My name is Luis Winchester and this is the story of how i'm forced to step out of my comfort zone.
"You're moving!" My best friend, Grace said as she sat on my bed while I started to pack up my things in a box.
"Sadly, yes."
"But whyyyy!? Why do you have to go and leave meeeeee???" Grace whined.
I looked at Grace and smirked. Sometimes, Grace could be a bit dramatic. That's why she's in Theatre Club at our high school. Me? I'm not really in any club. Except for art cause I draw a little bit. I mostly doodle and Grace has said that my doodles are the most impressive piece of art she has ever laid her eyes on. Remember, Grace is dramatic. She thinks anything I draw is impressive to her eyes. I'm pretty sad about leaving. Dad says we're moving to a suburbia town in California. He said that our house will be by a beach so i'll be able to go to the beach everyday and he even mentioned about our town having a boardwalk that features lots of games. I thought that seemed pretty cool so that right there pretty much sold me already. Part of me still didn't want to move away because i'll miss Grace for sure. She's been my best friend since we were in middle school. I seriously don't know what i'll do without her but it seems like i'm going to have to figure it out soon because i'm leaving her.
I sighed as I placed my knick knacks and posters in one box and packed my clothes in another. "We can still talk you know? On the phone, maybe Skype." I suggested.
Grace pouted. "What am I supposed to do without my darkbrown haired, hazel brown eyed beauty?"
I smirked as Grace described me on point. "You can find another darkbrown haired, hazel brown eyed beauty." I assured.
"But...but he won't be as cute as yoooou~ There's not that many 'boy next door' guys out there." She pointed out.
Yep. That's me. The boy next door. The all American type guy.
"I can still come visit you during holidays and such."
Grace pouted again. I stood there, watching for her to object to my idea but she didn't come up with any remark so I knew I had won this battle. I chuckled as I finished packing up my clothes.
"How will you survive in California? I heard that the people there are really snobby."
"I thought snobby people only existed in Beverly Hills? I'm not moving to Beverly Hills."
"Oh. Well...I dunno. California has skaters and surfers. Aren't they snobby?"
I smirked. "Skaters are...laid back and Surfers are...down to Earth and fun."
"But, you can't skateboard and you definitely can't surf."
I shrugged. "I can try."
Grace sighed then stood up and walked over to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.
"I'm going to miss you so much. Don't forget me."
I smiled and hugged Grace back. "I won't. I promise."
***
Moving day finally came. I said goodbye to Grace and other people who I was good friends with. Grace bought me a goodbye present which was a cute little Dolphin necklace. She said I reminded her of a Dolphin. Innocent, sweet, wouldn't hurt a fly. I was thankful for the gift and it only hurt more to be leaving my life behind. Now i'm off to California with my dad and little brother who is thirteen. We're only three years apart.
Once me and my family got to the airport, got our tickets and got on the plane, I looked out the window at the people below. I was officially leaving my city for a town by the beach. Of course my brother, who was sitting next to me, couldn't wait to leave. I wasn't sure why. I thought he was going to be sad about leaving his friends behind and when I mentioned about him leaving his best friend, Andy, he said, "What friend? I don't have any friends." I wasn't sure what was really up with my brother but I left the subject alone. He seemed pretty mad and sorta sad. I wonder if something happened right before we left.
***
Once we got to California, I was super stoked to go see our house. My room is supposed to be big enough to hold all my art supplies. For Christmas, my dad bought me a canvas and easel. He said I had potential of becoming a great artist even though i'm still in the doodling stage. I haven't really found anything inspiration that I wanted to sketch.
When we got to the house, I didn't really waste anytime with seeing it. It was big on the outside and had a nice porch in the back that overlooked the beach. Each room was huge, including mines, my brother's and dad's. I couldn't wait to see how my room looked once I unpacked but right now, I wanted to relax and check out the boardwalk. I walked back outside to see the movers drive up with our furniture.
"Luis, why don't you take Logan to the boardwalk with you?" Dad suggested.
"You don't need any help here?" I asked.
"Nah. You two go have fun and check out the town. I'll be okay here with the movers. Don't stay out too late, though."
I smiled and nodded. "Logan, c'mon!" I called out to my little brother. Logan came running out the house.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"To the boardwalk."
