Before The Fall

New House

"Here we are!" Margaret shouted, slamming her car door shut. In front of her stood a white two story house with a beautiful lawn and plenty of space. Jeff didn't think the house looked that special, but he could also tell it was his mother's decision to buy the house. Pete Woods looked like he wanted nothing more than to crash into bed or read the newspaper. Driving from Hollywood all the way to Orrinshire had to be exhausting, even with the frequent breaks.

"Isn't it wonderful, Pete?" Margaret continued wrapping her arms around Pete's arm. "It sure is. Why don't you boys go unpack? The boxes should already be there." Pete turned to Jeff and Liu, who neither looked excited or interested. Liu silently started up the path to the house and Jeff decided to follow. He didn't want to speak to his parents of all people right now.

The inside of the house was just as plain as the outside. It would make sense, Jeff knew his mother visited the house and hung paintings and done other random things a few weeks before. It looked exactly what Jeff's mother probably imagined. Bage was everywhere, as was white, black, and silver. There was a point where Jeff walked passed the kitchen to get to the stairs when the silver window blinded him because of the sun reflecting off of it.

"Do you think anything's going to be different?" Jeff asked Liu, whispering as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. "Well...mom and dad probably aren't going to change, but maybe you'll be able to make some friends - as long as you take your medication." Liu answered, slightly louder than Jeff but not full on talking. "I doubt that. Just wait, I'll be the freak. Always the freak..." Jeff mubbled. "Don't worry, Jeff. You won't be the freak. You never were. You were just...different and the others couldn't understand." Liu tried to convince Jeff. Jeff stayed silent, thankful that Liu didn't make him go away when they stopped in front of his bedroom door.

"Hopefully...these kids will. But...I'm fourteen Liu. Teenagers are harsh." Jeff retailied. Liu smiled sadly at Jeff before replying, "I know, Jeff. I've been a teenager for four years. I'm sixteen, I understand. It'll get easier.". Jeff nodded before turning away from Liu's bedroom door and going to his own across the hall. Jeff heard Liu's door shut as he looked at his. Just s Liu's door had, Jeff's bedroom door had his name tag. It was in cursive font, like Margaret expected Jeff to keep it as decor. Instead, Jeff store the name tag of and ripped it.

____________________________________ 

I'm going to do a whole "chapter" about what Jeff's room looks like and how he's going to set it up. I've always enjoyed watching those "redecorating my room" and "setting up my dollhouse" videos on YouTube.