Those Among Us

Memories

Memories. Their better captured in Polaroids, in my opinion. I like them because my dad gave me the older camera on my tenth birthday, which is why I could never sell it. It's a lot like my Record player, it may be old fashioned but he gave it to me because he thought I had wanted it. Now I can't let go of any of these things. Their too precious to me. Over half of my Polaroid pictures are of my parents and me...and my cat, Duke. Do you know why dying sucks? It's the people who gave you so much to remember. Their there for all your life, or maybe for a short time, and then they just disappear like POOF! It's unfair, because we have no say so and it damages us. My dad died in a boating accident a month ago, and now, my mom and I are driving to a town I've never been to, to meet relatives I've never met, and to restart our lives as if he had never existed. But how can I after I lost my best friend? Mom said my Aunt Rebecca has a daughter named Allison whose my age. I can't help but feel like the gravity that's supposed to be holding me down is disappearing and I am soaring through the galaxy, trying to find myself again. I'll probably feel like an alien on my first day of school.
I look at all that surrounds us: trees. It's foggy too, and gloomy. Mom said that it rains a lot here and so the temperature is cooler. A lot cooler than at home in South Carolina, where we had lived on a beach and spent most of my time near the beach everyday. My friends all get to stay warm under the sun while I have to struggle to get warm under the heater. I started to notice the temperature change a few miles back, I dig my hands in between my legs for warmth. Mom said Dark Wood would be a little chilly but I thought she meant like 75 degrees chilly, not 50 degrees and freezing my ass off. And here I am in my stripe crop top with my boyfriend jeans and a beige cardigan. My feet are the only things that are warm, I wore my white high top converse because dad had bought me them last spring.
As mom looks at the road, I can't help but notice the similar features we share. We have freckles splashed across our cheeks and nose. We both are redheads, despite that hers is more of a dark auburn and I'm more of a red copper. We have round cheeks and slim bodies. Our faces even look similar, sometimes they ask if she is my older sister, but I always tell them she is my mom because the thought is just too gross.
"Camille," my mom's voice purrs "Maybe we can go shopping this weekend. I know you won't want to wear shorts and flip flops to school in this weather."
"Yeah, I guess that would be okay," I say distantly.
"You look so much like me," she says "but when I look into your eyes, all I can see is your father. Those big brown eyes of his just shines though you."
"Don't mom, just don't." I've had a hard time coping with the loss of my dad, which has made me distant with everybody I've known.
"Camille, this is a new opportunity. We'll have a new place and you'll have a new room and--" she starts before I cut her off.
"I don't want a new room, mom. I don't want to live in a new place. I don't even want to move to another town!" I say angrily, "I want things to go back the way they were."
"Sweetheart, I do too, but you know we can't afford to pay the house payments with just my paycheck alone." She says once again.
"I wish we hadn't of sold half of our stuff." I say
"I know, too many precious memories. Too many precious memories that sold for five hundred dollars." Mom nods, "but it helped us put a down payment on the cottage."
"Dad hated cottages. Especially small ones with gardens." I say in a small voice, she sighs.
        We stay silent for the rest of the way.

