Battle of the Bands: Full Disclosure {Wattys 2016}

Moving Boxes and Misery Business

Chapter 2

<Beckham O'Halloran>

Meeting Hendrix was not the highlight of my day; shutting him up in front of his friends, though, now that was. It's three in the afternoon, right after the final bell of the day and I'm walking out the front doors of the school. The only friend I've managed to make at this school is sitting in her convertible, her eyes shaded by a pair of sunglasses and some whiny emo song blasting out of her speakers.

"Hey, Antebellum." I laugh at how startled she looks.

"I'm glad it's only you." She mutters with relief, turning down her speakers.

"Who'd you think it was?" I raise my eyebrows, clicking my seatbelt into place.

"Well, you could've been an ax murderer or a junkie or..."

"You need to skip a few drama classes." I grin and pat her on the shoulder.

Antebellum rolls her eyes and puts the car in drive. She's about to pull out of her parking space when a black Jeep drives ahead of her, a rock song blasting out of the stereo. I catch a glimpse of an arrogant smirk and roll my eyes. Hendrix winks at me as his friend takes a left out of the parking lot.

"He's such a tool." I shake my head as Antebellum drives out of the parking lot.

"Who? Hendrix? We all knew that, sweetheart." She chuckles, her foot gently pressing on the brakes as we come to a stoplight.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out." I mumble and turn the radio back on, the whiny emo song from before once again filling my ears.

"Should I take you home?" Antebellum asks, her eyes focused on the road.

"Yeah, I need to help my mom unpack some."

"Are you still going to make it to practice tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it." I say as Antebellum pulls up in front of my new house. "Thanks for the ride."

I look at it sadly as I get out, backpack slung over my shoulder. I moved here over spring break and so far, the adjustment has been anything but easy. I used to live in South Carolina; my home was a small town outside of Charleston. It wasn't much, but it felt a lot more like home than Anaheim. My mom told me it'd just take some getting used to, but I think she was only trying to make me forget about why we had to leave South Carolina in the first place.

"Mama?" I call out as I unlock the door.

"Hey, baby." She replies, her voice muffled by the maze of boxes that are crowded all over the house.

I narrowly avoid a box of throw pillows and continue to walk through the house until a mess of hair and a pair of dirty jeans comes into view. My mom tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and sets down the box of picture frames she was trying to set up on the china cabinet.

"Have you been working all day?" I ask as I begin to open a box of dishes.

"Pretty much, my boss let me take a few days." My mom sighs as she looks around the mess of a house. "But I'm starting to think it's going to take a lot more than a few days to get this place into shape."

"Not if we work together." I smile and open up a cupboard, setting the dishes gently inside.

"You're so sweet." My mom gives me a grateful look as she goes back to setting out picture frames. "Are you and Antebellum going to hang out?"

"Yeah, we have practice tonight at that coffee shop a few minutes from here."

"That's great; I'm glad you're starting to get settled in."