Camisado

I walked back inside of my Aunt’s house, still frustrated at myself. I cautiously made my way to my room, peeking out the window from behind the door, just to make sure they were gone. And they were. With a heavy sigh I walked over and closed my window before falling back onto my bed. Great, my reputation may already be ruined and I’ve only been here for about three minutes. I found myself restless despite how tired I was. When I closed my eyes, I only wanted to open them again. I was getting frustrated, but I decided some inner force was telling me it was time to unpack.

Peeling myself off of the bed I walked over to my item suitcase and placed it on my bed. I slowly unzipped it and lifted up the top to reveal all of my most precious things. There was a painting of a sunflower that my friend had drawn for me before I had left. She had it framed and everything because she knew that sunflowers were my favorite. There was an old jewelry box that held all of the necklaces and bracelets that I was able to keep. There were a few stuffed animals that I had refused to give up over the years, and of course a photograph of my mother, my father, and I. I held it up and smiled at it sadly. We were really a happy family once upon a time. My mother had her arms wrapped around my father’s waist, as he held my small ten-year old frame bridal style, my arms wrapped around his neck. We were all grinning like mad men, but that was how we used to smile. With a shaky breath I set the photograph down before the tears would come. I knew that if I looked at the picture a second longer, I would start to cry. It is really hard to loose someone you love. I never appreciated people who have lost someone, until the last few months, because I know what they are going through. I know how difficult it is.

Moving away from the picture, I started to put all of my belongings in their proper place, my stuffed animals on the bed, my painting on the wall, and my jewelry box on the dresser, leaving the picture to rot inside my suitcase until I was ready to look at it everyday. I did the same unpacking method for my suitcase full of clothes, and just as I had finished placing the last piece of clothing into my drawer, I heard a knock at the door. I looked up to see my aunt standing in the doorway. I smiled lightly at her, silently asking her what her business was here, in my room. “Well it looks like you are settling in quite nicely, dear.” She said, smiling at me. I nodded at the older woman.

“Yes, I suppose so.” I answered, half-heartedly. She smiled.

“Well I just wanted to let you know that we’re going to have dinner in a few minutes.” She said to me. I nodded.

“Okay, sounds good.” I answered, and she left my door. I walked towards the exit to my room and turned around to evaluate my new space. I scanned over the room with my dark blue eyes and was satisfied enough to take a break and eat.

The dinner was not a quiet one. Most of it was spent asking my aunt’s pestering questions instead of stuffing my face. I took as many bites as I possibly could while my aunt conversed with my mother. Goodness this lady could talk. The food was actually quite good, when I could get it inside of my mouth. She had made us mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and rice, and it was great. For dessert we had a cherry pie, which was equally as delicious. I wonder how on earth my aunt manages to cook without talking to anyone. She must talk to herself because it literally seems like she needs to speak every five seconds.

It was an early dinner, which was eaten at about five o’clock. When we finished it was nearly dark. I cautiously decided to venture outside when I realized that there was nothing to do inside. I discovered that there was a back porch that had a very lovely view of the Las Vegas sky, and as I sat on the side of the deck, I watched the beautiful sunset before me. I think it may have been the only thing that really appealed to me since I have gotten here. We didn’t have sunsets like this in Seattle. It was quiet and peaceful, and for just a moment everything seemed like it would be alright, but he had to speak.

“Hello again,” the voice of a boy said. I turned my head to my right to see the light brown haired boy from earlier grinning at me from behind the wooden fence. His image reminded me of the horrible entrance I had made onto the Vegas stage, but I refrained form cringing.

“Hi,” I said, with a blank face. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, probably picking up my negative mood. He bit his lip slightly, and I looked away from him, back over to the sunset.

“You new around here?” he asked curiously, even though he knew the answer to his question. I nodded.

“Mhmm.” I replied, not looking away from the sky, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the conversation.

“Oh, so where’d you move from?” he asked another question. Jesus Christ, this guy was worse than my aunt.

“Washington,” I said shortly, maybe he’ll take the hint that I don’t like talking.

“D.C.?” he asked. No, he obviously can’t take hints.

“Nope. The state.” I answered, shifty awkwardly in my position, feeling his eyes bore into me.

“Oh cool. So what’s your name?” he asked. I looked over at him this time, watching his curious eyes with my own curious eyes.

“Genevieve, but call me Genny.” I said, smiling genuinely at the boy.

“That’s a pretty name,” he said grinning, and I felt my cheeks redden ever so slightly, no one has ever said I had a pretty name. “I’m Ryan,” he said, his smile never fading.

“Nice to meet you, Ryan.” I said, smiling.

“You too, Genny.” He said, before he seemed to wince slightly. He looked down below him, spiting out a curse word before he pulled up the other boy by the collar of his polo shirt. “And this is Brendon,” he said, pointing to the dark haired boy in red glasses, who waved at me innocently. I returned the wave with a small smile “He was too afraid to talk to you, so he told me to introduce myself first,” Ryan said as Brendon playfully punched him in the ribs.

“Hello!” he said a bit awkwardly, but his facial expression and tone made me laugh.

“Hi, Brendon.” I said, smiling at the kid. He was cute in a kid kind of way. “So are you two brothers…or?” I started to ask, but Brendon interrupted me.

“No, Ryan is just a friend, and he’s staying at my house tonight.” He explained, pointing to his house as he mentioned it. I nodded.

“Cool, cool.” I said, looking back over to the sky for a minute, before I heard the voice of a woman call.

“Brendon, Ryan! It’s time for dinner!” she called. I assumed this person was Brendon’s mother.
“Alright, Ma! We’ll be right there!” he called back. He turned back to me and smiled before sending me a small wave. “Nice to meet you! Maybe we’ll see you later.” He said before walking away, trying to pull Ryan with him. As Brendon Pulled Ryan off of the fence and began to walk away with him, Ryan turned back to look at me for a moment to say, “See you around, yeah?” I nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, see you around.”