Take Me Home

Firestone: A town in the middle of nowhere in which I have to live in. Population: 3,341. Status: It’s going nowhere.

I stared gloomily out of the dimmed van window. Nothing but tall pine trees that had probably been there for hundreds of years and hanging shadows that loomed over the road like sad lost souls. I haven’t even entered the town, and I knew I hated it. Places like this just weren’t normal.

My brother, Kane, shifted and rested his head against the window of the van beside me. He looked so peaceful. I wished I could be as careless as him. As both of my brothers. They didn’t need to worry about anything. Of course, they had people they would miss, but they always had each other. When we were little, I was always the one they would pick on, not each other.

Gabriel, the oldest of the twins, glanced at me from across the seat. He knew how I felt about moving here to Firestone. Of course, Firestone was not even close to the name. It was dark, and wet. The opposite of fire, which was bright and warm. I missed California so much.

“You’ll be fine, Soul.” Gabriel assured sarcastically. He had been unusually irritable for the past few days—which were ALL spent on this long, spiraling road. Being the oldest, he was always the mature one. No, not mature. The…strict one. The downer. Yeah, “downer” was the word. He’s always irritable, but since we got in the van and started driving to our new home, he had been especially irritable. “You never have trouble making friends.”

It was true. I had been a natural born people-person. I always knew the right thing to say, and when exactly to say it. It was yet another amazing quality I was born with.

Gabriel looked out the window again, a scowl once again crossing his face. I hated seeing him this way. We were siblings, and since we were, the only person that could give him misery was me. No one else but me.

Gabriel passed me a couple of glances after he noticed me giving him a sympathetic look. Both my brothers were unnaturally beautiful. Silky black hair that naturally curved to the side on the ends, and both had the same creamy pale skin. They both had one blue eye and one green—a twin defect, or something like that. Either way, both eyes were vibrant. I had developed my mother’s sky blue eyes, not my father’s green ones. They were lucky to have both.

“Stop with the looks, all right?” He said, giving me a sharp glance. It wasn’t a glare—my brothers never glared at me.

I softly nodded and looked out the window again, my heart quenching in my chest. It was probably seven. Maybe eight. I pulled my phone out of my tight jean pocket and pulled the mechanism meant to unlock the screen. 8:17. My stomach growled at me, begging for something to put inside it.

The sound stirred Kane, and Gabriel looked my way, too. I held my stomach. “Mom? I’m hungry.”

Gabriel sighed. “We just ate two hours ago,” he groaned.

“I know, but all I had was a cheeseburger.”

“Yeah, and I hardly doubt your stomach can hold any more than that.” Gabriel and Kane were always making fun of me for my petite figure. I was small, and short. Just about the height of my mother.

I turned toward him and gave him my tongue. He rolled his eyes at how childish it was. Beside me, Kane laughed.

“Okay, honey—oh! Bob, there’s a little café up there. Stop here.”

I smiled, knowing my monster of a stomach was about to be filled. Gabriel rolled his eyes, and Kane began to fix his muffled hair from the way he was sleeping. When he was done, I reached out and ruffled it out again. “It looks better like that.”

Kane playfully slapped my hand away, and continued to flatten it, but leaving in some of the chaos I had given it.

“Oh, isn’t this cute?” My mother swooned over the little café. One look and I realized it wasn’t a café. It was a tea room. Two story, with old, chipped, white wood walls, and a shifty brown roof. Bright light spilled out the double-door windows, where a little sign in pretty chalk letters said, “Open.” The Dove’s Nest was written on a huge board above the door. Small and cute and homey, the way my mother liked them.

“Yay!” I cheered, letting my seatbelt fly off to lean against the car window.

“Back up, Soul, you’re fogging up the window.” Kane joked, slapping my heel.

I said nothing but kept looking at the quaint little tea room, my stomach letting out another loud moan. Another second and I realized I actually was fogging up the glass. I wiped it up with my palm and continued looking at it until we were parked on the little rocky parking lot. It wasn’t pavement, which surprised me because that’s all I’ve ever seen since going on this permanent vacation.

Gabriel nudged my back to get me to move, and I slid out of the car, him following.

