A New Home

            "Amythest, help me with the boxes!"   I sigh, putting down the book I was reading, "Wait, let me finish this chapter!"  Of course, my mom doesn't care that I'm at the climax of the book.  "Amythest!"  my mom shouts again. I sigh again, might as well, "Okay, I'm coming!"

            Setting the book down I open the car door. Outside my three annoying younger brothers run towards our new house----or rather----our new apartment complex. "Which floor are we on?" Ethan asks my dad. Carrying a heavy cardboard box my dad looks up at the seven story building. "Our house is on the third floor."   "Whoo-hoo!" Ethan and Cha whoop. I roll my eyes as I walk to the car's trunk. I lift my box with my name written on it in permanent marker:

Amythest's Box!

"We're going to have to walk all the way to the third floor?" I exclaim. Great, I feel exhausted already. My sister, Ruby, skips out on work by heading inside with my brothers first. "Get my box too!" she shouts to me before disappearing inside. I make a bored face, "Typical."  My parents totally spoil Ruby and my brothers. They're not as affectionate to me, in fact it is a lack of affection. Not that I mind, being pampered is not my thing.

              My mom who isn't carrying anything opens the door for my dad and me. I follow my dad inside. We enter the lobby. The carpeted floor, wood wall, and dim light gives the lobby a warm at home feeling. A lady at the counter gives us a warm smile. My sister and brothers wait inside the lobby.

            "Are you the Vangs?" the lady asks. "Yes," my mom answers, " We were assigned here a month ago."   The lady nods, "Yes, you were scheduled to arrive today. I'm Leana, your lobby-woman. Nice to meet you."  My mom returns the greeting.

            "Let's go," my dad says in Hmong. He had his translator off. My parents don't like to have others listening in on their conversations, rarely using their translators unless it was at work. Ever since the invention of the translators, also known as L.T. or Language Translators, twenty years ago, foreign citizens were able to communicate in English. L.T.s were able to shorten the gap of language barriers world wide. L.T.s were designed to look like watches. Here in the United States it was the older generation who recieved them.

             "Your room number is 326," Leana the lobby-woman informs us. She hands the room card to my mom. Thanking her, we head to the elevator.

Once inside I set my box down. "Gosh, this is heavy."  "I told you not to bring all of your stuff," Ruby says to me.  "You have more stuff than I do," I retort. Cha makes a funny face, "Whoa, elevators feel weird."  The elevator door dings.  "We're here!" Xang announces. The door slides open and we step out. I pick up my box and follow my family down the hall. A cleaning drone swerves around us as we walk pass.

             The wall paper is decorated with blue and pink flowers that sway in an invisible breeze, all done by motion technology. "Do we turn left or right?" my mom asks. I read the room numbers on each door. "Right," I answer, leading the way. Our room was the first door. 326.

            "We're here!" Xang exclaims again. I step back, letting my mom slide the card through the door slot. The door beeps, a small light by the door knob turning green. A click and the door opens.

           Before my mom can move, my brothers rush in, pushing the door open. "Cool!" Ethan shouts and runs down the hall. I step inside our new house, looking around. This would be my first time seeing the place. Immediately pass the doorway was a small shoeroom. "Take off your shoes!" my mom yells to my brothers. Ethan who already ran off doesn't comply. While my mom helps Xang take off his shoes, Ruby and I take a look at the apartment.

           A brown carpet sat ontop of a wood floor that spread into the kitchen and down the hall. The living room came with an ivory sofa, coffee table, and flat screen tv. The kitchen also came with a new oven, a microwave oven, and a fridge. Between the living room and kitchen was a bathroom. A door that Ruby and I almost miss, hidden in the corner of the kitchen by the fridge, led to a laundry room complete with a washer and dryer.

           The apartment had three bedrooms. Our parents took the biggest room, the one closes to the shoeroom. My brothers' room was in the middle, and Ruby and I shared the last room. To my annoyance I find out that my brothers and our room are connected by a bathroom we have to share.

o     O     o

           "I love our new apartment!" Ruby exclaims. "Uh-huh," I answer. We both lie in our separate beds across the room from each other. Through the wall I can hear my brothers playing with their toy cars. "Be quiet!" I hear my dad tell them. "We live in a neighborhood now. You're disturbing the neighbors!"

           "Are you excited about the new school?" Ruby asks, sitting up in bed. The wall paper, which is in nigh light mode, dimly illuminates Ruby. "I can't wait to go to our new school tomorrow!"  I rollover in bed, my back facing her. "Well, I'm not. I hate moving--well not hate because it is kind of exciting to see new things--I just don't like moving. Going to a new place, meeting new people. I'm not a social person like you, Ruby."

         Ruby laughs, "You're a weirdo, Amythest. Back in the country you never had any friends. I bet you're not going to make friends here, either."  I smirk, "True, making friends isn't my thing." I hear Ruby lie back down, "I don't get you, what's wrong with having friends?"   "I just don't feel the need to have friends, besides I like being alone."

           A squeal escapes Ruby's mouth. I rollover to face her. She wriggles in excitment, "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow! I can't go to sleep!" I close my eyes trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight, either.