"Awesome! Let's go!" He said then started to run away. I sighed and started to run after him.
When we got to the boardwalk, it was bustling with a lot of people. The games looked fun. As me and Logan walked down the boardwalk, I saw a group of guys playing a game. Though, this one particular guy stood out to me. He had on black skinny jeans with a sky blue flannel shirt. His shirt matched his sky blue hair which had red tips and he was wearing big glasses and had a single snakebite in the middle of his bottom lip.
"I know who they are." Logan said to me suddenly.
I looked at him. "Huh?"
"They're called hipsters. Andy's brother is one." Logan explained.
I nodded. "So, what's the deal with you and Andy?"
"Nothing!" Logan quickly said.
I raised my hands up in defense. "Okay. Okay. Sorry. I was just curious.." I sighed as I watched my little brother. He seemed so sad. I really want to know what happened between him and Andy.
I looked back at the blue haired hipster and watched as he seemed like he was having fun with playing with his friends. I didn't know that much about hipsters but that doesn't mean I can't be friends with him right? That's when I noticed that the blue haired hipster and his friends finished playing the game and started to walk towards me and Logan. I grabbed onto Logan's arm and quickly pulled him over to a game booth. We both hide on the side of it.
"What are you doing?" Logan asked.
"Shh."
I watched as the blue haired hipster walked past with his friends. I had to admit, the guy is pretty cute for a hipster. Not that many people I knew or saw that dressed like that were attractive so this was a first.
"I wonder if he goes to my new school." I thought out loud.
"Why? Do you like him?" Logan asked.
I quickly looked at my brother. "What!? Of course not! I don't even know the guy."
"Good because crushes are overrated." Logan said then walked out onto the boardwalk while I stood there, feeling dumbfounded. Something is definitely going on with Logan.
***
I decided that it was time to head back home so me and Logan can unpack. Logan didn't seem like he was up for playing games or checking out the boardwalk anymore. He seemed pretty hurt and I don't know why. Once we got home, our dad was still unpacking.
"Hey, kiddos. I ordered some Chinese food. I won't be going to the store till tomorrow so this is our dinner for tonight." He said.
"I'm not hungry." Logan said then he rushed up to his room.
"I'll eat later." I said and went upstairs. Honestly, I wanted to unpack first before I got comfortable and ate. Plus, I really wanted to know what was up with my little brother. We normally tell each other everything. Well, almost everything.
It didn't take me that long to unpack my room. I was a fast unpacker. Once I finished unpacking all my stuff and placing them in the right sections of my room, I went over to Logan's room to see if he needed help unpacking.
"Hey. Need any help?" I asked, standing at my brother's door.
"Nah. I've got it."
I walked into my brother's room and sat on his bed. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean?" He asked as he unpacked his clothes.
"You've been acting weird ever since we left our old home. What's wrong? Did something happened between you and Andy?"
"No."
"C'mon, Logan. Please tell me. We're brothers aren't we?"
"Yes, but I don't want to talk about anything."
I nodded. "Fine." I sighed and stood up. "If you need any help or want to tell me what's on your mind, my door is always open." I said then left the room. I doubted that my brother was going to come to me about what's on his mind but it's nice to think that he might.
I went downstairs to get some Chinese food. "Something's wrong with Logan."
"What do you mean?" My dad asked.
"He...he seems mad and sad about something."
"He's probably just not used to this big change yet. Give him some time." My dad said as he folded up some dish towels.
I really wished I could believe that the move is what's bugging Logan but there were too many signs that were pointing to him about Andy.
"Are you ready for school tomorrow?"
I smirked as I walked over to the Chinese food and started to fix my plate. "I wish I can take the day off and relax. There's still so much I haven't seen yet."
"You'll get the chance. It's not like we're on vacation here."
"I know." I popped a piece of sweet and sour chicken in my mouth then headed up to my room with my plate and a can of Mountain Dew.
I went to my room and collapsed on my bed then turned on my tv. I started to eat a bit of food when I've thought about Grace.
"I could call her..." I shook my head. "Nah. We're in different time zones."
I finished my food then relaxed on my bed and stared up at my ceiling. New life, new school, new rules. I wasn't sure if I was ready for all of this.
ns 18.68.41.174da2