As we drive into the little town of Maverick Falls, I can't help but notice the gloominess of it all. Cloudy sky, the cold temperature, the dark woods that surrounds the town. Population under 8 hundred. Wow. I bet they have a small high school with a pathetic library. We drive down a road called Mary Lane, it's damp from the rain before. It seems like the clouds get darker as we drive deeper into the small town. I can see people walking in and out of a strip mall, it's only has two clothes stores that looks halfway appealing to me. But what gets my attention is the library that is just around the corner of the street we now live on. As we drive by the houses, I notice that there aren't any kids playing outside like in South Carolina. At least one window in each house is lightened from inside, glowing an orange hue.
        When we pull into our new driveway, I can see our new house. It's a stone cottage, a small one at that. A little white car in parked in front of the house. Mom smiles brightly and giggles, I look at her annoyed. She parks beside the little white car and steps out. I reach in the backseat and take Duke out of his cat carrier. I scratch him behind the ears, receiving a purr. His yellow eyes stare up at me.
          "I'm sorry Henry died, Camille. He was my best friend too." He says with his eyes.
         I kiss the top of his furry head and put him back in his carrier. I step out of the car, feeling the drop in temperature, and walk over to where mom is. She is talking to a woman with velvet red hair, a girl with curly brown hair who is around my age stands next to her. Aunt Rebecca and Allison. When Allison sees me, her brown eyes light up, a big smile across her face.
       "Hi, I'm Allison." Her voice is soft and warm.
        "Camille." I say shyly.
       "Why, Evelyn. Is this the same little Camille you described on the phone? Goodness gracious, look at her." Aunt Rebecca's green eyes stare right through me, making me feel exposed, "Allison will help you get settled in while I talk with your mom for a while, okay?"
        I nod, feeling suddenly frightened. Allison follows me to the back of the car, I pop open the trunk and grab some of the boxes, Allison at my heels.
        "So, what do you like to do for fun?" She says, her maroon skirt swaying back and forth.
       "Nothing much, I guess." I say, "I used to collect seashells by the beach we lived on."
"You used to live on the beach? Awesome!" She beams
       I push open the door with my foot, the darkness swallows us as we walk into the house. We set the boxes down on the floor. Allison flips on the light switch. I can see there are already furniture in the living room. A red couch and a matching recliner.
       "Mom remembered it used to be your moms favorite color," Allison, says with a bright smile.
"Still is," I say as we walk out the door to get more boxes.
"Your shaking, are you cold?" She says, her curly hair bouncing as she walks. "It gets pretty chilly here, believe me..."
"Oh, I believe you." I say with a snort, "I nearly froze when I stepped out of the car."
        She laughs. "So I take it you didn't pack your sweaters and raincoats then?"
         "It was mainly sunny and like, really warm in South Carolina." We grab another box and walk into the house.
          "Well, maybe I can take you to a few stores and we can get you some warmer clothes. What kinds of things do you like to wear?" She suggest.
          "Well, that would be wonderful!" Mom appears with Aunt Rebecca, "Camille, you can go, just let me give you some money."
         She walks to the backseat and gets her purse. Even though Allison is nice and all, going someplace with somebody I really don't know is just a little unsettling. But it will make mom happy, and besides, I do need warmer clothes. Mom walks back over and hands me her thick wad of cash. She smiles as I hesitatingly take the wad, giving me that much cash would of made dad blow his top. He would say that I was too young for that kind of cash and maybe mom should go with me so I don't blow it on something wasteful, like more lights to hang up in my room. But I take it anyways because I know she just wants me to be happy and to make a new friend and have some kind of fun I haven't had since what feels like forever ago. I take it, so I will make her happy.
        Allison and I start walking towards the street when Aunt Rebecca calls out, "Be back at seven o'clock sharp. I'm taking us out to Wong and Chow!"
        "Okay, Mom!" Allison calls back as we walk down the street.
        "So does your mom just give you cash like that? I wish my mom would be cool like that." She says as we walk, I tug my cardigan tighter against me.
        "No, she just wants me to fit in and make friends and things like that." I say, "so where are you taking me?"
        "To the strip mall, it's all we have honestly. But I bet I can find something you'd like." She says with a smirk, "So when is your mom going to enroll you?"
        "Tomorrow," I let out a nervous laugh.
        "Well, I can show you around and you can eat with me and my friends. Their cool once you get to know them." She says as we pass the library, she notices my eye. "You like to read?"
        "Yeah, its one of my few hobbies." I read the Miss Mitsey's Library sign on the lawn.
        "What are some of your other hobbies?" She says as we walk past an older built McDonalds.
        "Not much, really. I like to take polaroid's. It was my dad's dream to be a photographer but he settled with sailing instead." I say
       "Wow. So you've been on a boat before?" She says excited.
       "I've actually helped sail one before, but I freaked out and dad has to take over cause we were headed towards the shore." I smile at the memory
       "Wow. Sounds like you and your dad was close." She says in a gentle tone.
       "Yeah, but I kept some of the things that reminded me of him." I quickly try to change the awkward subject, "So...how high are the clothing prices here in Dark Wood,  Wisconsin?"
       "Not too bad, I guess. The shoes are the highest to buy." She says, "So what are you?"
        I give her a look. "What do you mean?"
        "I mean, what kind of girl are you? Are you girly or a tomboy? Do you like to wear  more skirts or do you wear jeans everyday?" She says, "honestly, I would think your a total tomboy but I have to ask."
       "I'm somewhere in the middle, I guess. I don't care really, as long as mom approves, I think I'll be fine." I say, "Maybe I can try on a skirt or two."
        "Can do, buckeroo." She salutes me as we walk onto the strip mall premises.