My First Love

Chapter 1: The Summer Before

I remember it like it was yesterday, but in reality, it was the last day of school, the day my life changed forever. I had just gotten back from school when I received the news. My bag dropped to the floor in shock and with it, my jaw. My dad got promoted, he was going to be the new CEO of a multi-million dollar industry. This sounded like good news at first, but there's always a catch... His new job required him to move away from home, and my mom and I were coming with him. I couldn't even focus long enough to hear where we were going, my mind was fogged with various thoughts. I ran to my room and slammed the door, barely holding back my tears. 

After a few minutes of muffled arguing coming from outside my room, I heard a soft knock on my bedroom door. 

"Honey, can I come in? Your father and I want to talk to you." My mom said in a calm, gentle tone.

 I was hesitant, but I decided to open the door and let them in. They sat on opposite ends of my already small bed and my mom brought a tissue to wipe away the tear sliding down my cheek. 

After a few moments of silence, my dad spoke. 

"Why don't you want to move?" 

"Is it because you'll miss your friends?"

I nodded. 

My mom chimed in, 

"You'll make a lot of new friends in America, and don't forget you still have a whole summer left here. So make it count!" 

My parents gave me a quick hug then left me be.

 A million thoughts started screaming in my head, but 

"AMERICA?!" was the first question that rushed into my mind.

 I panicked and considered every possible scenario that could happen, America was vastly different than Dubai and there's a whole world of factors that could contribute to everything going horribly wrong.

 After minutes of deliberating my course of action, I realized that I had no say in this. This promotion could greatly benefit our family, especially with my baby brother on the way, maybe, just maybe everything will turn out alright. 

With peace of mind, I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and energetic. It was the first day of summer! Suddenly, my mom's words kept replaying in my head "You still have a whole summer left here. So make it count!" This was my last summer in Dubai, in 3 months I'll be off to some new school and hopefully, make some new friends. I decided to spend my whole summer having as much fun as possible with my friends, and that's exactly what I ended up doing. We went horse-back riding, scuba diving, and visited Burj Khalifa several times.

 Three months flew by, and suddenly it was the end of August. I was packing my belongings into a huge suitcase when something shiny caught my eye, it was my stuffed bear I've had since I was 7... I contemplated whether I should take it with me or not, but in the end, I decided to donate it to a toy drive where it can bring another child joy and comfort. 

I finished some last-minute packing and zipped up my suitcase, ready to start a new chapter in my life. Little did I know everything that would await when I got there...