Chapter 2, Hello California

I woke up to see the sun shining through the car window. The sun was rising slowly over the lilac sky, making the view look like a painting. I don't wanna admit it, but I was starting to like California already.

I looked over and saw my mom half asleep in the passenger seat, with dad driving, with a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked at me in the rear-view mirror and smiled.

"Mornin'," he said, placing his eyes back on the empty road.

"Good morning," I muttered as I yawned. I rubbed my eyes as I checked my phone to see the time. It was 6:21 AM. Probably the reason for the deserted streets.

I looked outside again. It was getting brighter each minute. I have to admit, California sunrise was much prettier than New York sunrise.

I plugged in my headphones as we continued our journey to our new home, San Francisco.

...

"Finally!" I screamed as we pulled up at our house.

"Looks like someones happy," mom said as she took off her seatbelt.

"Oh look I'm not happy because we moved, I'm happy cause I'll finally get to get out of this car!" I said as I opened the door and got out.

From the outside, the house looked posh and extravagant. It had been built with white stones and had grey stone decorations. Tall, rectangular windows added to the overall look of the house and had been added to the house in a very asymmetric way.

The roof was high, triangular, but one side was longer than the other and was covered with grey wood shingles. One small chimney sat at the side of the house. Two roof terraces let in plenty of light to the rooms below the roof.

The house was surrounded by paved ground, with an outdoor eating and relaxing space and various potted plants.

I quickly made my way inside as the removal guys began unloading all our furniture.

The house was equipped with a modern kitchen and two modern bathrooms, it also had a snug living room, five bedrooms, a cozy dining area, a library, and a spacious basement. Mom was correct, it was bigger than our old house.

The building was shaped like an L. The extension extended into an overgrown wooden overhanging panel circling half the house.

The second floor was bigger than the first, which created a stylish overhang around half the house. This floor had a slightly different style than the floor below.

The floors were covered in grey marble tiles, and the walls were white. I took a tour of the bedrooms. One was slightly bigger than the rest, so I assumed it would belong to my parents.

I chose one of the remaining rooms for me. It was quite spacious. Perfect for adding my bookshelf to the room. My old room was always cramped because of that huge bookshelf.

I looked outside the window to see that most of the houses in the neighborhood were built in the same way.

Soon the removal guys began bringing in my bed, my bookshelf, the cupboard, and my desk. They also brought in the boxes full of books and other stuff. And I started unpacking and arranging everything.

I wanted to take a nap badly, but couldn't cause the clumsiness of the house was irritating. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and organizing.

Finally, after everything was organized, I went downstairs and flopped down on the sofa.

"How are you not tired?" I asked my dad who was working on his laptop on the sofa next to the one I was lying on.

"I must have had too much caffeine, that's how," dad replied as he went back to work.

"Dinner is ready!" mom called from the kitchen. I got up and dragged myself to the dining area. Today's dinner was Chinese takeout, which my mom ordered, cause even she was too tired to cook.

"Do you like it?" dad asked as I took a bite of my food.

"Yeah, seems nice," I said as he smiled. He was really worried for the last few cause, scared that I wouldn't want to live here. Now he looked relieved.

"That's great!" mom exclaimed. "See, I told you that you'd like it here."

"Yeah yeah," I smiled.

"Oh and remember dear, school starts tomorrow," mom said as I groaned.

"Way to ruin the mood, thanks mom," I said as I took the last bite of my food. Don't get me wrong, I love school. The thing is if you spend almost 43 hours cramped up in a car, and an entire day, unpacking and organizing, you deserve a break, you know.

"Hey, you'll get to make new friends tomorrow! Cheer up!" she chirped as I cleared my plate.

"Hm, better go to sleep early to wake up early, plus I'm hella tired," I yawned as I made my way upstairs.

I took a quick shower and changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of pastel blue pajamas. I dried off my hair with the hairdryer since I didn't want to go to bed with wet hair.

I made my way to the window, to close the curtains, and saw that our next-door neighbor's lights were still on. I couldn't see anything because of their curtains, but judging from the sounds of laughter, it seemed like they were having a get-together or something.

I then pulled the curtains, went over to my bed, and flopped down on the bed. I opened my phone to see a text from Lily. It said 'Missing you already, no one really is into books like you.' I smiled as I texted her back, 'Yeah same.'

I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew it was morning, and my alarm was blaring already. I turned off my alarm as I dragged myself to the bathroom.

After getting freshened up, I looked more like a human, than a dead corpse. I then changed into a grey t-shirt and black pants, over which I wore a denim jacket. Then I brushed my short brown hair. I like to keep my hair short, makes things easier in the mornings.

I went downstairs for breakfast. Mom had made pancakes this time.

"Have fun today, m'kay?" mom said as she cleared my plate.

"Mhm," I mumbled while checking if I had got everything I needed in my bad.

"Bye," I kissed her goodbye as I made my way down the hallway. I closed the door behind me.

First day of school. Here goes nothing.