My Other Life

1. My Other Life

Needless to say, ever since I moved to North Carolina, my life has gone to shit. My parents split, my brother died, and my boyfriend went psycho. All that held me together was my new family and friends.

But the school year is over. I am free to live my life the way I want for the next two months. That being said, I scrapped together all the money I could find-birthdays, Christmas, couch cushions- and, with a little help from Cade, Dallas, and my parents, I get to spend the next six weeks living with my grandparents back on Long Island! Hanging with my family and old friends, going to concerts and plays, and the best part, some of my new friends get to come too! I could not be more excited.

July 2, 2018

8:30 am

"I can't believe we're not going with you guys!" Kelly exclaimed for the hundredth time. It's still difficult for Zeke to travel after the accident, and their parents said that Kelly couldn't go without him.

"I know! It'll be so weird not having you around this summer." Mel, Spencer, Orange, Sam, and John stand with me in line to check in our luggage. After our bags were through, it was time for us to part ways with Zeke and Kelly. 

I give my NC bestie a squeeze. "Hate to break up this beautiful moment, but any chance I could say goodbye to my girlfriend before I don't get to see her for six weeks?" Zeke whines for attention. He pushes the two of us apart with the end of his crutch. I lean up to give him a hug and quick peck before hurrying to join the others on line to go through security.

We got through the security line pretty smoothly, well besides the fact that someone (Spencer) left their AirPods in their pocket and had to be pat down. But so did Mel and me (stupid underwires).

Just 3 movies, or 6 hours, later, we were already off the plane. The next part is most definitely the hardest. Getting a cab. Two, actually. 

I don't know how we all convinced our parents to let us take this trip. No doubt Mom only let me come because Orange was coming too. He's only two years older than the rest of us, but we'd all be wandering around the airport like lost puppies without him. "Hey!"Orange chased a cab all the way to the corner before giving up. This is one area that I think I may excel at, at least compared to these people.

"Phwwwht!" I whistle with two fingers, successfully hailing down the next taxi. "Wow, it's been a while since I've done that" You probably remember that I'm from Long Island, not the city. But when I was a kid, I spent every weekend with my relatives in Manhattan. It was my second home. I almost forgot how much I missed it here. "You three take this one." I gestured to Spencer, Mel and Sam, who were ready to go. "We'll be right behind you." I tell Spencer the address and Orange helps toss their luggage into the trunk.

Barely 10 minutes later, Orange, John and I were on the Long Island Express heading East. Another 45 minutes, and we were unloading our things from the cab.

I pull my phone out to text Grams, but before I could even unlock it, "Gioia Bella!" My great-grandmother wobbled onto the front porch.

"Nonna!" I let my suitcase fall onto the grass and jogged up to her. Nonna is my 92 year old great-grandmother. She moved here from Italy when she was younger. She mainly speaks Itallian, her English isn't very good, so it's kind of hard for us to communicate. My grandmother translates for us most of the time, and I've picked some up over the years. But communicating between me and Nonna has always been a bit different than the rest of the family. See, Nonna is a professional opera singer. Has been at least 60 years; I'd be surprised if she ever stops. I used to go and watch her performances all the time. I wanted to be just like her as a kid. She even let me join her on stage once or twice. Anyway, I remember, before I started to learn Italian, she would express emotions through song. I loved trying to figure out what she was trying to say. But that's besides the point. Though I don't remember exactly what my point was in the first place.