A white truck, with the words ‘Sal’s Moving Company’ written on it, pulled up to the curb outside the house next door. A little red car pulled up behind it as I watched with curiosity out of the living room window. The frosty air was enough to make the glass absolutely freezing as I pushed my nose against it to get a better look. Two men wearing fluoro yellow jackets jumped out of the truck and slammed the doors behind then before they walked around to the back of the truck. When I lost sight of them, a young woman got out of the red car before stretching her arms above her head.
“Mummy, who is outside?” I asked as my mum walked past me in a hurry. She had her arms full of things that she was putting away, but stopped what she was doing to look out of the window.
“Crap.” She huffed under her breath. I opened my mouth in shock as I looked up at my mum’s distressed face.
“You said a bad word.” I pointed out as mum looked around the very clean living room. She looked down at me and gave me an apologetic face before putting the magazines from her arms onto the coffee table. As mum fixed the cushions on the couch for the third time in five minutes, I fixed my gaze back to the commotion outside. Two young girls had gotten out of the car and were fixing their dresses as two boys began running around chasing each other. The young woman was arguing with the moving men as my mum walked with purpose up to me.
“Let me fix your hair darling.” She said softly as I resumed watching the people out the window. Most of my attention was fixed onto the two young girls. One of them looked very close to my age, whereas the other looked about one or two years older. They were both talking to each other as they pulled small boxes of toys out of the red car. The two boys were still running around before the young woman stomped her foot and yelled at them. The two boys stopped messing around instantly and moved to help the younger girls carry boxes from the car. The woman took out a bunch of keys from her coat pocket and moved towards the door of our neighbouring house. Unlocking the door, she pointed into the house and the children walked single-filed through the door before exiting only moments later.
“Jessica, would you like to come meet our new neighbours?” My mother asked, breaking my thought process. I looked out at the people quickly before nodding eagerly and running to meet my mum at the front door. As she turned the lock on the door, I walked past her onto the front porch. She shut the door with a small thud before walking me down to the street where the people were.
“Oh no! Not more girls!” The littlest of the boys complained as we walked closer. I giggled at his complaint as the older of the two girls slapped him lightly on the shoulder. My mum let go of my hand and ran up to the young woman, hugging her tightly in her grip. I didn’t know what to do so I just stood there by myself before the younger of the two girls walked over.
“Hi!” She said enthusiastically. “My name is Ashley. What’s yours?” She asked in the same tone.
“Jessica, but I like Jess better.” I replied with a polite smile, just like my mum had taught me to do when I met new people. Ashley grinned back before turning her haid towards her siblings.
“My sister’s name is Lauren. She’s very nice, but she’s really shy. She won’t talk to you much. My brothers’ names are Andy and Jake. Jake is the shorter one and Andy is taller, but Andy doesn’t speak much.” She explained. I nodded as I took in her explanation. As I looked over at my mum who was now talking to a tall man as well, I noticed she was crying. I trudged over to her and pulled on the hem of her sweater.
“Why are you crying?” I asked her curiously. She sniffled a few times before clearing her throat.
“I’m just so happy.” She replied and smiled down at me. The woman bent down so she was eye level with me and held out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Ella. What’s your name sweetie?” The woman spoke. I shook her hand just like mum had shown me before putting on my best smile and clearing my throat.
“Jessica, but I like Jess better.” I said for the second time that hour. Ella smiled and took a piece of my hair in her fingers.
“I like your hair Jess. It’s very soft and long.” Ella complimented. I smiled and flashed my teeth proudly.
“Thank you. I like yours too. It’s brown.” I stated, not aware of the fact that she probably knew her own hair colour. Ella laughed softly before standing back up and patting my back softly. I smiled before turning to the man.
“Hello, I’m Jess. Who are you?” I asked him. He smiled down at me and I noticed his teeth were perfectly white. His black hair was long and shined in the sun.
“I’m Christian; nice to meet you.” He said, holding out a hand which I shook politely. I saw Ashley walk over and I smiled at her. She smiled back before taking my hand in hers as she began leading me away. I waved goodbye to my mum and the two new people and followed Ashley to the little red car that they had arrived in. She let go of my hand to open the door before climbing in and gesturing for me to follow her. I climbed up and sat on the seat as Ashley turned on the car radio. Music started pumping loudly through the speakers as Ashley began dancing to the beat. I sat there giggling, too shy to do anything else.
Two songs had finished before my mum and Ella came over to get us. My mum gave me an amused look as she walked over and saw I was ‘dancing’ with Ashley. I was never good at making friends, but I guess Ashley made a friend out of me this time.
“Come on you two! We are going to order take out and get to know each other!” Ella said excitedly before gesturing us to follow. We both climbed out of the car before walking side by side, following the group. Christian was walking with a boy on each side and Lauren perched on his back. I looked towards the four of them with a hint of curiosity. I had never had someone like Christian in my life. Mum had always said boys were untrustworthy and to not associate with them. I agreed with her. The boys that I knew were all yuck and picked their noses.
~~~<>~~~
It didn’t take long before our food had arrived and we were all sat in a circle on our living room floor. “Ok, I’ll start. My name is Sam and I’m 27 years old. I like to watch TV and read books.” My mum told everyone. “Who’s next? We should go around this way.” Mum suggested, gesturing in a clockwise direction.
“Then I’m next! I’m Christian or Chris. I’m a little bit younger than Sam and I work a lot in my spare time. I’m always very busy.” He spoke. His voice was a lot deeper than my mums. He made me feel protected, although a little bit scared at the same time. I didn’t know why, I just did.
“Hi… I’m Andy.” The tallest boy said. “I’m 5, and I like listening to music.” He stated simply.
“I’m Ashley, I’m 6 and I like watching TV. Lauren and Jess are my best friends.” Ashley told everyone with a big grin. I was a little bit surprised that Ashley already considered me one of her best friends, but I was very happy at the same time.
“Jess, it’s your turn.” My mum told me. All eyes were on me and I suddenly felt nervous.
“Um hello. My name is Jessica, but I like Jess better.’ I said again for the third time. “I’m 6 too. I like making cookies with my mum and playing outside.” I told everyone and they all nodded with a smile. I breathed out a breath of relief before looking around the circle; catching the striking blue eyes of the tallest boy; Andy.
A/N: First chapter is done! Please comment! I really need feedback for this because I've never written a prequel so it's a little weird for me haha :P You wouldn't believe how hard it is to bring the ideas from the two other books into this, but I'll try my best for you lovely people :P
~ Jess xoxoxo
