Chapter 5: In a New Life

June

His house was a deep green with red brick and an elaborate garden. It was apparent that he was wealthy.

"My mom likes to plant things. I don't understand it."

"I think it's cool." I thought the colors of the flowers were beautiful.

"You'll get along with her great then! Come on."

Walking in, the first thing you saw was a huge kitchen. It looked like Gordan Ramsey had paid a visit a couple hundred times. There was a large staircase heading up, nothing elaborate though; it didn't match the house. On the left was a bedroom used for storage.

"That was my grandma's room. When she passed away, we kept all her stuff in there."

In the small hallway leading to the kitchen were various doors, a nonsensical amount. One for the toilet, another in that room leading to the shower, and another to a room with a shower, hot tub, toilet, and sink. All I had growing up was a simple bathroom with a broken wall. Rich people confuse me so much.

One door was a coat closet, another a storage closet, and the last was a pantry filled to the brim.

"Looks like my mom prepared for you." He smiled, probably thinking about eating 90% of the pantry himself. It didn't matter to me, I wasn't a big eater.

We walked through the kitchen into a bright living area.

"These are my accomplishments. Please don't touch they are highly valuable."

No wonder he ate so much and never gained weight.

#1 basketball and soccer player in his school, then a long list of other achievements.

"Impressive, aren't I?" He smiled with his arms crossed, pleased with himself.

"Actually, yeah. I thought you'd be an unpopular nobody."

"Hey, you watch your mouth! I bet you couldn't do it." He pouted, arms still crossed.

I reached up to pat his head

"There, there." I tried not to laugh.

"What were you like in school?"

"I kept to myself. Books are better than people usually. You know you can learn a lot from them." Another jab.

"Ow, my self-esteem. I get good grades without reading a mass amount of books. I'm turning out fine." He said matter-of-factly.

"Are you?"

"I am. Better than you, it seems."

I smacked him upside the head.

"Knowledge is key, and I guess you're locked out. Anyways, I wasn't a complete loner. I played soccer and basketball too. I wasn't the best, but I was on the team nonetheless." He looked concerned again.

"How? I thought you wouldn't be able to do much with your health-"

"I'm fine. There was nothing wrong with me before I came here." That's a lie. I found out before I came. That's why I was on a walk that day. I wanted to see the stars that night. No matter how much I hated the night, it was fitting. I was jealous. Jealous of everyone living life happily. The stars comforted me and I just wanted to see them in case it was my last time.

"Ok then, you weren't a total loser, only 50%."

I raised my hand again to hit him, but I heard a voice behind me laughing.

I turned around to see a woman smiling at me.

"You must be June. I've heard so much about you from my husband and Hue. Please come and have a seat."

She rushed to get water as Hue and I sat on the sofa.

She soon hurried back in.

"Here you go, here you go. Sorry for the wait. I wasn't aware you were coming today." Another warm smile.

"I'm sorry for intruding. I didn't have any choice but to come."

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that! It's wonderful to have you. I'm Leann."

She stretched her arm out and I shook her hand.

"Thank you for having me. I hope I don't cause any problems for you."

"I'm sure you won't," she said with a smile.

"You seem like a very nice boy." She leaned in.

"At least nicer than that one," She said in a rushed whisper.

"Mom! I am your even your kid??"

She laughed.

"I'm only joking. You are just fine." She smiled mischievously. Hue sighed.

"Come on, June. Let's go to my room." Hue was annoyed by his mothers antics.

I said thank you and followed Hue to a bedroom the size of my old school.

"My humble abode." He said. Sports posters covered the walls, the matching equipment shoved into a corner. Surprisingly it was clean.

"I cleaned it just for you."

I expected too much.

He threw himself down on his bed as I looked around.

"Why is it so big? It's unnecessary."

"I don't know. Not like I asked for it."

Big rooms are even more suffocating. Something smaller is more comfortable for me, having things close.

"Huh. I prefer a room about 3/4 this size."

"Well, you can live in my closet if you want." He smiled again as he drank from a soda bottle.

I picked up a stuffed ball and threw it at his head, causing him to spit out his water. We both laughed, and I felt like I was home.

He showed me my room. It was a bit smaller than his but still big enough that it made me anxious.

"I'm going to have to fill this place up. Too big."

"We can go shopping tomorrow. I have to go anyways for school. It starts next week. That reminds me, your going to have to enroll."

Even now I couldn't get away from school.

"Alright, alright, let's go shopping tomorrow. I don't have money though."

"Obviously. Don't worry. My mom loves you already, she will pay. She's understanding."

It felt wrong to use other people's money. I usually avoided doing it in any way possible, even if I meant I went hungry, but it didn't seem I could escape it this time.

"Why don't you take a shower? There is shampoo and soap in there. I'll get you a towel and a toothbrush, etc. "

It hadn't occurred to me that it was already 8 pm.

After I washed up, I laid down in bed thinking about a million different things.

Sleep seemed so far away as thoughts bounced in my head. The new life I was about to start and the thing I still needed to find.