new surroundings | g.d.

1

Fuck summer.

I hate the heat so much. And the humidity sucks here in Florida. Not to mention all the fucked up people here too.

My mom has finally made the decision to move somewhere better and colder. New Jersey.

I don't know why she didn't want to move sooner. She hates the heat too.

I've only seen snow once and that's all I needed to be hooked on it. I want a white winter every year. Last year in Florida, it was 85 degrees on Christmas day.

Of course I was going to miss all of my friends but I didn't have the best life anyways. Knowing we would visit from time to time made me feel better though.

My dad left us as soon as I was born. I've never met him. My mom and I have never gotten a letter, phone call, not even a simple reminder that he still exists. But I never have to waste money on father's day gifts. My brother moved to Canada as soon as he turned eighteen, two years ago. We were best friends so I was sad to see him leave me. He calls me all the time but I haven't seen him in the two years that he's been living on his own.

I was going to be a senior this coming school year after summer break. The thought of a new school was scary but at least I wasn't going to be the new kid that transferred in the middle of the school year.

I had just finished packing all my things when my mom called me downstairs.

"Are you ready Rose? We're going to be late" she yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming" I said as I took one last look at my now empty Florida bedroom.

I ran down the stairs where my mom was waiting with a smile on her face. I could tell she was excited about moving too. She had a shit job, a shit ex that seemed to always stick around, and a shit paycheck.

But that was all about to change. She had recently gotten a job in Jersey that paid well and didn't work her to death.

We got in my mom's car and started driving to the airport.

I had never been on a plane before. I've never really gone out and adventured like I've always wanted to. That might be why I have a slight obsession with snow. It hasn't snowed in Florida in decades. And even when it does, it melts before it even hits the ground.

It only took us about an hour to get to the airport. And another hour from going through security and getting everyone stuffed onto the plane.

We finally boarded the plane and we were on our way to a fresh start. New state, new town, new people, and a new "us".

We arrived at the house that my mom had already bought and boy was it an upgrade.

There were two stories. The roofs on both floors were tall and filled with space, making the rooms seem bigger. The rooms were evenly spread out from each other. The walls were painted a dark but soft blue. The counter top in the kitchen was a white marble color with light brown wooden cabinets to match. There were beautiful wooden floors all throughout the house except in the bedrooms. All the bedrooms had a soft cream colored carpet.

The leather couches were long and wide. Easy for me to fall asleep on. The dining room table was also long with big heavy chairs with firm cushions.

There wasn't much furniture other than what was already there.

The bathrooms looked fit for a king. Even the guest bathroom looked desirable. The showers had stone walls and flooring. And the bath tub looked more like a fancy hot tub. Two sinks were spread out, leaving room for bathroom utensils for multiple people.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for interior design. Sorry for boring you all.

I walked upstairs and chose the second master bedroom at the end of the hall.

When I walked in, I could tell my mom had already personally designed it for me. It had a beautiful, one of a kind forest themed wallpaper. My bed was super simple, which was what I liked. My bedroom was the only one that didn't have a carpet but I liked it more that way. It had wooden floors.

The room had only one window but I wouldn't call it a window. It was basically just a beautiful glass wall that overlooked the most enchanting piece of nature in Jersey, in my opinion.

The drapes for the window on both sides were a calming dark blue that were able to let me keep my privacy.

I instantly flopped onto my bed, already feeling at home, letting out a sigh of comfort.

Because of my mom's job, she was never able to afford to do stuff to my room. Or any room in our house for that matter. I have always been a super artsy person and I loved design so I was so thankful that she did this for me.

I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to find my mom unpacking in the kitchen.

"Mom" I said smiling.

"Yes honey?" she said with a slight smile.

I didn't say anything. I ran into her arms, giving her a huge hug. She started chuckling, not knowing what was going on.

"Thank you so much for my room. I love it" I said pulling away with a wide smile.

"Oh.. your welcome dear" she said hugging me again.

"I thought you'd appreciate something like that now that I can afford it" she said letting go.

"It was super thoughtful" I said still smiling.

"Well I really wanted to do your room but I left the rest of the house for you" she said putting her hand on my shoulder.

"You're kidding! Really?! You're going to let me do the whole house?!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes but only if you stay in my budget" she said pointing her finger at me.

"Yes of course I will" I said still uncontrollably happy.

I ran up the stairs and back into my bedroom to start unpacking all my clothes and personal items.

I piled all my clothes into my walk in closet and neatly placed my undergarments in a hand crafted, white dresser drawer.

I finished by unloading everything into my bathroom, feeling accomplished with getting everything unpacked in one day.

The first day here in Jersey has already been a dream come true.