A New Beginning

I opened my eyes just as we pulled in to the driveway. I took a look at the place I’d be living at for the rest of my teenage life. Grass and a lot of windows. It was okay. I heard my mom exclaim, “We’re here!” Obviously… I thought. I opened the door and got out. I stretched and let out a loud yawn. The ride over here was long and I was just glad to be on land, even if it was 3 hours away from my home. My REAL home. My dad got a job in this town a couple hours away from where we used to live, so we packed up and left. It was pretty sad, considering I left everything behind, my friends, my house, my boyfriend… I felt my phone vibrate. It was Brandon. “I miss you already :(” I shrugged and looked around the neighborhood. I spotted a group of boys about my age staring at me from across the street. Oh God, I thought. I hope they didn’t see me stretch, ‘cause I make weird faces when I stretch. I smiled at them and when only one of them waved back, the tallest one, I turned around and followed my parents inside.

As my mom unpacked, I threw my bags on the floor of my new room and looked around. My room had a window with a view of the whole neighborhood, and as I looked around I saw the boys from earlier. This time, I got a better view of them. There was five of them, and I studied each one. Tight pants… black shirt… long hair… longer hair…. then I got to the last one. He was telling a joke I assumed, because he had his arms flailing and when he stopped talking, everyone cracked up. He had brownish hair and boy… was he cute. I took a step forward, and tripped on a box. “Shit!” I yelled and grabbed my throbbing foot. I better start unpacking, I thought.

Two hours and a headache later, I decided to take a break and go outside for a walk. You know, get to know this town. It was my first time here, and considering school started in a couple of weeks, I had better learn my way around. I opened a random box and grabbed a random hoodie- black, with the words “Red Hot Chili Peppers” written in the front. I slipped it on and headed out the door.

Immediately I felt the light breeze that made it feel 10 degrees cooler. It was mid September, and it felt like it. I rubbed my arms a little and looked around. At the end of my street, a crowd of people-teenagers, it seemed-gathered. I wasn’t exactly the shy type. Quiet, maybe. But it was my first day in this town, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make friends. I walked toward them, and as I got closer, I heard singing. Good singing. Whoever it was, was the center of attention. I walked up to the group, and someone turned around and said, “Isn’t John great? I told them they should do this professionally. I hope they do.” They turned back around and forgot about me almost instantly. Who does that? I pushed my way farther in the circle and recogmized the boys in the middle from earlier. One was tapping on the pavement the beat of the song, one- obviously John, and the one who waved at me earlier-was singing, and the others were just sitting, smiling. I immediately recognized the boy who told that joke, the attractive one. John stopped, and the boy smiled. He stood up and said, “That’s all, folks! Disperse!” Some people let out a chuckle and I could feel the crowd thinning. But I couldn’t stop staring at him. He was smiling at John, and saying something I couldn’t hear. His smile was mesmerizing, and I felt this weird feeling in my stomach that I hadn’t felt since-“Um, is there something on my face or something? You’ve been staring for quite a while. You could just tell me, it’s kind of embarrasing.” The boy with the smile said. I snapped out of it and realized he was talking to me. I looked around and the crowd was gone, it was just the five boys, and me. I could feel my cheeks getting red. I looked down. “No, it’s just…” I turned to John. “You were really good.” He smiled. “Aren’t you the girl who just moved in? We saw the moving trucks. Garrett here lives right across the street from you.” The boy with the smile- Garrett, I guess-turned to me. He did a fake bow and held out his hand. “Madam..” He said. I chuckled, and gave him my hand. He kissed it, and everyone laughed. I had to admit- it was cute. Even if it was a joke. The rest of the boys introduced themselves to me. Jared, Pat, Kennedy. “I’m Leah,” I said. John nodded and looked around, then back to me. “You know, we’re gonna go get some pizza right now. You hungry?” I nodded, and smiled. I heard an “Alright!” from someone as we all walked behind John. When we got to his car he said, “Listen, theres six of us, and only 5 seats. Since you’re the girl and all… do you mind sitting on someones lap? Sorry, haha…” He said. I didn’t really mind. “No problem,” I said, with a smile. As everyone got in the car, it became apparent who’s lap I had to sit on- and I was perfectly okay with it.