The buzzing sound of my vibrating phone woke me up. Notifications for my apps. Too many. I scrolled through, looking for something interesting. Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Telegram, game apps, e-mail. Nothing. I sighed. The twins were fast asleep beside me and Mum was already dozing off. My phone screen read 12:57pm. We had been on the road for about 4 hours now and my legs needed a bit of stretching. I was now beginning to feel the effects of the journey wearing on me. We had set out on our flight from Tokyo the previous night and had landed in America a few minutes before 1am and then after some 4 hours of sleep we were up and about, getting ready to move again. My head hurt and my butt felt sore from sitting. My mum stirred from her doze when she heard me sigh and tured around in her seat. "Don't worry Ash, we'll be at the next stop in just about 30 minutes and then we'll have lunch. You guys can also walk around. Stretch those long legs, freshen up a bit. Yeah. We'll be spending close to 45 minutes there and then we'll hit the road again. We're like halfway there. But for now if you're hungry you can have some snacks.", she said to me with a smile, and handing me a bag of chocolate chip cookies, my all time favourites. The stop she was talking about came into view. A modest gas station with a small shop slash mart and a cute eatery. The moment the car pulled over I jumped out in search of the ladies. My bladder was bursting. I finally found one behind the eatery and hurried up to do what I had to do. Then I freshened up a bit. Redid my makeup and hair and straightened out my clothes. When I was done I headed for the eatery. The twins were already halfway through their snack, with bits of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich they were eating spread all over their hands and faces. "Kids", I said to myself. I saw the twins eyeing my cookies and broke into a jog. But too late. They finished it before I got there. Well I could always use that as an excuse to buy a diet coke. I was on a diet after all, and the cookies wouldn't have helped.
"Hun. I looked away for just a minute and these imps gobbled up your cookies. Sorry. Can I get you anything from the eatery?"
"Sure. Just a diet coke would do. And maybe some low fat biscuits"
"Look here baby. I've told you over and over again. You're still growing. You need the nutrients. Eat for me and stop this diet nonsense. After puberty you'll look alright. Don't worry?"
"Okay. Get me a regular coke. But I still want the low fat biscuits. And please add some chocolate bars and a pack of gum. Love you mum."
"Love you more Ash."
She picked up her purse and made her way to the mart, returning after some 15 minutes with my stuff and a few other supplies. Some thirty minutes later we were done and back on the road. I put on my headphones and drifted into sleep again. I could hear the twins arguing about something in the background and my mum trying to make peace. Their fight, not mine. Was no way I was going to get myself involved. I wanted my peace of mind. When I woke up it was almost sunset. Looking out of the window, I saw a city's skyline. And ahead of us was just some golden brown stuff. Fields of wheat, I learnt. It was beautiful. We had always lived in cities but not this time. We would be schooling and everything in the city but we would enjoy the peace and quiet of living in the suburbs. Plus dad said most of his colleagues lived there and their kids went to the same school I would be going so I really didn't have much to worry about. My friends would be close. Soon we arrived in this kind of estate. The houses were kinda the same. Same building plan. Lawn. Garage. Everything. We got to the last house on the lane and dad stopped the car, turned in his seat and said, "Home sweet home". The twins now waking up looked around and jumped out of the car. Adventurous little pests. At least I could unpack in peace. Mum called the local pizzeria and ordered some food. She would be too busy to cook. I helped to take the bags inside. There wasn't much though. Most of it had been done by the movers. My mum showed me to my room. On the first floor. Quite spacious. My own bathroom and toilet. A walk-in closet. A huge bed. And a lot of decorations to do. That could wait. I was exhausted. The doorbell rang. It was the pizza boy. He was cute but then I was too tired anyway. I gave him the money and took the pizza to the dining table. I guess I wasn't the only tired one. Supper was quiet. Even the twins didn't argue. Much. I hurried up with my slice. Pepperoni and cheese. I don't know how I did it but I dragged myself up the stairs to my room and dumped myself on the bed. Next I knew I was in dreamland.
