After moving from state to state for the past seventeen years, you'd think I'm used to all the new houses, new people, new school. Nope. I will never get used to being the new kid. I've been to twenty different states while going to at least thirty different schools which is worse than it sounds, and it already sounds terrible. I've never had a steady girlfriend, never been able to have a best friend besides my sister, and we've always celebrated the holidays in our little family of four instead of visiting our grandparents or something like that. Again, much worse than it sounds, trust me.
Today marks the day of another new state; Ohio, along with another school I'd be the new kid at. I'm thrilled.
My mom is apart of the military, and she's never been able to settle down with her family, even before my sister and I were born. My dad supported my mom and her profession and never said a word about how their children might feel about all moves within their lives. I think my dad liked moving because he ended up getting to see all the tourist spots and he always ended up getting a new car in every state. When I say new car, I mean straight from the factory new, like they haven't even tested to make sure the car works properly new. I think he's a bit spoiled, but I'm not saying that my sister and I aren't. No, we've always got our way, always got the newest, nicest things because of the extent of money and our mother's rank within the military. We were living the life despite each and every move.
My mom has never promised us this is where we will be staying, she's never said that about any of the places we lived. She's never wanted to get our hopes up and promise just a normal life. Until now. She said this is the end of the line and we don't have to worry about moving the rest of the time I'm in high school, which is only another two years. A little too late to be settling down to live some sort of normal life in my opinion.
The house we've moved into isn't on the military base, it's in an actual neighborhood, a very rich neighborhood. I'm not surprised at that, my mom only bought the finest of things and since this is the house she will be retiring in, I was expecting grand.
A moving truck rests in the driveway with all the furniture, both old and new. My sister and I help unload it with the movers to make this go quicker. We want to be able to settle and relax before school starts in two weeks, we are determined to finish by the end of the day just so we can get to organizing.
Across the street, I spot another moving truck in a different driveway of a much more grand house. A car pulls up to the curb to release an older looking woman and what I suspect is her daughter. The both look very much alike with their jet black hair and tanned skin. The daughter is wears a turtleneck and sweatpants. She looks behind her shoulder to meet my eyes. I dart my eyes away and continue to unload boxes.
Before I go inside, I glance back at the girl to find her hands pressed to her eyes and her running inside the house.
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It's been a day since we moved in and I'm not any happier than what I was when we first got here. My sister left a few hours ago to move into her dorm over at the university and I've been sitting at home trying to take my mind off of the fact that this is my life; no friends, no family, no fun. I haven't went outside to look around and explore like I always have whenever we move. We've always moved to busy city where I was able to go see all the new things while my family was unpacking back at home. All around my neighborhood is trees though, we live in the only community within this town and then there's huge houses sitting on thousand acre land lots. This town as I've noticed, is very much on the wealthy side. My parents have drove around with me trying to figure out where everything is and as I said, I've seen nothing but high end things all around this tiny town. I've noticed that at every place we move to, it gets slightly nicer and nicer and we become just a bit more wealthy. This being where we settle the rest of the time I'm in high school, this is as good as it gets.
I look out my window to find the girl I had seen when we first moved with jet black hair walking along the sidewalk. Even from here, I can see all the bruises and cuts along her arms and legs. Today she wears a T-shirt and shorts and I wonder what she's hiding beneath even all those wounds. How'd she get them in the first place?
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I feel lost, this move has been the absolute hardest, maybe because I'm not on base and I'm not with people I can relate to, they're aren't very many military kids in this neighborhood. By this point, three days before school, we are all unpacked and ready to settle down in this tiny town. I decide I'm going to go out and just walk. I grab my shoes and my phone from my desk and walk out the door.
I walk for awhile before running into a guy with rainbow streaked hair and gages I could fit my thumb through. I nod my head and smile at him as I walk. I feel a firm grip on my arm and a harsh breath in my ear, "You're late!"
I whip my head around to face him. What?
I shake my head. "I don't know you man," I laugh nervously.
"Kenny, you can stop playin' now, just come with me," he looks me in the eye, giving me a threatening look.
"Dude, you got the wrong guy," I try to pull my arm away.
"Shut your stupid ass up and come with me. You already know Oscar is gonna beat you once I tell him how you're bein' right now," the guy again tugs at my arm.
I rip my arm away from him. "Leave me the fuck alone dude!" I yell.
