A New Beginning

Good News

"I've got good news, everyone," Mr. Peterson called as he gathered his family in the living room.

"What is it?" Abby cried, her blond ponytail bouncing up and down. She eagerly ran circles in the living room and seated herself in her mother's lap.

"Did you find a new job?" Shane questioned as he stood in the corner of the living room, putting a hand on his hip. "In spite of your new criminal record?" he added in a cocky manner.

"Shane!" Mr. Peterson shouted. "Shut your mouth! Anyway," he continued, when the whole family was present. "I've been looking online for a new job, and..."

"You found one?" Heidi interrupted, her blue eyes filled with hope.

"Yes, I found a teaching job at the University of Colorado Springs."

The whole family cheered.

"So...we're moving to Colorado?" Shane finished.

"Yes," Mrs. Peterson answered her oldest son. "The good news is, we'll be closer to Grandpa and Grandma." She was referring to her parents, who lived on a farm in Colorado.

"We should live on a farm!" Heidi suggested, her blue eyes shining. "That would be so fun! I've always wanted to live on a farm!"

"Me, too!" Kaden chimed in, running a hand through his red hair.

Shane folded his arms. "Guys, we're not going to live on the farm," he stated condescendingly. "Dad didn't get a job as a farmer. So don't get your hopes up." The idea of living on a farm did not appeal to him at all, but he knew he had nothing to worry about in that regard.

Kaden and Heidi's faces fell. In spite of being city kids, their lifelong dream was to move to a farm. Every summer, they traveled to their grandparents' farm to help out with the chores, and they absolutely loved it.

But Mr. Peterson didn't want to let his kids down. "Well, actually, we already have a house picked out already, but since we live so close to Grandpa's and Grandma's, we can send you two there to work more often." he said.

Heidi and Kaden glanced at each other happily. "Yippie!" they cheered.

"I just hope our new house is bigger than this one," Shane grumbled, adjusting the cap on his head.

"I kind of like that idea," Kaden said with a smirk. "It's hard sharing a bathroom with Shane. He leaves his stuff everywhere."

"Well, so do you," Shane retorted.

"But what will happen to this house?" Abby wondered. "I like this house!"

"Don't worry," Heidi reassured her little sister. "I'm sure our other house will be just as cozy once we get all our stuff moved in. You'll like it, you'll see. Maybe it will even have a swimming pool."

"Cool!" Abby cried. "I'd like that." As the youngest sibling, she was used to being bossed around and coaxed into things.

"What does our house look like?" Kaden asked. "Does it have a swimming pool?"

"Yea, does it?" Abby chimed in.

"We should move on a farm," Heidi begged.

"We should move into a bigger house and it better not be a farmhouse," Shane insisted.

"Okay, everybody! Settle down!" Mr. Peterson shouted above all the commotion. After the noise died down, he continued. "First of all, our house in Colorado Springs is bigger. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms."

"Yes!" Shane cried. "No more sharing a bathroom with Kaden!"

"Well," Heidi continued. "Does our house have a swimming pool?"
Mrs. Peterson looked at her hopeful children and smiled. "This one doesn't, but maybe we can buy one."

"Awww!" sighed a very disappointed Heidi, Kaden, and Abby.

"Oh, well," said Heidi. "By the way, when are we going to start school in Colorado?"

"In about two weeks," her mom replied.

"Damn," Shane muttered. "I didn't even think about that." He stared down at the floor as thoughts raced through his mind. At his current school, he was part of the football team. He had a bunch of friends, and he hated to leave it all and go to a school where he knew no one.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Mrs. Peterson told him, noticing the troubled look in her son's gray-blue eyes. "You'll be going to school with some of your cousins."

"But what about my friends? And my football team? I can't just drop out of everything!" Shane cried, his heart pounding with anxiety.

"You'll make new friends in Colorado," Mrs. Peterson assured her son. "And I'm sure the school has a football team you can join."

Shane paced around the room with his arms folded in disagreement. His mom didn't get it; he couldn't just abandon his friends and his football team! What if he wasn't accepted on the team in Colorado? What if no one wanted to be his friend there because he was new? The last thing he wanted was to be seen as the outcast with no friends and no life.

When Shane didn't respond, Mrs. Peterson continued, "You'll get used to it," she reassured him. "It won't be that bad. You'll do fine."

But in spite of her encouraging words, Shane wasn't convinced. How could he just abandon his life in Chicago and live in a random small town where he had no friends? This was almost more than he could bear, but he didn't dare show any sign of emotion in front his family. Instead, he went to his room and played a shooter video game in order to take his mind off his problems.