Back To Basics

Chapter 1 - "Goodbye California, Hello New York"

Riley's eyes shot open as her alarm went off. It was her first day back in NY after being gone for five years. Riley thought of swinging by her old hang out spot when they landed to see if she recognized anyone but her and her family got in pretty late last night and she figured it was best to just wait for tomorrow. But tomorrow was now today and she wasn't ready to face it. Outside her door she could hear her mom and dad getting her younger brother, Auggie, up for school. Through her wall she could hear her older brother, Josh, blasting some really weird Rock music. Riley banged her fist against the wall, "These walls are paper thin!" Josh responded by turning the music up louder.

She reluctantly climbed out of bed and walked over to her bay window that was covered in boxes. She opened the curtains and took a look around. It still looked the same and definitely smelt the same. But she didn't feel the same. She was different now. Not just older but different. These people hadn't seen her since before puberty hit. She didn't get to grow up with them. There was a whole chunk of time that she missed. She felt like an outsider. The weird thing was she wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not.

Maybe a fresh start would be better, she thought to herself.

Out in the living room everything was a mess. There were boxes and bags scattered across the floor. Riley walked over to the kitchen to find an empty fridge. "Oh right. No food yet." She said with a snarky tone, loud enough for her family to hear.

Her mother, who was sitting on the sofa going through a box labelled "important" gave her a stern look like 'now is not the time.' Instead she replied "We didn't exactly have time to shop last night or this morning Riles." Just then her father walked in the door with a tray of coffee and juice and a box of donuts. "Sorry mom I'm just...not too excited for today."

Riley felt bad for snapping at her mom but still wasn't thrilled about school. She grabbed a coffee and chowed down on a donut before heading back to her room. On her way there she passed by the bathroom which she noticed had steam spilling out from under the door.

"Maybe save some for the fishes?" She yelled out knocking on the bathroom door. Before she could get her third knock in the door flung open. "Oh I'm sorry sis, was I taking too long?" Josh asked sarcastically. She watched as he through his towel over his shoulder and trotted back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Riley told herself, just one more year. You just have to put up with him for one more year and then he's off to college.

After getting ready Riley found herself staring in the mirror. She did a little twirl taking in her outfit. She smoothed over her high-waisted jeans and adjusted her crop top. She tried on a dozen different outfits before deciding on this one. It was the first one she put on. She sighed in frustration at her reflection, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears. "This'll just have to do."
Trying to avoid any early morning chit chat, she climbed out her window down the fire escape and made her way to school.

Riley made it her mission to memorize her entire schedule as soon as she got it in the mail because she didn't want to be that "new kid" that walked around the hallway bumping into other people, slowing them down. Before reaching the stairs she heard someone call out her name.

She turned and saw Josh standing there holding out a piece of paper.

She walked over hesitantly, "What? What is that?" He unfolded the paper to reveal it was her class schedule. "Dad said you left this on the fridge." He answered bluntly. She shot him a sarcastic thank you as he started to walk away.

"hey josh..." She called out after him. He rolled his eyes and walked back over to his sister. The look on her face concerned him. He was used to teasing her but he wasn't used to seeing that reaction. Riley pulled him aside, speaking quietly, "Could you maybe not do that thing that you always do?"
He furrowed his brows in confusion. "What thing Riles?"