Neighborhoods

Welcome to "R" Neighborhood

Five years, that is as far back as I can remember and it all took place here. Welcome to my neighborhood, with a total of six pale blue houses; three houses reside on both sides of the street. There are large water tanks on the opposite end of the street from me. "R" is what we call our neighborhood because of the large black Rs painted on the arcs blocking us off from the rest of the world. You can't see anything past the arc except for the street fading in the distance and what I think is the sky. Oh, by the way, I'm Amelia. Amelia Sedrusken. I, like everyone in "R," have a wardrobe filled with black clothing with the letter R printed on them in white. Honestly, I am tired of being here, nothing ever happens. I try to mitigate my boredom by hanging out with the sisters across the street, Elizabeth and María Lanveiro.

In the morning, I started to make way across the street in my black tee-shirt and shorts to match. While I was crossing the street I had fallen and scraped my knee, but it was the most interesting thing to happen for awhile, so I let it bleed and drip onto my black tennis shoes. It was the start of the new year which means that it was everybody on the street's birthday; I am now officially eighteen. I decided to celebrate with the Lanveiro family and I brought over my own dry cake and dry dinner of peas and steak. I ran up the steps to the porch I knocked and the door and Elizabeth opened the door.

"Good, you brought your own... OH MY GOSH! What happened?!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

I looked down and said,"Oh my knee?"

"No your face. Of course your knee," Elizabeth tends to be sarcastic, "Anyways, stay out here, I'll get the first-aid kit."

She came out of the house with a first-aid kit and wiped my knee clean and rapped a Band-Aid around it.

We entered the house, Gloria, Elizabeth and María Lanveiro's mother, asked me, "Did you make sure to bring only as much as you need?"

I looked down at the dry food I was carrying and responded, "Yeah."

Honestly, the proportions were so small, there wasn't enough of each of the separate foods to truly enjoy each.

Elizabeth, María, Gloria, and I sat down altogether at the table and waited for Roberto, their father. When he arrived at the table none of the lights were on so we just sang Happy Birthday. The "R" people rarely ever used electricity let alone any lamps or candles, so once the sun is gone we reside in the darkness. I watched as they, the Lanveiro family, ate and to be polite, I nibbled my dry cake. Once they were done I took my leftovers, which was pretty much everything I came with, and walked out the door as Elizabeth politely held it open.

"Bye," María and Elizabeth said to me

I waved and responded, "Bye."

I looked down at the Band-Aid wrapped around my knee, I wanted to take it off, but I know if my parents knew what I was thinking they would've stopped me and told me, "Don't waste anything!" We have thousands of first-aid kits it would barely make a difference, but I didn't want to undo it when it was already done by someone else for me.

"Hey girl!" Bill Franzo yelled.

I turned and stared at him. He was pathetic, he was all bark and no bite.

"Please don't," Alfred, Bill's feminine son, said quietly to his father.

Alfred and I were the best of friends at the beginning of this whole ordeal, but slowly we saw each other less and less.

I responded to Bill, "Get lost!'

"Oh, are you trying to pick a fight?!"

WHAT?! How did you get to that conclusion?