the first thing elena did when she stepped into her new home was brush her teeth. after a plane ride and a 4 hour drive, she was sure her breath smelled like death warmed over. she looked over herself in the mirror, and groaned as she saw the many wrinkles littering her shirt.
"are you done? school starts in three weeks and i gotta scope this neighborhood out." joel said, and elena nodded, stepping away from the bathroom and heading outside. "i need to change. do i know where i am? i think i remember this street," elena whispered to herself as she searched for her luggage. she looked over to see her mom on the phone, stress evident in her voice.
"lo siento, qué quieres decir? he got lost?" her mom said, and elena shuddered. she knew that having her dad drive the u-haul containing most of their furniture would be risky, but she didn't think it would be this bad.
elena left before her mom could catch her, and settled into a room that had her name on it. literally. the room was bare looking, but elena loved it even more because of the minimalistic aesthetic she got from it. besides, she knew that all she needed was a few hours to make it her own anyways.
busying herself, elena took out all the clothes she had in her suitcase and put them into their respective drawers, and then briefly went to grab her hanging-clothes from the back of the van.
"por favor, ven a casa pronto. i don't know if i can do this alone," elena heard her mother again, but this time her mom was praying. elena tried not to interrupt as she walked by, and safely made it back to her room, just to see joel sitting on her bed.
"hey, hey- i just made that bed." elena said sharply, and joel rolled his eyes. "why do you have fake plants? and do you even read these books?"
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"why are you here?" elena asked, and joel cleared his throat. "me and enia are gonna go look for some hotties down the street. you down?" he asked, and elena sighed. "let me change first, okay?" she asked, and joel nodded.
"if you're not out in ten minutes we're leaving without you!"
twelve minutes later, the three set off, elena anxiously looking around her. she had on chunky fila's, lightwash shorts that hit mid thigh, a pink shirt that read 'sickening' in between some hearts tucked into her shorts, and a belt to tie it together.
"you look fine," yesenia whispered to the younger girl, and elena groaned. "why didn't constanza come? i thought she'd be dying at the prospect of seeing guys," elena wondered, and joel chuckled. "we forgot to invite her," he said, and the three laughed.
"mom needed the help anyways, probably," yesenia said, and elena was going to reply when she looked across the street to see a boy her age. the house he stood at had couches in front of it, and the men sitting on those couches instilled fear deep within elena.
"hey, hottie alert," yesenia said, and elena shushed her older sister as they continued their walk, and elena couldn't help but steal one last glance at the beautiful stranger.
