Southern Boys

Leaving?

"Mom, you've gotta be kidding me,"

"Mar, it's already done. You're going and that final," she says, turning back to face the stove.

I groan and trudge up to my room. Dragging my feet. "Hey, while you're up there," she says as I reach the bottom step of the wooden staircase, "Start packing."

I roll my eyes, but promise I will. I can't believe I don't have a say in this. she's sending me away. For senior year. I've lived in this town since I was born and now I'm just leaving to finish high school.

I'm going to live with my moms old friend from college. He lives in some small town in the middle of nowhere. My mom said that he's got a lot of money, so he owns a lot of land. Like that's supposed to make me feel better. I love the city. All I've ever known is the city. So now I'm just leaving?

I reach the top of the stairs, and turn right towards my bedroom. I walk as slowly down the hallway as possible. Knowing this is the last time I'll see it for more than a year is depressing for me. This is the only place I've ever lived.

but of course my mom tells me I'm leaving 3 hours before my flight. I grab several suit cases and shove everything i can fit in them.

After I'm finished, I survey the room one more time. "Well. I guess this is goodbye...for now," I say, rubbing the bed post.

I stand up, grab my bags, and struggle carrying them down the stairs. Just as I reach the bottom, my mom grabs half of them and rushes to the car.

She throws the door open, and runs out the door before it slams behind her. I do the same thing, but don't move fast enough and get hit in the butt on the way out.

"Alright, get in the car. We've got a plane to catch."

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"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Orlando, Florida," I unbuckle my seat belt and grab my bags. The walkway is so small I have to squeeze through, and by the time I'm in the building I let out a huge breath I had been holding.

"MARIA MARX? MARIA MARX?" A man, probably in his late to early 40's was holding up a sign and screaming at the top of his lungs.

I walk up to him hiding my face in my hair. "Uhm...thats me," I say glancing up at him.

"Oh my god Maria, you've gotten so big. I haven't seen you since you were a baby!" He said.

I just nodded, and we began walking outside. "So I hear you're going to be a senior?" he asks

"Yeah," I say.

"One of my boys is going to be a senior," he says. "But you'll meet them when we get there."

We step outside to a black limo. Like a REAL limo. "Holy shit is this yours?" I ask.

He laughs, "Yeah, like it?"

"I've never been in a limo," I say

"Well, that's about to change." he remarks, and opens the door for me.

I climb in to probably one of the most beautiful interior of a car I have ever layed eyes on. "Oh my fricking Jesus it's amazing." I say, rubbing my hands across the leather seats.

"thank you, designed it myself." he says, sitting across from me.

we spend the ride talking about each other. mostly me, and when the topic landed in him, all we talked about was 'his boys' who I was assuming were the teenagers who worked for him.

The car pulled into a gravel road lined with beautiful pine trees. After driving on that road for a good five minutes, we pulled up to probably the biggest house I've ever seen.

"this is your HOUSE?" I say, my mouth flying open so wide it almost hits the ground.

"well, it is during the fall winter and spring," he says "I have a summer house that's quite a bit bigger."

"nope, no way there is a house in existence bigger than this one," I laugh, reaching for my bags. only for my hand to get slapped away by a small woman I had only just realized was there.

"no ma'am. I will grab those for you," she says

"oh no you don't have to-"

"ah! no more from you young lady. follow Mr. Baxter inside."

I walk up to him as he begins to walk inside. "That's Mrs. Reinolds, but you can call her Jamie. she only allows us to call her by her first name and we don't know why."

he leads me into the house, and as soon as he steps in, he calls out "Boys! get down here,"

I hear footsteps and they all stand in single file line in front of me and Mr. Baxter.

None of them look at me. they stay completely concentrated on the man standing next to me, so concentrated that they jump when he speaks "Boys, this is Maria," he says, two of the boys let their gaze slowly shift to me, their eyes widening when they finally land on me. both of them quickly looking back to Baxter. "Maria, these are my sons. They will be living with you for the next year."

"What?!?" the boys and I say in unison.