Aloveen Rising

1. Fresh Beginnings

Ethan stared out the window, shifted his body into a more comfortable position, and frowned at the farms whizzing past. He hated the fact he was moving from the city, but his father Max acquired a new job and that was that. Ethan didn't understand why he disliked it so much, he'd never been a big fan of change but nothing had bothered him the way this move was.

"Turn that frown upside down," his sister Lucy whispered, poking him.

Lucy showed him an upside-down face and giggled which made him laugh. She may have been older but she could be so silly and Ethan liked that about her.

"Quiet down you two" their dad snapped from the front seat

"Yes dad, sorry," Lucy said and frowned.

"Max they were just having a bit of fun, it isn't exactly a short trip" their mum scolded,

Max snorted but did not say anything. Ethan studied his father in the rear-view mirror, he did not look forty-five because his face was free of wrinkles and he had no facial hair. Lucy followed the family trait, as she looked closer to fourteen rather than seventeen. His mother looked quite young for forty, Ethan looked closer to twelve, and he hated it because everyone talked down to him and used small childlike language, which he hated. It weighed on him to act in a way that met their expectations which led to people at school avoiding him like the plague and not believing that he was the same age as them.

Ethan desperately wanted to look older because even his family treated him like a child even though he was fifteen. He looked a lot like his mother Jean; he had her blonde hair, green eyes and youthful face. Lucy, however, shared their dad's looks with black hair and blue eyes. Ethan could not see any of his father's features in his face but he did not exactly think it was a bad thing, his father wasn't exactly the person Ethan aspired to be like.

His mum interrupted his thoughts by rustling a bag of chips in his face; he thanked her,  took the bag then handed it to Lucy and went back to staring out the window right as lightning flickered across the sky. Ethan thumbed his phone and considered checking Instagram as the 'welcome to Ravera' sign whizzed past. The car jolted as it went over a speed bump and they started to pass shops and finally houses.

Jean let out a little gasp as they pulled into the driveway then stopped at the fence and Ethan could see why she was surprised, none of the family other than Max had seen the house before and it was enormous and looked majestic. The paint on the outside of the house was pale gold with baby blue lines around the windows and doors. The car filled with the noises of a camera as Lucy pulled out her phone and snapped some photos to send to her friends.

Max saw his family's expressions and laughed, "Work helped to pay for this with my new salary," he gloated.

Max's job remained a mystery because it was classified and Ethan, Lucy and even their mum Jean didn't know what his work entailed. The house was a black brick fortress with clean white pillars standing on either side of the steps leading up to the front door, Ethan decided that they were probably made out of marble. Max pressed a button on a little remote he was holding and the gates swung inwards admitting them into the property.

"Damn," Lucy said in disbelief

"Very eloquently put Lucy," Ethan told her and she grinned at him.

Max laughed as the car started moving, gardens stretched along both sides of the driveway along the fence. Colour exploded in Ethan's eyes from all the flowers that were blooming there were so many that his mind completely lost track. Ethan had to admit that it was very beautiful and he could tell his mother adored it and would be spending a lot of time outside admiring it. Ethan felt a cold flash of anger; this property had been planned and it was not a spur of the moment decision to move as he had originally thought and been led to believe.