Even though I already knew, it just wouldn’t sink in." “England?” I asked. “As in EUROPE, England? As in across the Atlantic Ocean, England?” . My mind was racing. “I’m going to have to leave everything I ever known to travel halfway across the world? Why?”
My mother seemed to have been expecting this. “Hon, your father has a new position! He’s now the foreign correspondent for Adios Acne! Aren’t you proud?” Honestly, I didn’t know what to think. Adios Acne is the company my dad started with his zitty college buddies. As vice president, I never thought he would ever, well, change positions. But thinking back, he had been pretty tense lately. Maybe he just decided he needed a change. But England? Really?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Where, exactly, in England are we moving?” I asked in a measured tone.
“Central London,” my mother replied, seeming happy I was taking an interest. Trying to remember back to my sixth grade geography unit, I racked my brain for everything I knew about it. All I remembered was a few facts my teacher had drilled into my mind.
“London,” I said, in a flat voice, “had an estimated 8,300,00 residents in 2012. There are more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries. It is home to the London Underground, oldest underground railway network in the world.” My mom seemed impressed.
“Yes,” she replied, her face lighting up. Turning to my father, she told him, “See, honey? Annabel already knows a lot about the city!”
“She does,” my father replied in a gruff voice. I must of looked a bit in shock, because he quietly suggested to my mom, “Honey, maybe we should give her a second alone. This is a big change, you know.” Nervously, my mother stood up and ushered him out the door.
“Just call us if you need us,” she said, the tender expression returning to her face. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom,” I replied. As soon as the door closed, I raced over to my laptop. Quickly logging on, I opened up Google and searched “London, England.” Within seconds, more than 800,000,000 results popped. Dazed, I opened up the Wikipedia link and began reading.
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. With an estimated 8,308,369 residents in 2012, London is the most populous region, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom.] Standing on theRiver Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) mediaeval boundaries and in 2011 had a population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.[The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area,[governed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and the London Assembly. The main ways of transportation are double-decker buses and the subway (called the tube).
Mind spinning, I had to read it twice before it sunk in. “I’m moving to London,” I thought/ Suddenly, my depressed thoughts took a different turn. Leaving my home meant leaving my friends, school, and everything I had ever known. It was the beginning of seventh grade! I was going to spend the year going to parties and sleepovers and eating burritos at midnight with my friends! And instead, I was going to have to spend the remaining school year finding my way around the neighborhood! My lip trembled, and I face-planted into my pillow before the dam broke. I collapsed into sobs, my body shaking.
However, as soon as the torrent of tears started, it ended just as quickly, for I had realized an even bigger problem: my siblings! Both had set down firm roots here in Portland, and it would be terrible to uproot them, especially Penelope’s. She loved being able to run out into her “kingdom” (a small glade about three feet into the forest that is our backyard), and we lived next-door to her best friend, Susie Gumpton. The two were like the same person, split into two tiny balls of energy who spoke the same language - literally. They created a language called Ooga-Booga, that they somehow managed to communicate through. I have no clue how, for a normal conversation sounds like this: “Ooo - oo abaca” “See fo moo - moo” “Gaha loopna” “Tampait roo roo” . Translation? “Where are you?” “I’m in the kingdom.” “See you soon.” “Same here.” Or at least somewhere along the lines of that. The two even look a bit alike, and not just because of the princess dresses they insist on wearing, even to school. I can only imagine the surprised look on their teacher’s face as they waltzed in, clothed in pink Aurora dresses, complete with plastic heels and a plastic crown each. Both have brown, curly hair that looks like an explosion, and blisters on their heels from their plastic “glass slippers”. The two must be Siamese twins from different mothers, with the way they behave. It would be like separating a pair of socks, splitting them up.