I stretched, throwing my arms in the air and standing on my toes. It felt good to be out of that cramped van. I glanced at the tea room’s surroundings. Tall, dark-barked, gloomy willows did not follow the style of the cute, quaint little tea room. There were at least twenty cars parked on the stony lot, and I wondered why a tea room would be open on a Saturday night. Tea room’s back in America would have closed at noon.

I mentioned this to mom as she came up beside me to gaze at its everlasting cuteness. “Mom, why would a tea room be open so late?”

Standing beside her, I realized I was at least two centimeters shorter than her. Dang it.

“I have no idea.” She admitted, still smiling at the tea room. Through the window, we could see tables full of people, and waiters and waitresses moving quickly around to gather orders or deliver food. I can’t help but smile a little wider. The people through the windows—they weren’t wearing leather sandals, white tunics, and golden wreaths. In fact, they kind of looked like what I saw in Europe, when I went there for a school trip. Unfortunately, I had a stingy teacher, Mrs. Beauly, there with us. But, she liked me, just like most of my teachers did. What got me mad about her was how she treated my friends. “But, hey,” mom continues, “it’s a different country; there are lots of different things here.”

“Mom, we all live on the same planet, they’re not aliens.” Mon had been trying to persuade us that change was good, but it really wasn’t. We were perfectly content with living in California. I was in lead in the votes for Prom Queen, and my brothers had multiple girls knocking on their door or leaving sexy notes in their lockers, each asking if they would go to the Prom with them. They all seemed to like the strong, silent types, which they both were. I had, of course, won over the votes with my cuteness and persuasion, while my brothers won them over with their excessive looks and their “strong and silent type” act.

Mom acted like there was so much to see, but I didn’t think there was. The only difference between California and Greece was that we weren’t near the beach and Greece wasn’t as warm and muggy. She had talked about how much history Grecians had, and how our ancestors came from here and how…actually, that was when I spaced out.

“C’mon, ladies.” Dad walked past us, both of my brothers walking close behind. I couldn’t help but giggle at how both their hands were in their pockets. Their similarities were always giggle-worthy.

Mom smiled (again) and began to walk ahead of me to the front doors.

I looked up at the sky. The sky was smothered in dreary gray clouds, and they seemed to be moving like slugs on a California sidewalk, getting melted by the scalding sun. Back in California, the sky was always bright and the clouds (when there were any) were always moving quickly, as if racing each other to see who could reach the ends of the earth first. But here, you could see that there would always be drifting clouds. I realized that, when there weren’t so many of them, that maybe I could sit on the grass (hopefully, if it isn’t wet) and make shapes of them, like they do in the movies. I couldn’t really do that back home because there were hardly any clouds at all.

I ran fast to catch up to mom. I gripped the metal doorknob right before it met its twin door again. I pulled it open and walked in. My dad and my brothers had already gotten to a table which a waitress in black jean pants and matching silk black hair pulled slickly back into a rubber band had directed them. She set the menus on the table for six (two tables of four pushed together) and walked away, but having to do a double-take on my Twin Dilemma’s. (Twin Dilemma’s is my nickname for them.) No girl can resist their silent charm.

“Well, it looks like nothing’s going to change.” I say, eyeing all the ladies in The Dove’s Nest. Most haven’t noticed the twin gods that have just stepped into the same place their in, but the ones who have are gawking like freakoids. I sat down at the table.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gabriel replied, smiling, but with a hint of patronizing suspicion in his rough but silky voice.

Mom, Dad, and I all passed each other knowing looks. They know what I’m talking about, and they know it’s true.

“Are you serious?” I interrogate, leaning forward over the table. “You’re not noticing all the looks these girls are giving you?”

Kane’s hand flies to his head. “What? Is there something wrong with my hair?”

Dad can’t help but chuckle, placing his elbow on the table and face-palming at how ridiculous that sounds.

I face-palmed also.

“What?” Kane asked innocently, rubbing his hair self-consciously.

“Kane, I think she means that.” Gabriel suggested, pointing to a group of freshmen (just a feeling I have that their freshmen in high school) girls who are pointing and giggling. The whole of our table turns to look at them. They jump and turn around, hunching over their table to whisper in secret.

“Oh.” Kane says, looking down. The waitress is soon back.

