Our World

Chapter 1

It all started in my sophomore year of high school. It was around December. I hated my school. It was dirty, boring, and the teachers were horrible. The only good thing at my school were my friends. I don't mean the friends who you talk to in class occasionally, I mean those friends who will be there for you no matter what. I only had a few of those. Seth, Erica, Lilith, and Ben. We couldn't be separated. One particular day though, that all changed.

"Cooper! Come down here!" My mom hollered for me to come downstairs. I begrudgingly get up, it was 6 am which may not sound early to some people but I am not a morning person. I put on a shirt, and some sweatpants so I'm not just in my boxers. I slowly walk down the stairs as my mom is patiently waiting in the kitchen. She scoffs.
"Cooper your hair is a mess!" She says, as I roll my eyes. "Here let me fix it." She then walks over to me and starts messing with my hair, which I've always hated. I like my hair messy, it gives it character. I push my mom away.
"What did you call me down here for?" I say, frustrated. I'm usually not this mean to my mom, it's just mornings that make me grumpy. Especially when I'm getting woken up to the sound of my mom yelling at me. My mom thinks for a moment, trying to remember what she was going to say. I don't know how she forgot because what she said next changed my life forever.
"Oh yeah, Cooper we're moving" my mom says, like it's no big deal. I freeze. Did I hear that right? I have so many questions, why? When was this decided? How far away? The biggest question though, was how was I going to tell my friends.
"Moving!? What? Mom you cant just- why are we- why don't I get a say in this?" Im in disbelief. I'm starting to believe this is some kind of prank. I guess my mom has wanted to move out of this town for a while. In her defense, it's not a very good neighborhood. I should have expected this sooner than later.
"Relax honey, its only one hour away from your school. Your friends can still come over whenever they want." She somehow made it worse. I didn't want to talk to her at all. I just stormed off into my room, and got ready for school. I put on a beanie, a hoodie, and some jeans. I look outside its still dark out. I brush my teeth and grab my backpack. I still have some time, I would usually eat breakfast but instead I just mope and look at my phone until the bus comes.
When I get on the bus something feels off. It almost feels like it's moving when we're not going anywhere. I get into the first free seat I see. Not many people go on my bus, so I just lean on the window and put my backpack on the side of me. Just to let people know I didn't want anyone sitting next to me. I have about 7 assignments overdue. At least I don't need to worry about those anymore. Unless we're moving during summer break, then that would be a problem.
My stomach growls. I should have ate, I'm starving. I can wait until lunch I guess. We stop at the school, I groan. I really don't want to go to school today. I thank the bus driver and go to homeroom, where Seth is. I guess I need to break the news to him first. I walk up to him very slowly and with a frown on my face. He noticed something was wrong immediately.
"Hey coop, are you okay?" I try to smile for him but I can't. I mentally prepare myself before telling him. Hearing the words come out of my mouth hurts a little.
"Seth, I'm moving. I'm sorry I didn't know until this morning and I don't know when or where I'm moving." I look up at him, I can tell he's holding back tears but he has a warm, comforting smile. I feel so bad for him.
"Well this was unexpected." He says chuckling trying not to break. "I can tell the rest of the group if you want" He says. I refuse, I'm the one who's moving I should be the one to tell them. Even if it does suck to see my friends hurt it's better than putting the burden on one of them instead.
Waiting for lunch is a chore. I'm nervous to tell them but it's better to just tell them now then later. We all sit together at lunch so it's easier to tell them then, also not to mention only me and Seth have classes together before lunch. I suddenly get a text from my mom. I don't want to look at it, the last thing I want is for this moving situation to get worse. I open the text, hesitating.
Hey Cooper can you not tell your friends you're moving? I've already told their parents, and there's no need to make them upset twice.
Are you kidding me? Of course I'm going to tell them, I don't even reply to her. Who does she think she is? She tells me we're moving with no warning, then she makes me keep it a secret. Even if I did listen to her I already told Seth, who would tell my friends if I didn't. The bell rings for lunch and my stomach drops. It's time to tell them that I'm moving.
I get school food which is disgusting and the lines are way too long, and I sit at my lunch table, where all my friends are chatting. Except for Seth who knows what's about to happen.
"Hey guys." I say "I have something to tell you" their attention is turned towards me, they all look worried. I guess they can tell that I'm upset or something.
"Listen, I'm moving. I don't know why yet but I'll-" I freeze and notice that Lilith, Erica, and Ben all were panicking. Not crying, panicking. Seth looks just as confused as me. Maybe they're all just panicking because I'm their favorite person in this group. It's likely. I then see Ben look at me.
"Cooper you can not move away from here." That's the first time I've heard him say Cooper instead of Coop.
Something is clearly wrong.