California. Sun, Sand, Friends and Fun.
That's what one teenage girl thought, until her parents decided to move from their beautiful, beach-front property, to cold, dark, Alaska. And if that's not bad enough, it's two months into the school year, which is very hard for a ninth grader to handle.
Excerpt:
When My Life was Ripped Away.
I love California. The blazing hot sun, the burning hot sand between my toes, the salty water crashing against the shore, and the beautiful sunset. And of course, the shopping. Now don’t assume things. I’m not a girly girl. But come on. I was born and raised in California!! I have to shop a little bit!!
Then my beautiful life in amazing California was ripped away in a matter of seconds when my mom said “We’re moving.” That hit me like a ton of bricks. If that’s not bad enough we are moving to Alaska!! Could my mother be any crazier?! There goes the sunshine. There goes the nice sandy beaches. Anyway, one of my first questions was why? Why were we going to throw our perfectly good beach house right out the window for Alaska?! Well the answer to that was that my parents wanted a change of scenery.
“Don’t they have like tons of bears there?” I argued with my mother, “Aren’t you worried about my safety?”
But my mom’s mind was made up. We were moving and I had absolutely no say in the most important decision of my life!! That witch. That cold hearted little witch.
“Start packing in the morning,” my mother demanded, “We are leaving in one week, and that is Sunday.”
“But mom!! I can’t leave in a week--” I start to argue but my mom cuts me off.
“No buts, Olivia. Now you better start packing. We are moving and that’s final.”
Well there was no arguing with mom. But hey, what would dad say??
Dad got home later that night and while we were eating dinner I brought up the topic of moving.
“So, mom says we are moving to Alaska,” I say with a disgusted, mischievous tone in my voice.
“Yeah!! I think it will be a great change of scenery,” Dad replies. I sigh.
“Does Tyler know about this?” I ask.
“No we are going to tell you brother when he gets home from work,” Dad says. I sigh once more. Loudly this time.
“I can’t believe you are doing this to us!!” I scream, “It’s September!! The school year just started!! You can’t take all my friends away from me!! Plus, I don’t want to be the new kid starting high school all alone!!”
I excused myself from the dinner table and went to my room. I grabbed 3 ice cream bars on the way. I deserved them after what I had just been through!! In my room, I called my best friend, Katie and told her what was happening. The only problem is, her dad answered the phone. And, oh boy, is he talkative. And I wasn’t in the mood for talkative fathers at the moment.
“Hello is... umm -” I start but he cuts me off.
“Hello!! Olivia we haven't seen you around here in awhile.”
“Well, yeah. But, umm, I was wondering, is Katie there??”
“As a matter of fact she is! How are you parents doing?? Oh, and Tyler, how is he??
He’s growing up to be such a nice young man!!”
“Umm, they are fine and Tyler is doing good, but sir, I really need to talk to Katie.”
“Oh of course!! Katie!!” He yells for his daughter, “Olivia is on the phone!!”
In no time I was finally hearing Katie’s voice instead of her father’s. What a relief.
“Hey Olivia!! Whats up?” Katie asks.
“Oh Katie it’s terrible!! My parents have officially lost their minds!!”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“We are moving--” I start to say, but Katie cuts me off.
“What!? Where are you moving too?? How far away is it?” she say with a hint of despair in her voice.
“We are moving to... Alaska. Cold, barren, Alaska. There are bears there, you know!!”
“Oh, Olivia!! Why are they making you move? And why ALASKA!?”
After I told her all the details she wasn't happy. At all. Then my mom burst into my room.
“I’ve gotta go Katie. My crazy mother just burst in.” I hung up the phone and glared at my mother.
“Can’t you knock?” I asked. Completely ticked off.
“Sweetie--” she starts.
“Don’t call me that. You know how how much I love California!! Why do we have to move? You know, we can move closer to California for a ‘change of scenery’.”
“I’m not going to discuss this right now. We are moving. You will adjust.” she says. “Haven't you always wanted a dog?” she asks trying to change the subject.
“Oh, don't try and change the subject. A dog would be just fine here and you know that!!
Now please get out of my room.”
She left but not before she says one horrible word. “Pack”.