"Oh, is this how you're gonna be, you know you're supposed to be quiet when you have it. Oscar is gonna kill you, now c'mon, too many people probably already seen us!" He takes me arm ever firmer and drags be down the sidewalk.
Pure shock runs through my veins and I have no idea what to do. How did me taking a walk turn into be being dragged away to some unknown location?
After about five minutes of half walking and half jogging, we stop at a little house at the end of the road. The guy with the colorful hair pushes me towards the front door. "Do I knock or...?" I look at him.
"Why you askin' me? You're the experienced one here!" He shoves me into the door.
I decide to just open it. As soon as I do, I'm hit with the strong sent of weed and booze. I start to cough like crazy.
"What? Were you on a vacation or something?" He chuckles to himself. "Did you forget how strong this place was?"
I don't say a word and take a few steps into the house so he has room to follow me.
"Where am I going?" I ask. I look around at what I can see. In front of me is a living room with a guy seemingly getting more than just lap dance from three girls, a kitchen to my right with bottles upon bottles of alcohol scattered everywhere, and to my left, a stairway leading to the basement.
"Dude, Kenny, what the actual fuck? Are you high right now or something, get it downstairs!" He hits me hard on my hand and I wince at the sudden pain.
I make my way down the stairs and find a room painted the ugliest shade of green with expensive furniture all around as well as a very big safe in the corner of the room. My jaw drops as I find bags, pill bottles, pipes, and some devices I've never seen before.
Kenny must be a drug dealer of some type.
On the couch in the middle of the room, lays a sleeping man with a pipe laying on his stomach. I just stare in disbelief at how fast my life turned around.
"Oscar!" Rainbow guy yells.
Oscar jumps up from the chair, shattering the glass pipe on the ground. "You motherfucker! I was sleeping you piece of shit! What the fucking shit you want?" Oscar then begins mumbling profanities to himself.
Rainbow hair laughs. "Oscar, c'mon now, aren't you excited, I have Kenny here!"
Oscar looks at me and I see anger flood into his eyes. "Jesus fuck! Are you retarded? I swear to Jesus fucking Christ!" Oscar screams and yanks on his black hair. "MICHAEL, I TOLD YOU TO GET ME KENNY!" Oscar shoves me out of the way and gets into, as I now know his name, Michael's face.
"Boss, this is Kenny," Michael looks dumbfounded.
"You son of a cunt!" Oscar kicks Michael hard in the balls. Michael falls to his knees, biting his lip so hard, even I see the blood. "THIS KID IS NOT KENNY! YOU JUST MADE ME LOSE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE YOU ARE A LAZY FUCK YOU PICKS THE FIRST FUCKING PERSON YOU FUCKING SEE AND FUCKING ASSUME IT'S THE GUY I NEED!" Oscar is livid. I'm scared for my life, I'm probably going to die now just because I know where these guys are with their little drug party. "I swear Michael, on your fucking mother's life, I will fucking beat you then kill your stupid fucking mother the next time this happens. And you don't believe me? Just watch, I promise you bastard."
Oscar turns away from Michael who has tears running down his cheeks and instead looks at me. I freeze and stare at the ground.
I feel something cold on my forehead. I glance up to see a gun pressed against my skin. I let of the tiniest of whimpers. "Please no, I didn't ask for this," I whisper.
Oscar stares at me for a long time. "You're right," he says quietly. He turns back to Michael and then shoots him in the head. Blood spatters everything, including me. I choke out a sound, a sound of even more shock I suppose.
"You will replace him now." Oscar says as if bored now.
"What? No I can't I have nothing to do with this!" I say. I just witnessed all of this, there's not way I'm getting out of this alive. "I was dragged here!"
"Do I need to send someone to your house?" He crosses his arms and smirks at me.
"You don't even know where I live!" I shout.
Oscar laughs hysterically. "Oh little boy. AUSTIN! GET YOUR ASS HERE NOW!" Oscar yells up the stairs.
The guy who I'm assuming is Austin trots down the stairs and nods to Oscar. "James Sheldon." Oscar says to him. My jaw drops once again. Oscar looks back and me and goes into another laughing fit while holding up my wallet. My face drops this time.
"5490 Oak Lane?" Austin says after tapping on a phone. I can tell they know it's where I live because I turn twelve shades of red.
Oscar smiles, "Welcome to the team James."
