It is a truth universally acknowledged that moving from a big, sunny city in California to a small, dreary and rainy town in Washington may just be the worst idea ever.
Rosary Falls: that's where we're headed. We took a small tour around there a few weeks ago to take our big stuff up, like beds and furniture. It rained every single day we were there. Sure, in this town we're closer to the ocean, but what's the point if it's always too cold to swim?
We passed over a bridge, my music drowning out all other sounds. I knew from the last time that we came here that we only had about ten minutes until we arrived. It had taken about 10 hours in total, simply because we lived relatively to the Oregon border. It was a good thing too, since it takes about 19 to get from LA to Rosary. Still, that meant 10 hours in a car with 4 other people. And let me tell you, it was hell.
Approximately ten minutes later we were pulling into the driveway of the new house. It was a decent sized, blue two-story house. It looked like it belonged to an old lady, which I guess it did.
“We're here,” my overly enthused mother called out to us, glancing in the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of our excited faces. She was disappointed. Finley was the first to get out, climbing from the back seat to get out of the crowded car. Damian moved next, clearing his stuff and I did the same, trudging begrudgingly toward the house.
A raindrop hit my forehead and I stared in awe at the sky. How could one place rain so much? I pushed open the door and the smell of cinnamon hit me like a train. I had never hated the smell of cinnamon so much.
Finley followed me in and suddenly it was a race. I dropped my bags and ran up the stairs, trying so hard to win. Finley was quicker and more athletic, but I had the advantage since I had started first. I threw myself through the door of the better bedroom and landed on the bed before Finley.
“Ha!” I exclaimed. “Mine!”
Finley was enraged at this. Spinning around, she saw that Damian had taken the room across the hall, which was the next best bedroom, aside from the master which was claimed a few weeks ago by my parents. She raced back down to the stairs and I slipped down after her, grabbing my bags and padding back up the stairs to unpack.
I tried to think of all of this as a vacation. That we'd be heading back in a month and I'd be able to enjoy the California sun again. But even as I thought it, I knew it wasn't true. The truth was that I'd be going to Rosary high in two weeks to start my senior year and this dreary, sleepy town was my new home. I fell onto my bed. Even it smelled like cinnamon.
I was out grocery shopping when it happened. It had been a week since I arrived at the place and it was still just as boring and dreary. The last place you expect to meet a cute boy is in between the milk and the bread, but that is just my luck. I was reaching for the cheese when I felt like I was being watched. I spun around and there he was, staring straight at me. I immediately ducked my head, grabbed the cheese and pushed the cart to the check out. I refused to embarrass myself in front of him.
But luck never was on my side and I ended up tripping on nothing and falling flat on my back. I laid there in humiliation until I saw someone standing over me. “Need some help?” he asked in a half pitying, half joking way.
Purely out of spite, I pushed myself off the ground, using the nearest inanimate object to help me. “I'm fine, thanks,” I said coldly. I was not about to get made fun of by the likes of him, cute or not.
He smiled. “What's your name?”
I thought briefly about telling him, but then I remembered that I had just made a complete fool of myself in front of him and the last thing I wanted was for him to have something to call me when he made fun of me.
