Rolling Down

prologue

The heat banged on the raggedy old shack that Josh called his home. Like a hot pan to butter, the heat slowly melted it's cracked windows. Josh lived with a poor family who could only afford the most necessary pieces of life. A house, a computer, education, and (very few) cheap boredom busters. Not that Josh cared. Why should he? He had a life, he was surprisingly smart for his age (and education quality) and he had big dreams, dreams that kept him trying. That's all Josh truly needed to be happy.

Summer was tough. No new textbooks, no extra homework, and he was already finished with his summer reading assignment. Summer meant walking across their small private beach, sipping his feet in the cool water. Hunting for jelly fish with his sister. Every day spent flipping through the pages of an old thick calculus textbook acquired from the library book sale, and inhaling the salty ocean air. He dipped his spoon into his salad and ate, trying to appreciate the quietness of the coast, and ignore his violent boredom. A slight breeze swept through the air, like a bird swirling around Josh's stuffed head. He got up, and started heading home, his textbook making it a slow struggle to get back to his small, cramped but cozy trash bin he called home.

"Josh, dinner!" His father called. Josh made his way throughout the tiny house, carefully dodging the scattered paper and appeared at the table for 4.

"Work was busy today." Josh's mother said. She worked as a cashier at Taco Bell, and being the only Mexican food around our small town, it was usually packed.

"Really. Well, payday is soon, so hopefully we'll be able to buy that house in Monroe, which is up near Seattle. It's really nice, brown, 2 stories. My boss is transferring me to Redmond, so it would still be a lot closer. If we stayed here, my commute would be around 3 hours. In Monroe, half and hour." His father said.

"Is Monroe near the coast?" Layla, his 8 year old sister asked.

"No, it's not. But there's a huge lake for swimming, and we can go to Lake Washington and Puget Sound frequently." His dad explained. "It's a smaller town than Seattle, but it's bigger than Clallam Bay. It's got a great middle school, many stores, a YMCA, and even a movie theater!"

Josh sighed. He didn't want to leave the beautiful coast, his small, cozy school, his nice biking trail that curved by the Walmart. He didn't want to go to Monroe, a larger town with a pathetic lake. He wanted to stay in his unnamed ocean town, where the blue sea was walking distance, but the closest mall was not.

"It'll be a new beginning for all of us." His mother said.

Josh forced a smile.

His heart pounded in tension, it felt as if the very veins under his skin were trying to remove themselves from his body.

"I just don't understand how any life could be better than this one.," Josh said mourningly. His feet traced around on the smooth wooden flooring. Sure, his house was cramped and too small for his family, but couldn't they just wait until the new houses around the corner were built? Why move up to a suburban town and swim in chemical infused pool water when they could be swimming with fish on the natural blue seas? His mom thought for a moment, trying to come up with a better way to explain.

"Dad needs this for his job, sweetie. It'll be tough, but we're all in this together." His mom said, rubbing Josh's back. She got up and cleared her dish into the rusty sink.

"Where's layla?" Josh finally asked, trying to take his mind off of Monroe.

"I think she went outside." Josh's dad said, rubbing his temples, and staring at some paperwork for his job. "Go grab her so we can look at the house and schools." Josh shivered at the thought of public school. All his life he went to a cozy little school, meant just for the gifted. This new middle school could lower his IQ, one idiot kid at a time. And Layla, poor Layla, would be thrust into the traps of elementary school. She had been at his school too. He slowly got up and opened the door, a rush of salty air bursting at him like fireworks. He stepped into the soft sand, and walked towards the sparkling water. The salmon sky was reflecting on to the splashing waters, each wave shimmering in the small sun. He walked closer, and the sea licked at his feet, a dog wanting to be pet. He stepped further in, the cold water massaging his legs, reaching up the his calf. The sun was slowly fading, just like his time in Sequim.