She'll Never Be Alone

I slowly descended the weathered plane steps, my eyes scanning the surrounding. The unfamiliarity of this country made me uneasy.Surely it would be hard to live here ,especially if it's going to be permanently.
After going through the usual security measures and retrieving our bags,my mum, my dad and I walked outside the airport to wait for the cab that was to drive us to our new house.We loaded the trunk with our bags and got in.The cabby didn't even utter a single word, but he did keep glancing nervously at us. I just rolled my eyes.

I stared out the window as the cab moved down town.Not far away from the airport was a huge sign that stretched as wide as the street.On it were the words 'Welcome To Alexandria'.
'Alexandria' ? How unoriginal can they get? There are about 24 other Alexandria's in the world, couldn't they find another name?I braced myself for what was to come by living here.

After a good 15-minute long ride, the cab shuddered to a half in front of a fancy building, and that was enough to shake me out of my trance.
I started getting out of the cab and unloading the bags with help from dad and the cabbie.After we were done, the driver just took off without my father even paying him.

"Don't cabs get paid in this country?" , I asked in mock wonder.

"Don't be silly, Ville! Of course they do!!", mum said cheerfully, ruffling my hair."But your dad's company took care of everything!He was already paid." She then looked at my dad and they started laughing together.In gratitude, I guess.

I shrugged away from my mum's hand and stared at her proud face.Yeah, his company was all that! They're great! Except maybe for ruining a 14 year old boy's life!
I carried my bags and stalked away towards the entrance of the building, where a scruffy looking man in security uniform opened the door for me.I flashed a little smile his direction and waited for my parents beside the elevators.

Our new apartment was on the 6th floor of a 12-floored building.As we got out of the elevator, I saw there was only 2 apartments on each floor.

"Which one is ours?", I asked.

"That one." , my dad said,pointing to the one bearing the number 12.But just then, as I tried to imagine what might lay behind the dark wooden door , it hit me.

"Dad, we don't have the key, do we?" , I asked , racking my brain to remember any place where it was possible for my dad to pick up the keys, since we came here directly from the airport.

"No, we don't."

With my eyebrow raised, I asked, "Then...How exactly are we supposed to get inside?"

"Just be patient", my mum grinned, as my dad reached over and pressed the door bell.

Sounds of steps, lots of clattering, and the door swayed open.
Standing there was a man in a Grey suit, his glasses fell slightly over his crooked nose as his eyes swept over us, hands in his greying hair.

"Ah, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Valo. Am I correct? ", the man asked pleasantly.My dad shook hands with him, and so did my mother.He then smiled at me, and invited us in.

Turns out that guy was the previous owner of the apartment - since it's ours now - and he was waiting for us to just give us the keys.He showed us around the apartment, which was considerably big.With 3 bedrooms,2 bathrooms and a huge kitchen - not to mention the big sitting & dinning room and the salon - it was a pretty spacious place.As soon as he showed us the three bedrooms, I picked one of them, and whispered to my mum -in Finnish- that that one was going to be mine.The guy looked at me curiously when I left the tour ,entered the bedroom I picked, and closed the door behind me. Maybe if he had heard - or understood - what I said to my mum, he wouldn't be so surprised.

When at last I was alone, I allowed a little sigh to escape my chest.I slid to the floor with my back against the door, and wrapped my arms around my knees.
I thought about how hectic these last weeks were.It's not easy having to move yourself to a completely other country.Leaving everything dear to me back at Finland was the hardest part.I had to leave my family, my house, my friends...well, not really 'friends' , only one friend...oh, who also happened to be my cousin.How pathetic can I get?
Something tickled my cheek, and I realized soon enough it was a tear...Wow, I really didn't know how pathetic I can get.
I wiped under my eyes quickly, making sure no more tears were coming, and stood up to start unpacking my initial necessities.First, I pulled down the mattress that was leaning against one wall, and positioned it in the far corner beneath the solitary window in the room.I then headed to my bag, and started getting out a pair of shorts, and an old weathered T-shirt.I was going to have to live without furniture until the next weekend, when we're going to go furniture shopping.
As I changed into the T-shirt and shorts, and started heading for the mattress, I heard the apartment door shut and assumed that that owner guy left.I just wanted to end this day.Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and discover that it was all a dream and that we're never going to leave Finland.As I was just about to lay down, I discovered I had no covers or sheets on the bed.Sighing in exasperation, I opened the door, and trudged out to find my mum.

"Mum!" , I called out, getting a nearly immediate response.

"Right here , dear!", she called back from one of the other two bedrooms.I headed toward the door.

I peeked inside to find her unpacking her stuff, stacking them onto a small wooden table.My dad was doing the same with his stuff.

"Mum, are there any sheets I can put on the mattress ? Because I'm in a ..."- I stopped abruptly as I yawned -"... huge need of a goodnight sleep.", I finished.

"Well...we don't have any sheets , but I brought covers with us from Fin. , just in case we needed them."

She looked at me apologetically , staring at my indifferent face, waiting for my response.I gave her none, since I was expecting as much.

"It's okay mum.Where is it...?" , I questioned.

She told me where she put the bag containing the few covers.As I was headed out to get them, I whirled around to face her again as she called my name.

"Ville, you know you've got school tomorrow, don't you?"

For a moment, my expression went completely blank.As I stared at her, it all started to sink in and my irritability to my surroundings returned again

"Isn't tomorrow Sunday?" , I reminded her hopefully, praying.

"Well yes.But here, they go to school on Sundays.", my mum said nervously.She was beginning to feel how the change of traditions were really impacting me.

My eyes widened as I stared at her, and with great difficulty, I suppressed my emotions.

"OK,mum.", I whispered through gritted teeth as I turned to stalk out.

"Oh, and one more thing , Ville."

This time, I didn't turn to look at her. I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and asked, "Yes , mum?"

"You might be surprised that you'll be the only one with normal clothes tomorrow.We didn't have time to buy you the uniform."

Now that was menacingly aggravating.I could no longer hold in the rage that burned in my chest.So to avoid any outbursts, I stuttered a good-night and paced to my room.

I slammed the door and scrambled to the mattress, completely forgetting about the covers.I lay face up and covered my mouth with both my palms as I fought not to scream in rage.

Not only did I have to go school tomorrow - a completely new school, at that - , but I also have to be the center of attention until my parents get me the uniform. People will be staring at me... the new kid without the uniform.And the fact that I was from a foreign country wasn't going to help me either.Ugh , this is going to be nasty.

I rolled over to my side, held my hands tightly on both my ears, and prayed for sleep to come.