I Swear to God My Intentions Were Gold

The roads to the mall were considerably better than the pot-hole covered one that led up to my uncle's house, but it still wasn't smooth enough to keep my stomach satisfied. My eyes lazily watched out the window as I fought to keep my composure.

"Doing alright back there?" my uncle asked. I gazed into my aunt's rear view mirror just as she turned her stare away from mine. She was still upset, and I really didn't blame her at all.

"I'm good," I lied, trying to keep my tone in somewhat of high spirits. I didn't want her disdain for me to worsen. "It's nice to finally see some open space."

"That it is," he said in a voice that immediately ended any chance of a conversation. I could tell my aunt had complained to him of me before we left.

I kept my sigh to myself and stared down at my post card sprawled across my lap. I rubbed my fingers against the clouds and felt my heart drop.

My father had given me this postcard after visiting my aunt and uncle back in the ninety's. I remember him coming home, and me being mad at him for leaving mom and I for so long. But once he gave me the postcard everything felt okay. He explained his climbing and flying adventures to me, which I remember made my eyes shine so brightly. I knew from that day this would be my dream. Now that my father is gone it seemed to give me even more reason to have the time of my life here. But so far I didn't see that happening.

"Jo," a distant voice called. I didn't react to it. I was almost convinced it was just in my head. "Jonah."

"Hmm?" I asked as I raised my head, not sure who exactly had been calling me. Surprisingly enough, it was my aunt looking back over the car seat.

"We're here, dear," she told me before she climbed out of the car.

I pulled on the door handle and shoved it open with my right shoulder as I stepped out onto the dirt road. Yes dirt, not concrete. It surprised me too.

"Where are we even?" I questioned as I gazed up at a dull, unmarked building. There was absolutely nothing describing the structure.

"The mall," my uncle replied as he locked the car and put it's alarm on. "It's nothing like an American mall, but once you're inside it'll get a little more familiar."

"It's kind of cool," I admitted, though I played up my enthusiasm a bit trying to make it seem like I was enjoying at least one thing that my aunt was showing me. She smiled at me and began to walk towards the doors. I was completely silent between the three of us until we got inside.

"I bet you're wondering why we brought you here," my uncle said as we made our way through the food court. I nodded and looked up at the ceilings and pillars. My uncle was right about them looking like the malls back home, except they were much nicer. "In this town everybody knows each other. I figured I could introduce you to most of our friends just by bringing you here."
"Ah," I said in understanding. I watched the people we walked by, each of them staring back at me as they felt my stare. I noticed something both strange and wonderful. The guys were all very handsome, and the girls were all absolutely gorgeous. So much that it made me self conscious about my own appearance. I'd actually never seen so many good looking people in one place.

"People here know how to take care of themselves," my aunt mentioned without looking back at me. "The boys keep very primed and the girls stay in tip top shape. It's because we're a town that a lot of New Zealand actors and actresses come from. A lot of our coaches live in the area."

"They always have to look good, because you never know who you'll run into around here," my uncle finished for her.

"Wow," was all I could say as I hurried to get out of their sights. It had to have been obvious to all of them that I was American.

"Oh, look Don, it's Harriet!" my aunt exclaimed as she pointed over to a burger stand. He looked over towards her and waved. "Come on, Jo. I want to introduce you to our closest neighbor." I followed the two over to a chipper woman around the age of sixty. Her hair still seemed to be naturally light brown with only a few timid streaks of gray going through it. She was staring straight at me.

"Harriet, this is my niece, Jonah," she told her as she held her hand out to me. I smiled and nodded my head in a kind greeting.

"Jonah? That's an interesting name," she said in a delicate voice. "Very pretty."

I felt myself blush a little as I pushed my hair behind my ear. "Thank you."

"How old are you anyway? You look about the age of my son."

"I'm twenty," I answered quickly.

"Oh, he's twenty three, but that's close isn't it?" she smiled as she held up a single finger. "Let me get him really quick."

"He's a very nice boy," my aunt said to me.

"Oh," I said quickly as I flattened out my shirt and cracked my knuckles behind my hair.

A boy appeared from the back door, but honestly I normally wouldn't have taken a second glance at him. His dirty blonde hair was cut oddly and matted against his forehead by sweat and grease, and his apron was just as dirty. His eyes seemed dull and lifeless. At least when he smiled at me his teeth were white and clean.

"This is my son," she introduced us. "Noah."

"Nice to meet you," he spoke sternly as he held a hand out. I stared at the burns and calluses he had before I lightly shook his hand.

"Let's leave the two alone for a minute," my aunt spoke as she smiled coyly, leading the other two adults away from us. The awkward air immediately fell upon us.

"So..." he started as he rolled up his sleeves. "What's your name?"

"Jonah," I told him nonchalantly. Of course I'd be introduced to the least attractive boy in all of New Zealand. What was funny is that he was still better looking than the average American. At least his voice was smooth as honey.

He furrowed his brow at me and crossed his arms. "Strange name, but it's pretty." I smiled politely at him but said nothing. "Not very talkative?"

"Not really," I shrugged shyly. "I mean...I'm new here sort of. Sorry."

"Oh really?" he asked as he circled around the stand to grab a rag. He gently washed the grime off of his hands before he tossed the towel to the counter and used his clean hand to push his bangs out of his eyes. "When did you move here?"

I played with the hem of my shirt and avoided eye contact. "I didn't really move here. I'm just visiting for a while with my aunt and uncle."

"From America"? he smirked.

"Yeah," I chuckled nervously. He nodded but said nothing. I opened my mouth to speak after a few moments but quickly shut it when I realized I had nothing to say.

"Well then," he chuckled as he turned around to head into the backroom. "I can let you go back to your business. Nice to meet you, Jonah."

"Mhmm," I said as he shut the door behind him. I headed over to where I saw my aunt and uncle sitting. They waited a few moments to read my face before they asked me the question I expected.

"How did it go?"

"He was nice," was all I said before and pulled my hair out of my eyes and sat down across from them. "Not my type though."