Across the Hall

Before

"I don't wanna play goalie again!" I whined to my best friend, Jonathan. "But you have to! It's only fair." He pouted. "You're lucky we're friends!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

We played for a while and of course he'd score every time. Thats just how good he was. After a while we went inside to get juice boxes and watch tv.

"Why do you always wanna watch hockey." I complained. "Why do you always complain. You're a Canadian." He flicked on the NHL network and kicked back in a bean bag chair. "We play it every day." I sighed and sat down next to him. We watched the Hawks play the Bruins until almost dinner time.

The phone rang in the middle of dinner. His dad never liked phone calls in the middle of meals. This had to be important.

"Kara, it's your mom. It seems important." He said. Jonathan and I exchanged looks. He seemed worried but if he was, he didn't say it. I ate quickly and said goodbye to everyone. I never got nervous but why would she call during dinner?

I lived next door, so I ducked under the hole in the fence dividing our houses. A million questions raced through my mind at once. "Is everyone okay?" I asked when I got to the kitchen.

"We have something to tell you." My parents exchanged a look. I hated when they did this even though they did it rarely. It was so annoying. "We're moving." They said. "Where?" I asked. I felt my heartbeat speed up. "Perth. Australia." Mom said. "That sounds far away. I never heard of Perth." I sat down next to them. "It's another country. It's very far from here but thats okay! You'll make a ton of new friends and it won't be so bad. We promise." Moms smile seemed convincing. I wasn't too sure.

My heartbeat sped up. I felt nervous, scared, and angry all at once. I felt like I was sweating. I wanted to ask why but the words wouldn't come. Instead, I started to cry. What about Jonny? What about hockey? What about school and my clothes? The tears didn't seem to stop even when my parents gave me a hug. How could they do this to me? Why would they do this to me? Would I get to see Jonny ever again? 

*****

The next morning I didn't go play at all. I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. How could I tell him? He'd probably cry. My parents took me to lunch and I just picked around my food. "Kay, you need to eat." Dad said with a worried look. "Im not hungry." I sighed into my meal. "You need food in your stomach if you want to grow tall and strong." Mom pushed the plate towards me. I didn't want to grow big and strong. I wanted to stay here in Winnipeg. 

We got home and I went back into my room. I hid all day, thinking. Maybe I shouldn't even tell him, I thought, maybe he wouldn't notice. That thought made me cry more. I know he would notice, I'm his best friend. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Weeks and weeks went by without going to his house. He would see me at the bus stop in the morning before school but I would just duck my head and say nothing. He didn't need to know. I'd look outside my window towards his house every night. Sometimes he'd see me there, sometimes the house was black. Was he moving too? Maybe that would make things easier for both of us. It was a crazy thought but it gave me some relief. Finally, after a month, he came over to my house. 

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this new book I've been working on for a while. I decided to publish it and I hope you guys really enjoy it! I'll try to update regularly. Please leave some feedback in the comments and please let me know of any questions! My inbox is always open :) - Dev