Stormy Skies (On Hold)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Friday, June 19th

Alexis

       “Shhh, you’ll wake her up!”

            “Careful!”

            “Get the whipped cream!”

            I mumble and moan in my sleep, distantly hearing voices around me. I feel something cold being applied to my face, and I touch it with my hand. Laughter proceeds. I turn over on my side and fall back asleep.

            I wake up the next morning and find dried whipped cream on my face. My brothers probably did it last night. They always play pranks on me while I’m sleeping. Once, they drew a mustache and glasses on my face with a Sharpie marker on a school day. I had to use so much of my mom’s concealer that day. They can be such a pain. But still, brothers are family.

            I get up groggily and go to the bathroom to wash my face. We live in a small apartment, so there isn’t a lot of space, but I like it. It’s cozy. I mean, we can never own a dog or a bunny or anything, but I have my family.

            Time to start my Friday. I normally get up, run a few miles in the city, taking the least busy streets so as not to get noticed, then I head up with Valerie to the ice rink to skate until noon, then we head home for lunch and I clean my room or listen to music or hope Janae will call me or something like that.

            It’s seven o’clock when I enter our kitchen, dressed and ready for the day. The mood is normally cheery and happy on Saturday mornings, but not this morning. Uh-oh. I know this feeling all too well.

            “Good morning Alexis,” Dad says to me from the table. He is seated at the head, with Adam and Nick on either side of him, Valerie at the other end, and one empty seat with a banana sitting on the placemat in front of it.

            “Morning, everyone,” I say, reaching into the cabinet to pull down a glass. I avoid my dad’s eyes. Looking into them is never a good idea. He always looks you in the eye while he’s talking to you, and you can tell when something’s wrong by his intense gaze.

            I reach in the refrigerator and pull out the carton of orange juice. Gotta have that Vitamin C!

            “Alexis, please sit down.” Oh no. There’s that tone. Something is up. I place the carton on the counter and sit down next to Valerie.

            “Your mother and I have made a decision,” he begins, with everyone looking at him. I know what he’s going to say. We’re moving yet again. It won’t be long until we’ve visited every place in the country, and he decides to move out of the country, like, to China. The question is: Where are we going next? At least it’s summertime. No need to adjust school settings. I have a month or two for that, depending on when school starts wherever we’re headed.

            “We’ve decided to move,” he says in a very serious tone. As soon as I hear him say it out loud, I tune him out. I turn my mind to other things, like landing double lutzes.

            “We understand how hard it’s been on you kids when we move. Especially you, Alexis,” he turns his head towards me, and I nod, not knowing exactly what he is saying. “So we’re making one final move to a suburban home, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.” My thoughts snap back to attention. My life revolves around ice skating, and now he’s telling me we’re moving to the hottest state in the United States? Dad continues talking.

            “The town is called Tempe, and we’ve found a house in a very nice neighborhood. There’s a big green park just down the road, and it’s filled with kids. You’ll have no trouble making friends,” he finishes. I open my mouth to protest, but Valerie speaks up.

            “And don’t worry,” she says, winking at us, “there’s an ice rink.” Adam, Nick, and I all breathe a sigh of relief simultaneously.

            “When are we moving?” Nick asks.

            “Just in time for the Fourth of July barbecue some neighborhood people are having. One of the representatives for my company has kids and lives in Arizona,” Dad explains.

            “Yeah, Dad, we get it, you’re all excited for us, but when is the actual date?” Adam asks.

            “We’re packing all this week, and we’re flying out next Saturday. We’ll have about a week to get settled, and then the barbecue!” Valerie exclaims.

            “That’s all.” Dad says formally, ending our family meeting.

            “We’ll head up to the rink in an hour,” Valerie says to the twins and me. I sigh and get up.

            Wonderful. New kids to go meet and make “friends” with. I bet everyone will love me.

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