“I told you that you have to be careful around John,” said Alexis.
“Gosh, what do you have any say in it?” I asked. “I mean, this is my very first day and you feel the need to ruin it for me.”
“I see you have quite a tendency to speak your mouth,” Alexis said. She crossed her arms like those sassy girls. School had ended. Both of us stood outside at the parking lot, waiting for the bus to pick us up.
“I saw you. Don’t you remember?” I asked her. “Remember that one time in downtown Fairfax.”
“I hated it when you felt the need to just get out of the car and run up to me like that,” Alexis grumbled underneath her mouth. As the bus came and picked us up. I sat in the back, my head down and arms crossed.
“Mind if I—“ began John. I thought about John; he really did have that worn smile that I always associated with my father. He was kind, yet the warning continued to beat into my skull. Be careful of him. Be careful of him.
“No thanks,” I said quickly.
“Alright, I understand that the day was kind of rough for you,” John said. “First days can be like that.” I sensed the disappointment in his voice. I’m sorry. I really don’t want to hurt your feelings, I thought about saying. Already this place did not seem like it was a very welcoming and friendly place. Nothing like the quiet place of South Jersey. Why did we have to move here, Mom? I asked myself in my head. I understand that you need to respond to the job offer, but why?
I brushed aside some of these haunting thoughts. It was my first day here.
Watching from afar, I watched as the bus halted in front of a street. Two buildings at the front of the place.
“All aboard!” the bus driver said. I watched as Alexis walked down the aisle of the bus. Leaving out the door, she disappeared between the crevice that was made by the two buildings. My hands against the window sill, I watched her go before the bus started moving.
***
I walked up the steps of my house. My head sagged underneath me as I struggled to find my usual positivity. I knew what my mother was going to say as soon as she saw me. Honey how was school?
My mother opened the door.
“Honey, how was school?” she asked as she put my hand on my left cheek. I gave her a smile.
“I’m doing well,” I said. I walked into the house.
“Good,” Mother said. Taking off my backpack, I slung it on the hanger on the side.
“How was your work?” I asked.
“It went well. It went well,” my mother said after breathing out deeply. She averted her gaze from me.
“Doesn’t sound like it went well,” I said with concern in my voice.
***
“The new boss is really giving me a hard time,” Mother said as she stirred her tea with a spoon. I finished the last of my chicken pot pie.
“But I thought you said that the main reason we moved here was because of the offer.”
“I know, but it just isn’t quite what I expected, or maybe it just takes a lot of time to adapt,” my mother said, digging her hand into her hair and taking another sip of tea. “Today I didn’t quite get the greeting I expected. Just a little hand-shake and that was it. So how about you? Did school get any better?”
“Yeah, I got to meet a couple people in my class,” I said.
“And are they nice?”
“Ummm, well, I’m still trying to get to know some of them,” I replied. My mother nodded.
“It certainly wasn’t a whole lot that we had for dinner tonight,” she said. “Just some of the left-over chicken.”
“It was delicious, Mom,” I replied.
“You don’t have to be so nice, dear,” my mother replied as she picked up some of the dishes from the table. Even though she did not show it on her face, I could tell she was smiling somewhere inside.
“So, carrot cake for dessert?”
“Carrot cake it is!” I said.
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