book club

one || oregon is so dumb

"Why do I even have to go to this stupid thing anyways? I can read and comprehend books quite well by myself." I say.

My mother, a kind woman with light eyes matching mine, frowns and runs hand through her fine auburn hair.

"It's not the reading I am worried about. You are so isolated, Lea. All you do is stay up in your room with a laptop. You need to socialize." She says.

I pick at the chipped blue nail polish that is on my fingernails as she continues to lecture me about the importance of "social acclimation".

My mother packed me and my father up along with her self acclaimed "abstract art" pieces and moved us all to the smallest town in Oregon.

When I say small, I mean small. I mean one grocery store that is conjoined to a gas station. I mean that there is tiny church with a white cross nailed to the door. I mean that the only sign that civilization has even set a foot on the place is the gas station is bustling with passerbyes, heading to a bigger, more important city. Now I find nothing wrong with small towns, in fact, I revel in them. It would just be nice to know if people even existed here.

"Lea, are you even listening to me?"

My mothers voice is shrill with annoyence, and my head is pounding at the sound of it.

"Yeah yeah, I need to start talking to people. Got it. Great." I wave her off.

She pinches the bridge of her nose and exhales deeply before opening her eyes again and painting a fake smile on her lips.

"Alright, get your shoes on. The book club starts in a few minutes." She claps cheerfully.

I sigh and walk over with hunched shoulders to the door. My feet are shoved inside a pair of destroyed red sneakers and I open the front door to see nothing but a dusty street.

"Oregon is so dumb."