"We are going back home, Mariana," Her mother's stern words echoed in her mind. Home? This was home. New York had been home for years and now her mother wanted to whisk them back to Hamilton Village?
Bullshit, Mariana thought to herself. Her mother was forcing her to throw away her dreams of college simply because she couldn't stand being apart from her.
For weeks Mariana had begged her mother, Rosalina, to let her stay with Grandfather Felix, but time and time again her mother denied her. Years of hard work just poured down the drain for selfish reasons. Mariana swore never to forgive her mother for uprooting her once again.
Placing the last of her clothes into a suitcase, Mariana looked around at the room that once belonged to her. This apartment had been the command center of many sleepovers, after parties, and even her birthdays. Mariana understood that her mother could no longer afford it given her recent job status, but Mariana still felt like memories were just being thrown away for a free house.
A month or so ago, Rosalina had received a call informing her of the passing of her own mother. After a time of grieving, her mother's attorney informed her about her mother's last testimony and will. It had shocked Rosalina that they were left an entire house, one much larger than their current home. Of course, she would have accepted the offer instead of selling the estate.
At first, Mariana was excited to be moving into a new home where she would have her own room, but then things changed. Her mother had sped the process up by quitting her job. Mariana had become furious! She was still attending summer camps for soccer and volleyball, but now the thousand dollars she had saved and spent was gone. Luckily, Mariana had contacted the Hamilton High girls soccer coach and he agreed to let Mariana try-out since one of his team members had just passed away. It was lucky for Mariana, but not the girl that died.
Zipping up the suitcase after stuffing it full of her clothing, Mariana grabbed it and exited the apartment. Her mother and sister had been down at the moving truck, packing it full of their last minute packages. Mariana went ahead and threw her suitcase in the back of the truck before the door had been slid closed and locked.
"Mari, please lose the attitude," Rosalina had stated.
Looking at her mother, Mariana rolled her eyes and placed a pair of headphones in. Taking her phone out and selecting Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran, Mariana was prepared for the long, silent, ride to Hamilton Village with her music up high.
Driving over 1 thousand miles from upstate New York almost to Hamilton Village, Rhode Island, Mariana ignored her family for most of the way. That was until her mother reached back and ripped her headphones out.
"Hey!" Mariana had exclaimed. She hadn't expected the attack and was rather pissed that it had occurred. "What the hell, mom," Mariana's voice was lathered with irritation.
Mariana watched as her mother looked into the rearview mirror of her 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. "Watch the language," her mother warned before pulling into a rest stop. "If you need to go to the bathroom, now is the time to do it," she said, "no more stops after this," she added as she herself unbuckled her seatbelt and got out the car.
Mariana glared at the woman as she walked away and looked at her sister, "I don't get why you're so happy to be moving back to Hamilton…" Mariana mumbled just loud enough for her sister to hear. Iz had everything made for her in New York. She was the trendsetter of the year at their now old school and far more popular than any other kid. From all the Twitter posts her sister had, Mariana would've bet that Iz would be just as angry as she was, but that wasn't the case and Mariana didn't understand why.
Izabelle turned around in her seat, casting a cold stare at her sister. "Oh, I'm angry. She took us away from all the New York hotties, my many job opportunities and the gorgeous New York Winters," Iz rolled her eyes as she spoke through gritted teeth before placing a clearly fake smile on her face. Mariana could feel the temperature in the Jeep decrease. She began to shiver slightly. "But I'm just trying to look at the positive side of things, like," Iz trailed off into a deep thought, "Oh shoot that's right, fucking nothing!" She snapped.
"Well, Iz," Mariana said sitting forward, "you're for sure getting an acting career one day," she stated. For weeks, Mariana had been under the impression that Iz was fine with the move and in fact, welcomed it. Reaching forward, Mariana turned the heater on. "Did you notice that it just got really cold in here?" She questioned as she noticed her mother was coming back from the bathroom.
As Rosalina got into the car, she looked at her two daughters and adjusted the heater back to off, "not cold enough for that, dears," she said before driving off from the rest stop.
Mariana, her teeth chattering, muttered "whatever," and set back in her seat. Placing the two earbuds back into her ears, Mariana relaxed for the rest of the way to Hamilton Village.
Hours had passed and Mariana had awakened to the Jeep pulling up in front of a Spanish style home. Yawning as she rubbed her eyes, Mariana looked out the window. "Holy sh--" She almost said before feeling the glare of her mother's eyes. The place was huge.
Ivory vines climbed up the sides of the house, the gate was an impressive iron design that stood far above Mariana. Staring at the marvel before her she wondered just how many bedrooms were inside. "I call first pick of the rooms," Mariana declared before moving to unload the Jeep. As the teen grabbed a box out of the back of the Jeep, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something in the top window of the house. Looking up she swore someone was standing in the window, but she couldn't quite tell. Squinting, Mariana realized that nothing was there.
Strange, she thought.
It didn't take long for the movers to arrive with the remainder of the belongings. Mariana, having already entered the house, ran upstairs and started searching for the best room available. Coming across the room that she had thought she saw someone standing in, she looked around. It was rather big and had a view of the street out front. Approaching the window, she placed her hand on the glass. As she did so, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Letting out a scream, Mariana turned around to see Iz standing there laughing.
