"

I almost yelled YUSSSSSSSSSS at loud,.... almost. This semester is going to be cool. I'm willing to try so hard to befriend or to have something more with this mysterious and shy, yet very hot girl.

(Side note: picture above is supposed to be Gracen)