Snakebite Hearts & Bubblegum Smiles

I stared out the window as Blink-182 poured from my headphones, wondering why my mother was so insane. That was the only explanation I had for her uprooting the two of us in the middle of the year. It also might’ve had to do with my dad dying. He’d been a big smoker from the time he was fourteen up until he and mom had me. She didn’t want him smoking up the house with a newborn around, so he stopped cold turkey. Unfortunately that didn’t stop the cancer from appearing in his lungs after a doctor’s visit two years ago.

“Mom it’s been like 5 hours, please tell me we’re almost there,” I said.

“Calm yourself, Jane, we’re in the neighborhood now.” She turned into Summer Drive. “Look out for 203.”

I sighed. “Mom, we just passed it.”

Her forehead creased as she double-checked the GPS and then turned the car around.

“Figures. Your father used to follow these things religiously. Got us lost a bunch of times.” Her fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter, the way they always did when Dad came up in conversation. I touched her arm and she relaxed.

“I think that’s it there,” I said, pointing to a small yellow house at the end of the street. It had a small porch out front with two rocking chairs that the previous owners must have left behind. The number 203 stood out in bold black print on the mailbox at the end of the lawn.

She pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. “Isn’t it gorgeous, Honey?” She hadn’t looked so excited in months.

“Yeah, Mom. It’s great.”

We got out of the car and started unloading all the crap we’d managed to stuff into the backseat and trunk. The rest was packed up in a U-Haul that my uncle was driving over tomorrow.

“I just can’t get over this place. It’s even nicer than I remembered,” Mom said. She kept going on about how this place was going to be a “new chapter” for us as we brought our things inside. The more she talked, the more I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. When she went back out to the car, I decided to take a break and do some exploring. Off to the right of the foyer, there was a staircase that led down to the basement, which turned out to be a huge flat. I smiled, thinking of my friend, Ella. It was definitely the kind of place she’d want to throw a huge party in.

“Jane!” Mom called. I hurried upstairs and found her in the living room with two boxes in her hands. “There’s still some boxes in the trunk. Could you bring those in for me, Sweetie?” she asked.

I nodded and went back outside. Instead of looking where I was going like a normal person, I hurried out the front door and tripped down the porch steps. Luckily my knees broke my fall.

“Hey, you okay?”

I looked over my shoulder and saw a girl about my age standing in the driveway next-door.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Just extremely embarrassed now, I thought as I got to my feet.

“That looks like it hurts,” the girl said, walking over. I looked down at my knees and saw that one of them was bleeding.

“I’ll survive, probably.”

She laughed. “So I guess you guys are the new neighbors.”

“Guess so.” Wow great conversation, Jane, I thought. I was horrible at small talk, especially with strangers.

“Well I’m Brooke.” She smiled, holding her hand out to me. “And you are?”

“Jane Roberts. Um you don’t have to say my last name, obviously. I’m Jane.”

Brooke laughed again. “Okay, Jane. You need any help with those boxes?”

“You don’t have to—”

“Oh please, it’s Sunday. Like I have anything better to do,” she said. “Besides, you’re injured.”
This time I laughed. “Right, well in that case, you can take the bigger box.”

After unloading the car and bandaging my knee, Mom told Brooke and I to take a break. We sat on the porch swing in front of Brooke’s house with a roll of Ritz crackers and two cans of Dr. Pepper between us.

“Where are you and your Mom from?” she asked, biting into a cracker.

“Florida.”

“Wow, what brings you to Maryland?”

“My mom’s sister lives here. I guess she just wanted to be closer to family.”

“Must suck though to move in the middle of the year. You’re a senior right?”

I took a sip of my soda, looking out at the front yard. “Yeah. It sucks.”

“That takes some balls to start a new school with so little time left,” she said. “I like balls.”

I started laughing, really laughing, not just those awkward polite giggles. Brooke would have gotten along so well with Ella. “Thanks for helping us unpack earlier.”

She waved her hand like it was no big deal. “What are neighbors for?”

A moment of silence passed. The two of us just continued to slowly sway back and forth on the swing, watching as the sun began to sink and the sky turned purple.

“By the way, don’t worry about tomorrow.” Brooke turned to me. “If you have any problems, just come find me.”

I wondered if this meant we were friends. “Thanks,” I said. Part of me wasn’t sure if she was just trying to be nice or not, but I tried to push that thought out of my mind. I was in no position to be turning down any possible friends.