"Fuck!" I yelped as I almost fell face forward after tripping over my PS4, which was sitting it's stupid ass on the freshly trimmed lawn of our new "home."
"Okay sweet peas, these are the last of your boxes. Angelina will help you unpack and get settled into the new house!" My mom exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Oh you kids are going to have loads and loads of fun here this year!"
"Oh yeah, loads!" My twin brother, Evan, sarcastically replied while conspicuously rolling his eyes. "I'm going to go explore, I'll be back for dinner with our new parents." He muttered, referring to Angelina and Jordan Sanders, lifelong friends of my parents who lived right next door to our new home and were going to watch over us while our parents were away.
"Evan sweetie, aren't you going to say goodbye? We won't be seeing each other for almost a whole year!" My mother frantically called out to him, as he strolled off in the other direction.
"Goodbye mother!" He waved over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around.
"Is he still mad at me, Valerie? I don't know what to do. This book tour is an amazing, wonderful opportunity for your father and I, and we can't not go. Oh sweetie, you understand right?" She furrowed her eyebrows, desperately hoping for me to reassure her.
"Yeah mom, I get it. What I don't get is why dad's not even here to say goodbye." I muttered, leaning down to grab the last box of my belongings. "And maybe next time, give us a little notice before you suddenly decide to move us to New Jersey and ditch us for an entire year."
She sighed loudly, slowly shaking her head. "I'm sorry honey, I'm going to miss you so much. Time will fly by so quickly, and before you know it, we'll be back living in our old mansion in New York. Angelina and her family have so kindheartedly decided to watch over you and help out. Make sure Evan behaves with them. Oh, give me a hug sweetheart!" She beckoned me towards her, extending her arms out.
I reluctantly placed the box down and accepted her hug. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mother. But you see, my parents Frederick and Jules Amherst were the co-writers of an extremely successful self-help book, Sight the Simplicity, and were embarking on a book tour across the country, followed by a series of business trips to Canada, Britain, China, and Japan. Yup, parents like mine do exist, and I'm not going to lie; it sucked being their child. Along with being writers, they dominated real estate in Midtown Manhattan and were active philanthropists. Twas a busy ass life they led.
I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of resentment at the fact that they were abandoning us to live in a completely unfamiliar town with a family Evan and I had not seen since the age of seven. Growing up, my parents had never really been around much, especially my father, but it still came as a complete shock when they announced their trip.
"We'll stop by here for Christmas. Ava will be spending the holidays here too! In four months, our family will be back together for a little bit!" She optimistically said, trying to show me the positive side of our situation.
Evan and I had another sibling, Ava. She was majoring in Business at New York University and was the ideal child for my over-achieving parents. Albeit I sound bitter, Evan and I loved Ava and all of us had grown up thick as thieves due to the small age gap of three years.
"Jules!" I suddenly heard a female voice squeal. Glancing up, I saw a familiar-looking brunette woman standing in the driveway of the house next door. "Angelina!" My mother's face lit up with a wide smile as she hurried over to embrace her old friend.
"Valerie, you remember Angelina." My mother prompted, beckoning me towards them.
"My god how long has it been Valerie? I haven't seen you since your and Evan's seventh birthday when little Spence stole your Spiderman toy!" Angelina exclaimed while chuckling lightly at the old memory.
Right then, a realization struck me like lightning, and that day began to replay in my mind.
9 YEARS AGO...
"Give it back buttface!" I screamed as I sprinted after the one and only Spencer Hughes, best friend of Evan's, who was skipping away with my cherished Spiderman action figure.
"Catch me if you can you big pooper!" He screamed back, scrambling over the fence to my backyard and maneuvering through the huge crowd of people gathered to celebrate Evan and I's birthday.
"Spencer, you moron I'm going to get you!" I screamed again, slowly gaining speed on him until I sprang onto his back and tackled him to the floor.
"What the heck, Valerie, you dumbbutt! I'm going to tattle-tale to your mommy if you don't get off of me!" He whined, hiding the action figure behind his back as I plopped down onto his stomach.
"Give it back. Give it back!" I yelled trying to grasp the toy from his sweaty hands. "Ew, your hands are so gross, STOP TOUCHING MY TOY!"
"VALERIE IS AN UGLY LITTLE BUTTHOLE, VALERIE IS AN UGLY LITTLE BUTTHOLE, VALERIE IS AN UGLY LITTLE BUTTHO--"
Punch.
9 YEARS LATER...
"Holy shit, Spencer Hughes!" I shrieked in surprise. "That absolute IDIOT lives here?!"
"Valerie!" My mother exclaimed in utter shock. "Watch what you're saying!"
"No Jules, Spencer definitely deserved that. And he had that punch coming to him as well I'll say." Angelina said with an amused look spreading across her face. "Well Valerie, it's safe to say that Spence has matured a tiny tiny bit and maybe you two might even get along now. Well, it would be a miracle, but fingers crossed!"
"That was nine years ago," I said chuckling at her words, "I'm pretty sure he can't still be that bad. I bet he's much more tolerable."
"Oh, you have no idea." Angelina replied, shaking her head. "Alright well, let's go get you situated into your house. Then, we can all go over to my place for a nice home-cooked dinner courtesy of Jordan. Get you a husband who can cook!" She fist pumped the air as she walked up the driveway towards our house.
I let out a laugh and for the first time since we had arrived, I felt a tiny bit of hope that maybe this year wouldn't be horrible. I mean, I had Evan to face it with me, and Angelina seemed nice enough. I guess I would have to deal with Spencer, but how difficult could that be? Now that I think back on it, maybe that punch was a wee bit uncalled for. Well, he probably doesn't even remember it, it was nine years ago.
Shaking away my thoughts, I turned my attention to my new house and followed my mother and Angelina inside to help unpack the rest of the boxes. Little did I know how eventful this evening would turn out to be.
