Apple Core

Two: Friends

The next day, I found out many things.

First things first. As my mother and I drove to the furniture store in my grandmother's car, my mother told me that the town we now lived in was called Circleton. It was a pretty town. Small, but nice. I hadn't seen it clearly the night before.

I also learned that my routine would remain the same. I'll stay homeschooled. It was a shame, really, because the front lawn faced a school, and I really wanted to know what it felt like to go there. But my mother said I'd be homeschooled, so that was that.

Thirdly, I learned that somehow, my mother suddenly had lots of money. Maybe it was my grandmother's money, and my mother had asked her to buy furniture with it. My grandmother didn't need money. Even if she bought something, she'd forget what she had bought ten minutes later.

The way I knew my mother suddenly had a lot of money is when we went to the furniture store and everything was new; none of the stuff there was even used. She told me to pick a bed, closet, and any other things I might like. I got both and a bedside table, and she didn't even frown at the price.

We drove back. Our furniture would be delivered that night. I had never seen my mother drive before, and neither did I ever see her smiling, but right then she was doing both.

We reached home near midday, and I spent the two hours leading up to lunch exploring the house. Kate was feeding my grandmother her lunch. The bed was raised to a sitting position, because she couldn't do it herself. Every time I passed by her room she would insist I was an intruder and demand Kate to call the police, though I really don't know what harm a ten year old could do.

I found out things I already knew. There were four rooms and two bathrooms upstairs, and a living room, bathroom and kitchen downstairs.

I took my suitcase to my room. I didn't unpack, though, because I had nowhere to put my things yet. I was going to take out my gameboy, but decided against it.

I went into the kitchen. My mother was still cooking. "Mother," I said, "I'm going for a walk,"

"Lunch in half an hour," she replied. I nodded and got out. After closing the front door behind me, I climbed down the steps and looked at the sky.

There weren't many clouds in the sky, and the sun was overhead, casting a dark shadow below me. The breeze blew gently in my face and rustled the browning leaves in the many trees around me. It was the beginning of September, the start of autumn and falling leaves.

I walked away from the big pink house, making sure to stay on the same road and not take a turn in order not to get lost. My hands were in my pockets, and my footsteps sounded as if they were disturbing the peaceful silence.

At last, I reached the end of the straight road. There was a fork in the road; a way leading left, another leading right, but no road led straight. I stood there, wondering if one turn would lead to another getting me eventually lost, when I heard voices.

Behind the intersection of the turn left and the road I came from was a park. It was so small it only had space for a swing set, a slide and a couple of trees. There were only two people in there, both boys, around my age. One had black hair and was slightly taller than the other, whose hair was close in color to mine.

I weighed my options. I could go into the park, I could go left, or I could head back home. I was afraid of getting lost if I went left, and it's not like I memorized the address yet. As for home, even if I walked extra slow, lunch might still not be ready.

I stepped into the park, the grass crunching under my feet in contrast to the hard pavement seconds ago. The boys were standing near the swing set. I approached them. "Hi." I said.