Chapter 3

Arianna woke up to find that they were at a pit stop. She tapped her mom on the shoulder to let her know that she is heading to the restroom and will be right back, not to leave without her. She figured it would be safe to let her mom sleep before they got back on the road. Arianna got out of the restroom within a few minutes to see her mom rush in with a quick smile.

"Wait right here and we will go to the car together." Lisa said with a smile on her face. "Can you believe that we will be in Maryland soon? The U-Haul truck should have already arrived and had our stuff in the house before we got there. I had men bring stuff for us and put it away since I told them we would be a day behind at most."

"Mom, please just use the restroom and we will talk afterwards." Arianna replied with boredom in her voice, she really hated long trips.

Arianna waited for her mom to get out of the restroom by looking at the big map of Pennsylvania and seeing that her mom didn't even get them out of the state to be near West Virginia, she didn't see a point cutting across the state not unless it's to throw someone off their trail.

"You ready to go, Arianna? I know I am ready to see those West Virginia Mountains." Lisa said energetically.

"Mom, I just looked at the map, we aren't anywhere near West Virginia. Are we trying to throw someone off their trial or something?" Arianna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually since we left early Friday Morning, we don't have to arrive in Maryland until Sunday Morning just as church service is about to get started. I wanted to take a detour. Here let me show the route we will be going." Lisa responded as she went back to the map.

Arianna watched as her mom explained the route that they will be taking instead of the closer one to Maryland so that they didn't arrive right away. As they were fixing to leave the rest area, Arianna looked up at the television screen for the weather and saw that a massive snow storm was headed to Maryland.

"Mom, where in Maryland are we headed?" Arianna asked.

"Baltimore, why?" Lisa asked in return.

"We might want to be headed that direction instead because of a massive snow storm headed in by tomorrow evening all the way until Wednesday may be Thursday. I don't think I will be attending school until after Thanksgiving." Arianna knew that her mom would be so disappointed to rush to their new home but it was that or being stuck in another state with not much to go on.

"Is the storm reaching near West Virginia?" Lisa had to know before getting back on the road.

"Mom, we can't go to West Virginia, they are going to start getting that by tonight, we need to get ahead and in our new place safely." Arianna spoke urgently.

Arianna saw the disappointment in her mom's eyes that they wouldn't be able to take another day of adventure on the road. It felt like her mom's whole world was ripped from her not being able to see the Mountains of West Virginia. Watching her mom storm off towards the car, she knew it would be a long ride in silence to Maryland. Arianna hung her head low as she made her way to the car and quietly got in without saying much to her mom until they found a place for lunch.

It became clear to Arianna that they wouldn't be speaking at all because of the winter storm that was headed in the direction of their new home. She couldn't get herself to speak to her mom knowing that she wanted to go through West Virginia. They didn't travel enough to see other parts of the states. Arianna knew better than to encourage with a major snow storm since they experienced them in Michigan and knew they could be trapped for a few days to a week depending on how bad it got.

Making through Pennsylvania in silence it bothered Arianna that her mom would still be upset even after having lunch. It felt like being rushed to their new home was a bad mistake. Arianna wanted her mom to be happy but she wasn't going to risk them both to be in danger either. They still have until tomorrow morning the latest to get into Maryland even if it meant sleeping at a rest stop outside of their new area. Arianna couldn't hold in her thoughts anymore when she finally spoke to her mom.

"Mom, please talk to me! I know you are upset about not seeing the West Virginia Mountains and anything else it had but we could always go in between my school breaks." Arianna said excitedly.

"Impossible. You will be going to an all girls school with your own dorm to share with a new roommate. Hopefully me and the Pastor could become good friends along with the church to travel to new states once you become an adult in a few years." Lisa replied with sadness in her voice.

"No! Why would you sign me up to an all girls school? I love Public School. Mom, I won't be able to do anything. I would have to wear a uniform. I am going to be such an outcast." Arianna responded with complaining in her voice.

"Arianna, this is for the better. Also it is a Catholic school, this will help you get out of this rebel stage of life that you are in. Sacred Heart All Girls School is a wonderful place that isn't far from our new home and church." Lisa replied with hope in her voice.

"Catholic, seriously? Now, I know why we don't speak much." Arianna bickered in a low murmur.

Arianna tried everything to be prideful of the move but it isn't going to be the same. Now she was the one upset while her mom had a smile on her face for the remainder of the trip even around dinner time explaining how this new home life would be better for them.