“Ξέρετε τι θέλετε να πιείτε;”

Before I could open my mouth and ask what the heck she was saying, Gabriel replies, “Ο Δρ Pepper.” Her eyes glowed when she meets his eyes.

I opened my mouth again, but mom beats me to it. “Μερικά από πορτοκάλι το τσάι σας, χωρίς ζάχαρη,παρακαλώ.”

“Wait—“

“Diet Coke.” Dad puts in.

This time, I don’t even bother in opening my mouth. I let Kane talk. "Νερό".

She blushes beet red as he speaks.

The waitress, as does everyone else at the table, looked at me. “What are you guys talking about?”

Mom looked at me in disbelief. “Soul, you told us you took that Greek language class as an extracurricular.”

I sat there, confused, until I suddenly remembered the promise I had made to them before I went to high school. I had always known I had family in Greece, so she wanted me to learn the language for when I visit. I had really wanted to take Choir, Art, and Chemistry II, so I decided to hold it off for next year. I…had forgotten about it once next year had come around.

“Oh…” I looked down at my lap. I quickly explained why I had not bothered taking the class.

Mom and dad sigh simultaneously.

“Sorry.” I muttered.

“It’s fine, you’ll just have to study a bit before you go to school.” Mom looked aggravated, and I almost muttered another apology before the waitress intervenes.

“Είναι όλα εντάξει;”

Mom looked up at her. “Ναι, θα ζητήσω συγγνώμη. Θα μπορούσατε να ζητήσετε στα αγγλικά;”

The waitress’ face glows light pink, but she nods and turns to me, stuttering over her words. “What…wou-would y-you like to drink?” She smiled at her accomplishment.

“Sweet tea.” I replied. She smiled at me so sweetly; I couldn’t help but forgive her for falling in love with the Twin Dilemma’s.

She’s gone, and then we all sat in silence for a couple of seconds. I hummed in-between those seconds and think about how my school might look. Will it be smaller or bigger? I grabbed a paper napkin; even though they gave us thick green ones right by my elbow, and pull a pen out of my back pocket. I drew a T-chart, and title the first side “Greece” and the other one “California.”

“Well,” Dad sighs inwardly, pushing his spectacles back on the bridge of his nose, “At least we know you guys won’t have trouble making friends.” By “guys” he meant all of us.

Kane smiled. Gabriel nodded once. I smiled wider than Kane.

The girl was back, holding a tray of drinks in her hands. This time, I noticed, she gave me my drink first and then handed mom hers, Gabriel his, dad his, and then Kane his drink.

“Do you know what you’d like to eat?” She asked, acing her English perfectly as she pulled a pen out from behind her tiny ear.

“Shoot.” I muttered. I forgot to look at the menu.

I hurriedly grabbed it off the table and opened it—

My jaw fell.

“What? I can’t read this!’

Kane laughs hysterically. “Just get her something from the kid’s menu!”

“Kane—”

The waitress nods and walks off.

I’m on my feet in a matter of seconds, leaning over the table to strangle one of my Twin Dilemma’s. Kane is still laughing even as I began to lean over the table, hands stretched out. Mom puts her hand on my collar bone.

“Now, now, settle down. Soul, you brought this on yourself since you decided not to listen to us.” Mom reasoned. It was true, but that didn’t give Kane the right to laugh at me.

“Soul, will you sit down? People are staring…” Gabriel put his chin in his hand and looked down at the table.

“Let them stare. It’ll be a change and maybe we’ll be the new freakoids here.” Even so, I sat down at the table, glaring at Gabriel. Just because they don’t glare at me doesn’t mean I can’t do it to them. I’m the little one, so I can.

“Soul, you couldn’t be a freakoid even if you tried. You’re too good for that.” His words rang true in my head. I thought a moment about actually trying to be the weirdo in the school. I could be a Goth, or a nerd. But, even if I did do that, I would probably still make friends fairly quickly. As I said before, if there was a class for socializing, I’d ace it in a snap.

I looked away.

“So, are you excited to see grandma?” Mom asked, looking over at each one of her children.

I took a sip of my tea, surprised to notice that it’s peach flavored. The sugared drink rolled down my throat. It’s better than the tea at McDonald’s.

And we all say simultaneously:

“Mm-hm.”