I attempted to put my last book in my bag my pushing hard down, straining my arms. I had finally almost got it in when my backpack fell of the chair, causing me to fly forward and hit my head against the wall. Allie turned and laughed.
"Ouch! My forehead!" I don't take to pain well. All of the schoolbooks are electronic, so my bag was small, but I needed to return a few library books and they were fairly large.
Once Allie caught her breath again she sighed. "We better get going, we'll be late for school."
She turned to walk out. Once we got to the hall we immediately noticed a bright yellow paper hung to the door. It was written in black marker.... my dad's handwriting. Allie took the paper and read aloud.
"Kids," she read, "Do not go to school. Stay home, and pack up everything that you don't want to lose. I'll explain when I get home. This is very serious, but don't panic. This will be our last day in this house."
Allie looked up. "Are we moving or something?"
I took the paper from her hands and looked it over. "Maybe Dad got fired or something and he knows things that the government can't let out so we're moving to another country and hiding from the government!" Sometimes I come up with crazy explanations.
Allie shook her head. "If that was the case, Dad would be dead already. Probably. Do you think this has anything to do with that Ruski thing?"
I shrugged. "I guess we should pack, then..."
We walked back upstairs in silence, each wondering what was going on. Slowly I opened my bedroom door, looking carefully as it came into view. The last time I would see my home? That couldn't be right... Why was this happening? I grabbed a bag and packed a few clothes. What else would I need? How much could I pack? Where is Mom? So many questions buzzed in my head. My stomach hurt.
I packed a few of my favorite books and my laptop. I grabbed a couple of trinkets I had. I realized that I really didn't have that much that I absolutely couldn't lose. Most of my things were in the closet, where they had been for years.
We couldn't be moving. This isn't what happens when someone moves. Whatever was happening now was definitely outside the law. There could be no other explanation.
I wondered if my parents had already packed. I walked into their room. A few things were gone, here and there. Most of their clothes were gone. Jewelry, pictures, and other things of sentimental value were missing also.
Once Allie was done packing, we brought everything downstairs. We sat in silence on the couch, waiting. Allie switched on the tv.
"Maybe time'll pass faster."
It was about twelve. We had both taken a lot of time walking the house, occasionally finding something to take. We wondered if we would really and truly never be here again. I had spent my whole life here. I didn't know how to call another place home.
"When do you think they'll be home?" Allie asked. The suspense was eating us up. We had no idea what would happen.
"I don't know." I answered quietly. I didn't want to leave. I wanted everything to be like it was the day before.
We sat paying no attention to the tv. Every second felt like an hour. Just when I couldn't take it anymore, two cars pulled in, my mom's and dad's.
Allie and I stood. "Here they are..."
Slowly they walked inside, faces down. My dad looked sorry, like I had lost a pet or broken a bone. My mother looked horrible. Her face was stained by tears and her eyes were red and bloodshot. At the sight of us it looked like she was fighting everything not to burst out crying.
