Come On Angel Don't You Cry
Empty Window
I felt the ground moving beneath me, and I felt the sun burning onto my scalp. I was only vaguely aware of the cool glass pressing against my cheek.
“Hannah, we’re here, wake up,” my eyes jolted open as I lifted my head from the glass and looked through the window at the changed scenery.
“Where are we exactly?”
My mom laughed a little bit with my dad while Jake just rolled his eyes. “We’re in Jersey, honey. You slept the entire way.”
I made a silent ‘Oh’ sound and glanced through the window again, seeing what I now knew as Newark. “Well, at least we get different scenery.” My attempt at an optimistic tone sounded sarcastic, and that’s exactly what it was meant to be. Newark was exactly like Virginia Beach, just without a beach. It was dirtier too. You could see the smog clinging to the glass of the windows.
“Hannah, shut up. Just be glad we didn’t move to some hick town.” Jake mumbled from the seat beside me, over the blaring of his iPod.
“Well, it would be nicer than this smog covered dump, I’m sure.” My eyes grazed over the street lined with rickety, leaning houses that looked as old as the Atlantic itself. I pretended to gag a little.
“Hannah!”
“Sorry, Mom, I’ll stop misbehaving now,” I grinned to myself as she glared at me through the rearview, every inch of her eyes seething ‘I’m going to smack you as soon as you get the chance.’ From across the seat, Jake smiled ever so slightly at me.
Another half hour passed of driving along potholed streets, people’s eyes following us down the road as we passed. Dad kept apologizing at us getting lost. But he couldn’t drive. His hand was hurt from the loading of furniture into the moving van following us. My mom was horrible at finding places.
Eventually, at dusk, we pulled into a poorly paved driveway, sitting in front of a narrow two story house, painted white, but turned yellow with aging. It wasn’t amazing, to say the least. In all honestly, though, it wasn’t a dump either. I crawled out of the car, stretching my arms over my head in the cool August night air. My eyes examined the surrounding houses, catching glances with closed blinds and opaque doors. I sighed, taking a quick recheck of the houses, and saw what I was looking for; a face, a sign of human life.
The face and I met locked eyes for a few moments, before it disappeared.
“Hannah, come on! Come claim your room before you end up with the smallest one.” My dad’s voice echoed across the front lawn and I ran through the grass, squeezing past him into the house, taking the stairs and claiming the first room I saw. Jake walked by seconds later, carrying a box. I poked my head around the corner before closing the door and going over to the pane of glass situated parallel to the doorway. My hand rested itself on the cool glass while I took in the view.
New York City skyline to the west, and then the house across the street right in front of my face; I waved to the empty window that was straight across from my own.
And here we go again into something we despise, over and over again…
“Hannah, we’re here, wake up,” my eyes jolted open as I lifted my head from the glass and looked through the window at the changed scenery.
“Where are we exactly?”
My mom laughed a little bit with my dad while Jake just rolled his eyes. “We’re in Jersey, honey. You slept the entire way.”
I made a silent ‘Oh’ sound and glanced through the window again, seeing what I now knew as Newark. “Well, at least we get different scenery.” My attempt at an optimistic tone sounded sarcastic, and that’s exactly what it was meant to be. Newark was exactly like Virginia Beach, just without a beach. It was dirtier too. You could see the smog clinging to the glass of the windows.
“Hannah, shut up. Just be glad we didn’t move to some hick town.” Jake mumbled from the seat beside me, over the blaring of his iPod.
“Well, it would be nicer than this smog covered dump, I’m sure.” My eyes grazed over the street lined with rickety, leaning houses that looked as old as the Atlantic itself. I pretended to gag a little.
“Hannah!”
“Sorry, Mom, I’ll stop misbehaving now,” I grinned to myself as she glared at me through the rearview, every inch of her eyes seething ‘I’m going to smack you as soon as you get the chance.’ From across the seat, Jake smiled ever so slightly at me.
Another half hour passed of driving along potholed streets, people’s eyes following us down the road as we passed. Dad kept apologizing at us getting lost. But he couldn’t drive. His hand was hurt from the loading of furniture into the moving van following us. My mom was horrible at finding places.
Eventually, at dusk, we pulled into a poorly paved driveway, sitting in front of a narrow two story house, painted white, but turned yellow with aging. It wasn’t amazing, to say the least. In all honestly, though, it wasn’t a dump either. I crawled out of the car, stretching my arms over my head in the cool August night air. My eyes examined the surrounding houses, catching glances with closed blinds and opaque doors. I sighed, taking a quick recheck of the houses, and saw what I was looking for; a face, a sign of human life.
The face and I met locked eyes for a few moments, before it disappeared.
“Hannah, come on! Come claim your room before you end up with the smallest one.” My dad’s voice echoed across the front lawn and I ran through the grass, squeezing past him into the house, taking the stairs and claiming the first room I saw. Jake walked by seconds later, carrying a box. I poked my head around the corner before closing the door and going over to the pane of glass situated parallel to the doorway. My hand rested itself on the cool glass while I took in the view.
New York City skyline to the west, and then the house across the street right in front of my face; I waved to the empty window that was straight across from my own.
And here we go again into something we despise, over and over again…