August 1, 2023
I sat dejectedly at the kitchen counter, waiting for my friend to respond.
It had been about a week since I'd seen or talked to anyone, but I kept trying to. Everyone seemed to let the world pass by them, as they watched from afar my dreadful tale.
About a week after my dad died, we had no source of money, except for what he left us.
We were forced to move, and my mom was forced to get a job.
I had to leave all of my friends and family I'd ever known, to go live in Scottsdale, Arizona, with my cousins and my Aunt and Uncle.
My grandparents luckily had a house out there, that I and my family had settled into.
I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed the weather, it was much better than Kentucky.
But I missed everything about my past life and self.
I wasn't the same after all that happened.
Who knew that I would end up still lying to myself?
Certainly not me.
I just wanted one of my old friends to respond. My parents had been homeschooling me ever since we moved. I hadn't made any friends in my neighborhood and hadn't been very social like I used to be. I only contacted the people I used to know, and that was it.
No one responded.
Just like usual.
My mom walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey, sweetie, we have to talk about something."
"Oh, okay. What is it?" I said, almost confused at what she was proposing, and a little scared at the way she said it.
"Well, I've been thinking, and I think it's about time that you go to school," she said.
"Wait, what? Mom, you know that's not going to go well."
"Well, you have to join the real world at some point." she said, "And there's no time like the present. Besides, you could use a friend or two."
"Mom, how do you know I'll even make friends?"
"I know my old Lauren is in there somewhere, underneath that teenage attitude of yours, you have a heart."
I rolled my eyes at her comment.
"You know it's true." she said with a smile.
I have her a small smile, and said, "Okay, but you have to keep buying the curriculum, in case this doesn't work out."
"Okay, whatever deal you propose, you just have to go to school." she said with a large smile on her face.
"In that case, I want ice cream every night, Subway every week, and the newest phone." I said with a smirk.
She laughed and said, "We'll see about that."
She left the room, and my expression turned.
What was I going to do?
I hadn't talked to any new people in ages. I didn't even know if I could hold up a conversation. I'd have to buy new clothes and get a new backpack. It'd be a whole ordeal, but I knew my mom was right. I didn't like it, but she was right.
I could only imagine how my sister would respond to the news, but my brother would be ecstatic.
I wasn't.
_______________________________
A day passed, and it was 1 in the afternoon, and I had just woken up.
I walked out of my room and into the kitchen, to find my mom smiling wide, and giving me the look.
I sighed and said, "Oh boy, why do I feel like I should be scared?"
"You shouldn't be scared, you should be excited!" my mom said, "I found someone to show you around the school because school starts two days from now."
"Two days from now?!" I said.
"That's not the part you should be focusing on. The big deal is that I found someone." my mom said.
I let out a sigh and said, "Well, then I guess we should get prepared, and go buy supplies and clothes."
"Yep!" she said, "To the mall!"
It only took her an hour to get ready and get out the door, which is faster than usual.
We ended up shopping for five hours, and if you know me, I hate shopping. But, I ended up enjoying it, it was fun to get out of the house and shop for new clothes. To be honest, I was kind of excited to go to school now.
I only wondered what the first day of school would be like. It wasn't like I'd never been to school before, it was more of the fact that it was a new surrounding. I'd never been to a public school before, and I hadn't gone to any school in years, let alone have a friend.
I'd be figuring that out soon because I'd be going to school tomorrow.
If I only I knew what I was in for.