Softly

Chapter I

  As I quickly stepped down from the bus steps and on to the sidewalk I turned back to wave goodbye to the bus driver, but he had already driven away before I could even say bye. 

Alright, I thought to myself. It was pleasant to be away from that bus. The smells and the people made me utterly uncomfortable.  The walk home was soothing, the sound of small birds chirping and an occasional burst of wind that pushed against me, cooling my body. I was beginning to approach my house when I stopped short, only to notice the boxes and smaller furniture being placed in my dad's pickup truck, and some being put in the backseat of my mom's SUV. Noah's clothes, Pictures, and misc crossed my vision. 

It made me sad. I've lived in Delaware for all my life and I don't think I'll ever be able to be as happy as I was here. To stop my emotions, I jogged over slowly to my front door and opened it, walking over to my mother who was standing in the dining room, eyeing the empty room. It was an odd feeling.

"So it's official? We're really moving?" I calmly asked my mom.

"Noah, I know. It's going to be a little hard to get used to, but you will make other friends and it'll be just as fun. Not to mention that over your spring break or summer vacation I'll let you visit some of your friends here. Just bear with me on this," my mom eased my mind as she explained it. I could tell it wasn't easy for her either. I looked at my mom with a large smile.

"Maybe it's time for a new beginning anyway," I blurted out. She gave a slight chuckle. On that note, I walked out of the room and trudged up my hardwood steps and into my empty room. "This is it, gonna miss you," I whispered as I returned downstairs where my mom and dad were carrying the final boxes out to the SUV. My mom jingled her keys, alarming me that we were ready to go. I closed the door behind me and stood by the car and took a quick glance at my house before opening the car door and stepping into the passenger side. 

"Hey, the new house has an in-ground pool," my mom said, as she softly nudged me with her elbow. "Sound good?" I grinned, but the thought of an entirely different school and a new house put a huge pit in my stomach and it didn't feel right.

"I'm gonna take a nap, pass the time," I looked at the rear view mirror instantly spotting my dad's truck that was following us closely to assure no cars came in front. I laid back my head before shutting my eyes and dozing off.

I felt my body shaking in my sleep, but I was confused and didn't know the difference between dreams and reality. Eventually, I started to flicker my eyes open but squinted as the light was too bright to look at. "Noah, Noah! You're awake, good. You've been asleep for ten hours. Hun what's that about?"

"Hm?" I couldn't fully understand what she was muttering as I was still half asleep.

"How are you capable of sleeping for ten hours? I've been alone pretty much this entire ride," she says, laughing. "We're pulling up to a rest stop soon if you need to use the bathroom or maybe something to eat, huh?" My mom took quick glances at me but stopped as she saw that I wouldn't answer. When I rubbed the tiredness from my eyes I blinked and looked over at my mother.

"I'm sorry. It's just hard, mom. I lived in that house for sixteen years. I was born and raised there. I know I'm making it hard but this is new to me," I spoke quickly. "I'll wait for the bathroom, only about an hour left, anyways." She nodded and faced forward and continued to drive through the large roads. I turned my head slightly, only see my dad no longer behind us. "Where's dad?" I asked, worried.

"He called to tell me he's going to continue driving tomorrow, he was tired. Weakling, eh?" She grinned and somehow I even cracked a smile. "Knew I could get it out of you."