On the Other Side

Chapter 2

One day, I was walking home from the pool when I noticed a big moving van outside my apartment. Oh no! Is dad back? I hadn't heard from my dad in two years and I did not want to see him. Suddenly, I saw a girl who looked not much older than me and her mother. Whew! That's good. It's not dad. Then, I heard a door close on the upper level-my level. I heard feet on the stairs. As the person turned the corner I realized who it was: Daniel. I saw recognition fill his eyes. I couldn't believe it! He was moving in right next to me!! This is so great!! He came towards me and said hello. We carried on a short conversation, and I went up to my apartment to take a shower. I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was perfect. And he remembered me! Maybe it wasn't completely hopeless. Maybe there could be something between us. After my shower, I went to my room to dry my hair. I had just finished when I heard something hit the wall on the other side. That is the other apartment. One of the new neighbors must have dropped a box or something. Then I heard a voice. Could it be? I listened more intently. It was! It was Daniel! Could his bedroom really be on the other side of that wall? It was too good to be true!

Later that night, my dad asked me to take the trash out. Cara, Daniel's sister, came out at the same time.

"Oh, hey. You're Haylee, right. My mom met you at the dog park a few months ago."

"Yep that's me!"

"I'm Cara. I'll be a junior at Hillsboro this year."

"Cool! I'll be a freshman."

"Cool. How long have you lived here?"

"Almost two years"

"We should hang out sometime. I've always wanted a friend that lived close enough to walk to, and you live like three steps away!"

"Yeah, definitely!"

"Well it was great to meet you! I'll see you later"

"Bye, Cara!"

"Bye!"

That was good. Maybe I can go talk to her tomorrow. I finished taking out the trash, went to my room and read my book. I went to bed wondering about my day tomorrow.

The next morning I woke up early. I watched a few episodes of my favorite show on Netflix. I ate breakfast and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. Then I went to sit in my favorite spot to read. And it just so happened to be a tree behind the apartment. I liked to sit out here and read or write or just watch. I was very quiet and didn't like to talk, but other people fascinated me. I watched as several people passed by with strollers or walking their dogs. There were even kids playing on the street. It was not as hot as it had been that July. Some of the locals had said that was the hottest year they had ever experienced in all of their years living in Nashville.

Then I saw Daniel leave his apartment. He was apparently going to run. A few minutes later, I saw Cara leave with their dog. I decided to catch up with her.

"Cara!"

"Oh, hi Haylee!"

"You're dog is really cute. What's his name again?"

"Ralph," she answered with a giggle. "My brother named him."

I laughed.

"You have a dog don't you?"

"I have two actually"

"Do you want to bring them on a walk with me and Ralph?"

"Sure! But I am only bringing one. The other one is way too much trouble when we go on walks! I'll go get Daisy."

When I had found Daisy's leash, I looked and looked but could not find Daisy.

"Daisy! Come here girl! Do you want to go for a walk? Come on Daisy!"

Where could she be? I hope she's okay. My other dog Athena came bounding into the kitchen.

"Hey Athena! Where's your sister, baby?"

As if on cue, Daisy strolled in.

"Where were you? Come on girl, lets go outside."

"Is everything okay?" inquired Cara.

"Everything's fine. I couldn't find Daisy. Sorry!"

"No, no it's okay. I'm glad you found her. Shall we?"

As we walked we talked about places we'd lived, vacations we'd taken, our hobbies and interests, things about our families, among other stuff about ourselves. We actually had more in common than I thought. I was really excited.

"Let's hang out at my house when we get back," suggested Cara.

"Are you sure? You just moved in. Will your parents mind?"

"Oh, no. I've already unpacked most of my stuff. They'll be fine with it," she assured me.

"Okay. I need to tell my mom where I'm going to be,"

"Okay. I'll wait outside."

We went to her apartment and she gave me a tour of the place. It really wasn't needed because it was identical to mine. Then she pointed to Daniel's bedroom. It was right next to mine!! I was so happy!!! I needed to talk to him again. But I was here to hang out with Cara right now. We talked more and painted our nails and got to know each other a little better. It was a good day. And now I knew. His room was just a wall away.