Chapter 1
The Move
The day had finally arrived. The star on that dreaded date on our calendar was really here! We had never moved before, so it was difficult to know what to expect. I was a little excited, a lot scared, and extremely nervous about a completely different life evolving all around me at super high speed. My Dad had been transferred by his company. I’ll never forget that awful night when he broke the news to me, my Mom and my sister Samantha that we would be living in a different place by November. It was definitely bad news! Of course my parents tried to make it sound like a good thing. But, now that that star on the calendar was one of the last things left on our walls, and that date had arrived, the reality of leaving behind all of my friends, my house and the special places that I like around my hometown, Chataqua, was really hitting hard.
I didn’t expect saying goodbye to my best friend Danny would be so hard. Even though we would call or e-mail each other, it was hard to believe that I probably wouldn’t be hanging out with him any more. His mom even threw me a surprise party yesterday! It was totally awesome! We had my favorite pizza, Danny’s mom’s homemade pineapple upside down cake, decorations and everything! Danny was a little shorter than me, but very athletic. Oddly enough, he was the only red-head in the family and was the kind of friend that brought out the worst in me. We took long bike rides exploring a widening perimeter around town (further than our parents would ever know about). We knew all of the potential bike jumps, short cut dirt paths, and dogs (AND people) that would bark at us if we came too close to their yard. Our neighborhood was very safe, but I was always surprised that Danny and I would explore the parts of town that weren’t safe. Now that I think about it, those adventures were exciting and scary too, but not nearly as intense as the big move. At Danny’s, his 8th grader sister Ellie gave me an unexpected goodbye hug. She had a really serious heart condition and sometimes she stayed out of sight and slept a lot. It was fun teasing her when she was feeling good, but I guess I never really noticed just how pretty she was until just then. It hit me hard that if she got really sick again, that might REALLY be the last time I saw her. Wow, that hug was strong and lasted longer than hugs usually last! She looked pale sometimes, which made it surprising how warm she was and how nice and soft her arms felt.