"Screw you," Mariana said. Hitting her sister in the arm, Mariana started to chuckle herself. "You scared the hell out of me!" She exclaimed with a smile on her face.
Looking around the room, Mariana relaxed. "I think I picked my room," she announced. It was big, had a nice size closet, and even had a good view of the front yard and the neighbor's house. "What about you?" She asked. Her sister had chosen an equally great room that showed the fountain in the backyard. Mariana had to admit she was jealous of the view, but the closet space Mari had gotten was to die for.
As the twins stood in the room, Mariana's phone rang out with an alert. Pulling the iPhone 8 out of her pocket, she read over the notification. Groaning, she looked at Izabelle. "School starts tomorrow…" Mariana let out a sigh and returned her phone to her pocket. This sucked balls!
~~~~~~~
The morning had come rather quickly. Mariana had unpacked most of her room, but there still were boxes sitting in the corner waiting for her to unpack them. Waking up to the sound of her alarm, Mariana let out a loud scream into her pillow. Summer was officially over.
Hearing a knock at the door, Mariana looked up from her bed. "Come in," she called out. Just as she thought it was Iz, in came her mother of all people wanting to talk. "Mom, could we do it some other time," Mariana said getting out of bed, "I need to get ready." Leaving the room, she left her mother speechless.
As she walked down the hallway towards the bathroom, she saw Iz exit the room. "Any hot water left?" She questioned. Iz nodded and walked towards her room. Entering the bathroom, Mariana shivered.
You're the only person I know that enjoys cold showers, she thought.
It didn't take long for Mariana to shower, but it did take her some time to do her hair and makeup.
Wearing a pair of white jeans and matching Adidas, she paired a striped crop top and a grey cardigan with it. Grabbing her usual all black backpack, she left for the Jeep.
Iz had been waiting by the Jeep for her twin sister, but where was their mother? Both girls had their licenses, but their mother never allowed them to drive her Jeep anywhere.
"Where is mom?" Mari questioned, looking back at the house. Still, no one exited the building. "Are we seriously going to be late to the first day of school?" Mari exclaimed.
Just then, a blue colored Mini Cooper had pulled up to the house. Mari watched as her mother had jumped out in surprise, not understanding where the car had come from or the money to get it.
Rosalina easily saw her daughter's face and started to explain. "I didn't buy a car," she stated, as she walked over to Mari. "It was your grandmother's and I just went and picked it up from the shop," she mentioned. Looking to Iz, she handed her the keys. "Your grandmother left you the car, Izabelle," she stated.
Before she heard how unfair it was that Mari was left nothing from her grandmother, she held out a second pair of keys. "Your car is in the garage…" she noted.
Mari looked confused. Her grandmother only had one car, didn't she?
Walking to the garage with her mother, inside set a 2012 Rav4. Mari screamed in excitement. "Your grandmother left the bigger one to you since you do a lot more sports than your sister," she said, shooting Iz a look of slight disappointment. Rosalina thought that Izabelle could always use some more exercise, but she never did more than one half-hour of yoga or vigorous walking. "You know, to haul around your bike, surfboard, snowboard, that sort of thing," Rosalina explained.
Mari stopped and looked at her mother, "what's the catch?" she questioned. There was always something that was being held from them.
Rosalina sighed. "You have to get jobs," she informed them. The twin's mother couldn't afford the insurance for two teenagers, she couldn't even afford this house if it wasn't for her mother leaving it for her with no charge. The cars were currently covered for another three weeks, but after that, it was up to the twins to fend for themselves. "Bright side is… we can look for jobs together!"
Mari rolled her eyes and walked out to the mini cooper. "Let's go, Iz, we're going to be late if we don't."
It was a short drive to school as Hamilton Village wasn't the largest of towns, it seemed to take longer finding a parking spot than anything else. Sitting in the car staring at the building, Mari sighed. New year, new school. If there was one thing that Mari hated it was being the new girl.
"It's now or never," she heard Iz say.
"I pick never," Mari informed her twin. She then heard Iz laugh and open her car door. Mari did the same.
As the two reached the front doors, Mari felt a strange presence. A man staring at her by the front door wasn't moving, wasn't saying anything. The closer Mari had gotten to the front doors the weirder the man became. He had a dim glow around him that Mari didn't understand where it was coming from. As a student passed in front of him blocking Mari's view of him, Mari noticed him disappear.
What the? Mari thought. Blaming the event on nerves, Mari walked inside the school.
The two walked down the long main hallway, passing a group of friends that looked familiar. Mari glanced at the group when she noticed that all of them were staring at the two girls. "Creepy much?" Mari whispered to her sister.
The two girls had no trouble finding their lockers, what Mari had trouble with was opening hers. A sticky note had been posted on the locker stating that it loved to get stuck! "Are you kidding me?" Mari questioned angrily. Looking to Iz, who had her locker open, Mari sighed. Giving it another try, Mari failed miserably.
A fellow student walked up and took control of the situation. Hitting the locker just above the dial, the locker popped open. Mari just stared at the locker door in shock.
"Thanks," she said. As Mari looked at the girl, she thought the girl looked rather familiar. She knew that she had childhood friends that still lived in Hamilton, but she doubted any of them actually remembered her; however, the way this student was looking at her could've said differently. "Do I know you?" she questioned.
