Trailer Trash

Chapter One

Matthew

It all started two weeks ago when I decided to go to this party. Let me just say that at the time that I was invited, I had no idea there would be drugs and alcohol. It was my first time being at a party with drugs and alcohol. When all of your friends are patting you on the back saying "You got this man," and "what, are you chicken?" it is kind of hard not to let the peer pressure get to you. When the police showed up and I had no place to hide, I knew I was screwed. I got caught with a high intoxication level, I also smoked a joint and at sixteen it is illegal in my hometown of Virginia. Fortunately one of the police officers recognized me from a poster on his daughter's wall, it probably is illegal what he did for me but I'm not going to complain. He took me home quietly in his cop car, and then explained the situation to my parents. In less than an hour, he was off silently in his car with a backpack full of cash from our safe. Also, all of the money my parents and I have saved for the past sixteen years was being transferred to his bank account. I thought police officers were supposed to be there to help, but unfortunately, they are dogs and love money just like any man. There was not a word after he left, my parents both stared at the ground with their hands folded. I wanted to somehow thank them but saying "thanks for giving away your life savings because I'm a dumb-ass" really did not sound like a great thank you. The next week my parents announced we were moving and let me tell you when I tried to protest, it did not turn out so hot. But I'm not eighteen and no matter what I try to do or say my parents tell me "You're not eighteen, you cannot make your own decisions!" So that is how I got here, in the backseat of my parent's car. I'm squished between Ryan, and Dylan with Kristen breathing down my neck from the backseat. I know they are all very angry with me considering they were happy in Virginia with their friends, Ryan even had a girlfriend! We all were being forced to move because of my mistake, a mistake I will never make again. We had been in the car for nearly nineteen hours, and I was about to die. There's this thing called personal space, and I was not receiving it. Both of my brothers were twice the size of me, so basically I'm the cheese in the middle of a sandwich. I'm pretty sure one of them forgot to put on deodorant too. It wasn't until an hour later that anyone showed any signs of being alive. All I was thinking was it's been twenty hours. Twenty fucking hours of silence in this god damn car.

"Well," my mother sighed as she pushed her dirty blonde hair behind her shoulder. "We're here," All of our eyes turned to the windows and we stared for a few moments, waiting to see something worth seeing.

"Mom, we are in the middle of nowhere..." Kristen finally breathed. Kristen was right, the only thing that surrounded us were large acres of beautiful green grass and we hadn't even seen one car for probably half an hour. I had also seen some farm land a few miles back, but if this was it, it is nothing worth seeing for sure.

"Like she didn't know that," Ryan glared, crossing his arms and rolled his eyes. When he lifted up his arms my nose was murdered by the scent of body grossness. It's totally Ryan who has smelly pits. Note to self: remind Ryan to put on deodorant before school. At this moment my father turned around, his glasses perched on his nose which made him look ten times more angry. We all straightened up, I wasn't ready to get my ass chewed out for messing another thing up.

"Quite down, I expect you to behave!" he told us in his stern father voice. I'm pretty sure every father has the father voice and when he uses it everyone knows to shut up. We stayed quiet after that while we waited for a miracle. I'm sure our house won't be that bad, mom has been talking about it since the day the move was announced. All she talked about was the education, people, and beauty of where we are moving.

"Alright, close your eyes. No peeking!" Mom announced with a smile. We all exchanged glances before closing our eyes. I hope our house is absolutely amazing. I could quickly say a prayer, but I'm pretty sure god is mad with me at the moment. When the car stopped no one said anything, all I could hear was the engine turning off and our parent's doors slamming. After our parents were out we all got pulled out one by one and put in a line next to each other. I knew this because I could smell Ryan's body grossness and Kristen's cherry perfume. The two scents together made me feel cringey, and I felt like I was about to vomit.

"Okay, open!" Both mom and dad yelled. We all opened our eyes and right away disappointment fell upon the four of us. Usually when you think of moving you think of moving into this extraordinary house with new paint and a huge green yard, but this was not even close. In front of us was a trailer, and right next to it was another trailer, and another trailer and they went all the way down on both sides of the street. It seemed like every trailer that went down got trashier and more disgusting. The trailer we were in front of must have been through a lot considering there was barely any paint on it. There was a garbage bag covering the window and the weeds were so long I bet I could get lost in them. Mom was standing with her hands on her heart like she was saying "god thank you," and dad had a grin bigger than the Pacific Ocean plastered on his face.

"Mom," Kristen gasped as her light brown hair flew back with the wind. "We are in a trailer park," she breathed.

"Oh really, Kristen?" Ryan answered. "Do you think we are blind or did you just feel like announcing the obvious?" he questioned as he leaned back against the car with his arms crossed. I looked over to dad who had his arms wrapped around mom's waist while they both admired the "house."

"Well," father finally said. "Since we lost the house and money has been tight, this is honestly our only option, I'm sure you all will love it and get used to it..." he explained. He started talking about the house and education like this place was a gem. "You guys will learn great responsibility here, there is a lake near here too so you will have tons of fun, blah blah blah blah" I stared at our new home suddenly feeling dizzy. Great, a lake! I can go drown myself in my misery. I rolled my eyes at dad still talking and looked down at the ground.

"Have you ever heard of an actor that grew up in a trailer park, in the middle of nowhere?" I interrupted him. Everyone stopped talking and silence filled the air. Dylan awkwardly patted my back,

"Don't worry, you have already got started with Magcon, no one will find out you live here anyways," Dylan told me with an uneasy smile. "Plus, it doesn't matter where you live. Small town means big talent am I right?" he assured me.

"Thanks, Dyl," I muttered.

"Do you kids remember Prescott?" Mom asked us. We all nodded, that lady was a freak so it wasn't hard to remember her. She had so many kids I thought she was an orphan caretaker or maybe a breeder. "Well, she lives just down the road, she has many kids I'm sure you will just get along with them just fine!" We all stared at her for a few moments. Yeah, I'm totally worried about making new friends at the moment.

"Yeah, her kids probably are freaks just like her," Ryan glared once again, killing me with his body grossness for the third time. I rolled my eyes before I started to the front door.

"Welcome to Louisiana," I heard Ryan mutter from behind me. I was not feeling very well now and wanted to lay down. When I stepped on the deck there was a loud squeaking noise and right after the squeak came a growl and with every step I took it got louder. Great, there's a monster under the house. I looked over to my family as they stared at me. "You check it out first!" Dylan called from the car. I rolled my eyes at this because if there was a murderer inside the house, I would be the one to die. I turned the handle of the door and was kind of surprised when I pulled it off. "Seriously," I muttered to myself as I put the door handle back on the best I could. Once again I turned the handle, except a little softer and pushed open. The door did not just open, it landed with a loud smack in front of me and was now resting on what looked like our kitchen floor. I turned to my family, glanced at the door, and then back at my family. Dylan, Ryan, and Kristen were holding their hands over their mouths and I could hear their muffled laughs.

"I'll call Prescott in the morning to get someone to fix it!" mom called, still smiling.

"You have got to be kidding me," I breathed before taking a step in.