1 Chapter 1

The streetlights flickered as my eyes stared ahead. The blackened road in the Hundred Pines Avenue glittered with shining tar in the twilight, and I huffed and puffed with the strain of lifting my heavy suitcase across it. The brass stickers on the next house on my right shines promisingly, and I drag my luggage to the front door where, sure enough, the white cockatoo sits placidly, its beady eyes fixed on me. I ring the bell and wait, my eyes scanning the neighbourhood I'm about to, hopefully, live for the next three days before the start of the term. The door opens, and a pale woman with a formal smile stands there, welcoming me to the house and the city. A seedy boy of about thirteen comes up and takes my luggage inside, and I come up behind him.

The entire flat seems cluttered, but well-furnished. The living room opens up to an expensive looking couch with a black glassed central table standing majestically on an burgundy olefin carpet. Next to it stands a wooden dining table with four chairs made of polished oak. On the end of the room are two bed rooms with closed doors. One of them opens as an austere-looking man enters the room.

Mr. Scoggins is fifty-something, with dark hair sitting on a hard face. He has a slight pot-belly and stands tall. I lose my voice for a few seconds as I stare up at the slightly intimidating figure of my father's friend who has allowed me to be his house guest until I can get a dorm at my college. His voice is deep as he addresses me.

"Had a comfortable journey, Samara?"

His eyes lingers on my backpack and the heavy trolley for a moment, then looks back at me.

"Yes, sir." I stammer. "No problems to find this place."

"Hmm. We were expecting you in the evening. I'd advise you to freshen up, Leah is getting your dinner ready."

He moves back into the room.

The family has already completed their dinner, so I eat mine in silence as Mrs. Leah Scoggins sits next to me, trying to make a polite conversation. The last bit of dinner rolls stick in my throat as I remember my family. I have never stayed away from them, and even if I was excited to begin my new life in this new city, I have already begun missing them.