New School New You

Chapter 1: Family Meeting

"Family meeting, family meeting", Mom called from downstairs.

Ugh! Didn't she know I had a million things to do for homework?

"Family meeting", Mom called again.

I knew if I didn't go down she would just keep calling, so I closed my textbook and went downstairs.

I found my 2 sisters, brother, Dad, and pregnant Mom waiting for me on the living room couch.

This was our "family meeting" spot. Mom made it sound like this big dramatic thing, when really she would just tell us something like "We are going out for dinner tonight" or "Tomorrow is a P.A day at school".

Anyways, I just wanted to get this over with so I could get back to my homework. What kind of teacher assigns a million things for homework on the last week of school?! It was crazy!

Once everyone was settled, Mom got up to say her little "speech" about what this family meeting was regarding.

As soon as she stood up, she suddenly looked really worried and started sweating. Um... was she okay? I had never seen her like this.

"Ok you're not going to like this", Mom croaked, her voice shaking.

Oh oh! That never meant something good.

"But...", she stuttered. She was stalling. What could she possibly want to say that was making her this anxious?

Now every bad thing she could possibly say was filling my mind. Did she get fired? Were we going bankrupt? Was someone sick? Did she have a miscarriage?

Now I was getting all sweaty and anxious!

"Ok I'm just gonna come out and say it", Mom said.

I could tell she was trying to stay calm, but it was obvious she was struggling to get the words out.

She took a deep breath.

"Ok, ok. Your father and I have decided that with a new child coming into our family, we need a bigger house", she said with a worried look in her eyes.

Seriously? That's all she wanted to say? We were moving. So? That's fine! I've always wanted to move! I hated sharing a room with my 2 little sisters and I've always begged my parents to move us to a bigger house with more bedrooms. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"And...", she continued.

Oh wait, she wasn't finished.

"There is a house perfect for our family in Miami", she explained. "It has 6 huge bedrooms, one for each of us, and a nice backyard with a pool."

WHAT! Miami?! But we lived in Orlando! How could i go to the same school if I lived 3 hours away from my school?

"Um, Mom?", I asked. "How will I go to the same school? Will I take a 3 hour bus ride to school everyday?"

Mom looked at me as if she was about to tell me horrible news.

"Oh sweetie", she said sadly. "You are going to need to go to a new school in Miami".

My heart instantly dropped.