3. Welcome to Melmont

I sat in the back of my parent's car, trying to pretend that my life wasn't over; I was numb. I had cried my life's allotted storage of tears over the past week, which was apparent from my red and swollen eyes. Depression and lack of sleep go a long way towards looking like a zombie, which was apparent to me who had been forced to wake up at five AM to head out on our overly long drive. Over the previous week following being told about the move, I had been busy telling all of my friends, my clubs, and finally my boyfriend that I was going away. My boyfriend had stayed with me up until the end of the week telling me that he deeply loved me and that the two of us would make a long-distance relationship work. He had acted like the perfect prince charming while soaking up everyone's sympathy and praise for his loyalty.

During that time, he had been getting a great deal of attention from other girls who thought that he seemed sweet. For a while, it seemed like he was sincere about his loyalty and affection for me. However, I soon learned that I had been mistaken, he had just been waiting for a certain girl to take notice. Stacy Star had been just the girl he had been hoping to notice him and all of this commotion seemed to be his big chance. In between classes, she approached him, and the two of them 'hit it off' as he had publicly told me in front of the whole school while he had his arm wrapped around Stacy's waist.

Stacy was an airhead who cared far more about the latest trends than anything else. She would gladly skin a baby seal if she thought that seal skin was trendy. She had almost zero empathy and was a complete narcissist who had her nose stuck in her smartphone constantly taking inappropriate selfies for likes. She had only taken notice of my boyfriend because he seemed to be what everyone was talking about. Stacy was certain that someday she would become internet famous due to her hot looks and superior fashion sense and never missed a chance to steal the spotlight.

She was a curvy bottle blonde just under five foot tall with a suspiciously large chest and butt. She always wore what was trending, but never made up any of her trends. It was also considered an achievement for her to get a C on anything. She was shallow, dumb, selfish, and cruel with no substantial talent in anything. She had an annoying voice that grated on the ear drums, but she was slutty, and for some guys, that's all that mattered.

By lunch period, he was openly making out with Stacy Star in the hall with Stacy's back pressed up against my locker locker. He was full-on groping Stacy's overly large boobs with his hand up under her shirt. When Stacy noticed me approaching, she grinned and wrapped her hand around his butt, pulling him closer to her while winking at me. I had never done anything to Stacy, Stacy just liked the idea of 'winning' by stealing another girl's man. On the last school day before I had to move and over that weekend, all anyone could talk about was Stacy Star and Stacy couldn't have been happier.

The night before I left, everyone was talking about how my recently ex-boyfriend had been bragging that Stacy had already slept with him. It had only been a day since he'd broken up with me. All those years that I liked him and turned down other interested boys, felt like a huge waste of time.

I felt broken and sore, but all my parents had to say was that it was just as well that we broke up and that I was being dramatic. That in a couple of years none of this will matter. None of these things they said to me helped much. Who knows what will happen in a couple of years? I'm living in this moment right now. Perhaps I'm being dramatic, but my feelings are very real right now. I have no control over what direction my life is going in since I might as well be living under a dictatorship. Just because I'm taking this harder than they are or would, doesn't make my feelings less valid. I know that they were just trying to cheer me up and didn't know what to say, so I'm trying to not be angry at them. I just hate the feeling of helplessness.

I plastered my forehead to the car window, watching olive trees pass by. I will miss Florida. I like the heat and the sun. I will miss my favorite shops and restaurants. I will miss going to see plays. I will miss my friends. I will miss the sandy beaches and watching the tourists wearing flamboyant clothing. I will miss watching alligators sunbathe and swaying palm trees. I will miss a sudden cool gust of wind on a hot summer day. I will miss the heavy salty air. I will miss our large swimming pool. I will miss the fruit trees in our yard. There are not many things I'll miss. I felt my eyes tear up and quickly tried to blink them away, swallowing the lump in my throat. Washington wouldn't be the same.

🍓🍓🍓

Being on the road for a couple of days did nothing to improve my mood. My parents insisted on driving for most of the time and only once got a hotel room. I had been too tired to enjoy myself and so just crashed as soon as my head hit my pillow. The next morning I took a shower and we left bright and early again as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon. It was too early for breakfast so I had to wait a couple of hours before I could eat. After a few more hours of being on the road, I felt my eyelids droop and welcomed it.

"Wake up, Little Strawberry! We're here!" My dad yelled from the passenger seat.

I rubbed my gravel-filled, crusty, and sore eyes and let out a noise that sounded much like a growl before tucking myself into more of a ball and trying to ignore the annoying noises coming from the front.

I heard more noises and so I did my best to tune out the overly cheerful and enthusiastic sounds. How could he be so cheerful? What's wrong with him? I feel like I've been run over by a truck and never want to sit in a car again. I cracked my eyelids open and glared at the welcoming sign. Welcome to Melmont it said. Looking back behind us, there was a large stone arch that had a strangely shimmering light inside it. I rubbed my eyes and looked back, by then, the odd light seemed to have disappeared. Because of this, I could only assume that my tired eyes had tricked me.

We'd been driving on a two-track trail that had seemed mostly deserted, but on the other side of the arch, the road was a meticulously well-maintained dark red cobblestone just large enough for two lanes. Pine trees line both sides of the road with a Victorian-style house or old colonial home every once in a while. The large yards were well maintained with short white fences between them. There appeared to be only one road going in and out of the town surrounded by pine trees and a high stone wall. Then suddenly, there was an opening in the trees and I saw the town. The road opened up to reveal that the road looped around like an overly large roundabout that came back on itself.

Branching off of the main road, were seven streets named for the colors of the rainbow from left to right. Along the main loop of the road, there were small stone buildings that were businesses, but none that I had ever heard of before. There were no fast food chains or recognizable convenience stores. If you looked at the town from up above, it would look like the streets were designed to look like a light bulb with glowing light coming off of it. However, it pulled into a roundabout further in with an island in the center that was covered in little blue flowers and trails with park benches, playground equipment, a dog park, picnic tables, little grills, and cute flowering trees. There was a large play fort in the center. A building that had restrooms next to the play fort and a bridge above the road connecting the island to the sidewalk along the business street. Around the outside of the island, there was a stone fence chest high.

I glared at the cute scene, finding it somewhat charming, but not wanting to admit it. "What's with all of the pine trees? Have we moved to the wilderness?"

My mom chuckled at my grouching while my dad cleared his throat. "I think it's quite nice, plus you'll be able to see your cousins and their close friends. It'll be nice to see my brothers and sisters again too. Do you remember your cousin Sandy? You two used to get along well."

I rolled my eyes. "I haven't seen Sandy or any of the rest of them since I was three years old. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and a random stranger walking down the street."

Dad turns his head towards Mom. "Has it been that long?"

Mom chuckled while keeping her eyes on the road as she drove around Business Street. When we arrived at the branching off street labeled Blue, we turned off the loop and pulled into it. The roads are almost deserted, but most of the cars on the road look like they belong on an old movie set. Along all of the streets were tall old-fashioned street lamps. As we drove down Blue Street, the houses were quite far apart. Then at the end of the street where it led to a dead end, there was a large white house that looked like it belonged in a horror film. We pulled up the long driveway and parked in front of it.

"Home sweet home," Dad said.