Moonlight Kisses

the city of angels

Los Angeles. The City of Angels. The land of endless opportunity.

Or at least that's what my mom claimed when she moved our entire family from Melbourne, Australia, to Los Angeles, California. For her sake, I hope she's right. I'm trying to stay positive and keep my very opinionated remarks to myself, but today I think I've earned myself a break from that facade.

It's the first day of my junior year and instead of going to Melting Pot Cafe with my friends and walking to school, I'm sitting alone drinking a bitter chai latte from Starbucks.

As I'm scrolling mindlessly through my phone to distract myself, I can't help but people-watch. Being that it's seven-thirty in the morning and almost everyone here is itching for a quick coffee fix, it's intriguing to see the irritability circling this place. It's like a ball of pressure just waiting to explode. One woman came in here with two crying children and it's almost like everyone she passed by gave her a death stare. Admittedly, I was so close to doing it myself; I can't stand the sound of children crying.

Finally, I spot my sister pulling into the parking lot and I hastily shoot up from my seat. Her being the irresponsible one, forgot to make herself lunch this morning, so she went to a grocery store called Stater's or something to grab a snack.

I walk outside and immediately grimace at the blinding sun and the aggressive heat that could make anyone sweat within seconds. Heat isn't a stranger to me, but this at seven in the morning? And in August no less? It's ridiculous how people can actually leave their houses during times like these. My thick skirt doesn't help make the nasty weather any more bearable, but it was either this or cargo shorts that make me look like a prepubescent boy. Have to love the uniforms, am I right? It's like the fabric just absorbs as much heat as it possibly could.

"You wouldn't believe how much traffic there was. Just going to the store alone took like ten minutes and it's right down the street! It's called rush hour for a reason, why aren't people rushing?" Kat rants, her voice full of exasperation. She hurries me into the car and pulls out of the parking lot so fast, I barely have enough time to put on my seatbelt. We have about twenty minutes to get to school if we want to get there early enough to somewhat familiarize ourselves with the campus.

Laughing at her softly, I mumble, "Maybe that'll teach you to be a little less forgetful next time." My little jabs at her are all in good fun. We're only about a year apart in age, which made us very close growing up. We do almost everything together and have the same group of friends. Well -- had. Then our parents decided to move us to L.A. for the different atmosphere and for the better opportunities. My sister and I are happy for them of course, but they could have at least waited maybe just a few more years instead of abruptly moving us out of our comfort and landing us smack-dab into a whole new country.

Katelyn scoffs and mutters with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Quiet, Jo. It was an honest mistake."

I hum sarcastically. The next fifteen minutes go by fast with our good-hearted bickering filling the otherwise boring car ride. Before we know it, we're pulling into the parking lot of our new school. From the outside, it looks newer than our old school. That's kind of what I was expecting since it's a private school. The walls look freshly painted. There's not a piece of stray trash on the pavement. Even the cars in the parking lot are all equally polished.

Noticing my blunt shock, Kat joins my side and whispers, "Daddy's money," as we make our way into the admissions office. I swat her arm just before we reach the office doors, which slide open for us as we walk in. How luxurious.

I let Kat do all the talking with the secretary as I linger further back, taking in the tranquil silence as opposed to the outside world where all one hears is cars honking and people yelling. My eyes fixate on the wall of trophies that were acquired by the football and soccer teams. While I was doing my research on Crestview Academy, I found out that school spirit here was big, aside from academics. The football team is good, but from what I recollect, the soccer team is the most notable. The shelf is lengthy. Filled with championship trophies and pictures of the soccer teams of the last ten years. Impressive.