𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 . neil perry

𝑰𝑰.

CHAPTER TWO — skirts, novels
——— ⋆୨୧ ₊ﾟ♡ ⊹ɞ ———

"COME ALONG," my uncle said as he unlocked his front door. i didn't respond, but i followed behind him into the unfamiliar house. there were still a few boxes filled with his belongings, since he had just moved here from teaching in london.

"your door is the first one on the left," he said pointing up the staircase, then going back outside to grab my things. i mumbled out a response, but he had already turned to go back outside. i walked up the creaky stairs and down the hallway. i opened the door on the left, with my carry-on in my hand.

the room was pretty boring, white walls. plain wood floors. a twin sized bed in the left corner, a small desk in the other. just an average guest room. i would be living here for the next school year, approximately 9 months, so i quickly tried to change my attitude about the place. it was a hard thing to do though, since there was nothing particularly special about it.

i heard the door creak behind me, and i pretended not to hear.

"here's some of your things," my uncle said from behind me, making me turn around. he was holding two boxes and i rushed over to help him put the top one down on the shiny wood floor.

"what do you have in there, a library?" he joked, laughing lightly. i opened it quickly, trying to figure out what everything was. it was filled with books.

i looked up at him, and gave him a tight-lipped smile. even though i didn't want to be here, i knew that with john's jokes, it wouldn't kill me.

——— ⋆୨୧ ₊ﾟ

"alright, thanks," i said turning around to help him put the last few boxes down. along with my wood shelf and an oddly wide table lamp. him and i went back to his car, where the small u-haul box was and he slid the door down. the sound of the thin, creaky metal made me want to grind my teeth to the gum, so i looked away fast, pretending to admire the neighbors' yard.

i grabbed a box and made my way back to my room, following behind my uncle. i didn't have a lot of boxes now, since i had left half of my belongings back in chicago.

"i can help if you have any curtains, or something like that," he told, with a small smile.

"ok, i think i might of brought some along with me," i replied, feeling really awkward. i wanted him to know that i wasn't mad at him or anything like that. just under the overall circumstances, i couldn't help but be upset.

"well i'll leave you to unpack," he said turning to leave.

"thank you john," i replied to him. i don't remember if it was new to call him by his first name alone, but it didn't matter, i think he was okay with me saying it.

"no problem," with that, his shoes clacked across my new floor and left the barren room, closing the door very quietly behind him. john had to plan lessons for his students, so he went off to go start with that in his office the next room from mine.

i opened the box closest to me. i got out the bed clothes that were in it and made my small bed.

i got out some books from another box, and put them on the shelf near the desk. i had brought a bookshelf my grandfather and dad worked on building for me when i was little. i was afraid that some of the books wouldn't fit on the shelf, and i ended up having a few lone stacks like i did back home.

my poem books stood out, the newer blue and green book cover not trying to hide amongst the other beige and brown books. i walked away from the bookshelf and sat down on my new bed.

i let out a small sigh, and went to grab the boxes labeled clothes with black marker. i also grabbed one of my smaller pieces of luggage which i knew contained some more clothes.

i grabbed some hangers out of the second box and started grabbing a few dress shirts and turtlenecks. i hung some sweaters and sweater vests over the already hung up items. i stored my pants, skirts, tights, socks and jeans in a small four-drawer dresser near the bed.

i pulled out a few pairs of shoes and laid them on the left side of the dresser. other than a few other boxes full of small things, i was done with unpacking and could start on something else.

i knew that uncle john was in his office, but i didn't really want to bother him. so i laid on my bed and read a book i had on my shelf. a light knock a while later startled me, but i knew it was just john.

"yes?" i responded, trying to be polite. i felt like i might have came off as rude to him earlier.

"dinner is ready," he said back, walking away from the door. i could hear the same loafers click down the hallway and lost the sound when he trailed down the stairs.

i set the book i was reading down and got off of my bed, walking down the stairs to the small dining room. john was setting plates, so i just took the smaller seat. john got the pot of food and put it on a pot holder in the middle of the table. we grabbed our food and started eating. it was really silent, and i felt sort of embarrassed to be sitting here, not saying a word.

"i enrolled you in school," uncle john said. i already knew this, but i'm sure he thought i might wonder. which i was.

"okay," i said, not making eye contact, "where is it." god. could i not sound like a jerk for one moment.

"it's just down the road,"

"okay," i replied back, looking down at my plate. i ate my food, and we went back to silence. i finished and wiped my mouth with the napkin in my hand. i grabbed my plate to go put it in the sink.

"i'll get it," john said before i could stand up all the way. nodding, i walked back to my bedroom. i felt odd, and out of place. i wasn't sure how long it would take for this feeling to go away, and i could only hope it was soon.

i would learn to live with being here. i knew i would. and even if i didn't, i knew i would have to find a way to.

———
✉️: ꒰ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ
a terrible filler chapter. things get better soon!