For my whole life I have lived in Chicago, Illinois. I had led a happy life with friends and my sports team. I felt my entire world fall apart when my parents sat me down after coming home from school and told me that life was going to change.
“Your father has gotten a better job,” Mom said Nervously.
“Okay? How does this affect me?” I responded.
“That job is based in… California,” Mom said with a pause.
“California… WHAT! We’re moving!” I snapped.
“I’m really sorry, but you know how important my career is to me, Amelia!” Dad pitched in.
“But what about my friends here? What about my team? Am I just leaving them behind?” I said with my voice quickly rising.
“Well, we are going to wait till the end of the school year. That will give you enough time to say your goodbyes.”
I rushed to my room and began to cry. I had friends! I had a life here. I lay on my bed awake that night thinking of everything being packed up and shipped to a big house in California. Late that night I fell into a light sleep.
The next morning, I woke up to my mom gently waking me. “It’s time to go to school, Amelia. There are some pancakes for you downstairs.”
“I’m not hungry,” I said grumpily back. This was a lie. I was hungry, but I could not let them suck up to me. “Can you just leave my room? I’m going to get ready.”
“Sure,” she said quietly brushing a tear from her face.
Getting up I changed and brushed my teeth. Grabbing my backpack, I put a piece of toast in my mouth and put my shoes on. I opened the door and ran to the bus stop.
When I got to school, I saw my friend Charlotte in the hallway.
“Hey Amelia, what’s up!” she called to me. “Wow are you okay?”
“I’m moving to California at the end of the school year,” I said weakly.
“Hey, it’s ok Amelia. How about we talk after school,” she said after the bell rang.
“Ok,” I said walking to my first period. I was zoning out of classes and when the end of the school day came around, I was on the verge of tears.
“Look, we can’t do anything about you moving, but we can make your last year the best possible!” Lucy said with a huge grin on her face.
From that day forward every weekend was devoted to sleepovers, parks, and fun. I spent so much time with my friends I barely noticed the boxes piled in the corner of the living room. A month before we were going to leave, I suddenly realized again that this was not a joke. It was very real.
The last day before I left, all my friends went out to get ice cream for one last time.
“Man, I am going to miss you guys,” I said, moving my spoon around the cup.
“Hey, we’re going to miss you,” Charlotte said squeezing my hand.
I went on a walk with my friends before I had to go home. Most of our stuff had already started its journey to our new house, but not me. I got home, and I sat on my air mattress, curling up under the blanket.
“Amelia, it is time for dinner,” Mom said from the doorway.
“I don’t want to eat right now. Just get out!” I said, raising my voice.
“Fine, but there is dinner when you want it.”
“Whatever,” I said, rolling over. At some point in my grumpiness, I dozed off and I woke up to a very upset stomach. I got up and went downstairs for breakfast.
“We’re leaving in two hours, Amelia,” Mom said, making coffee.
“Ok,” I said pouring myself a bowl of cereal and milk. “I’m going to go pack up my last few things after breakfast.”
After I finished breakfast, I packed up the clothes and small items I had left. I spent some time going through the house I had grown up in. The walls, now blank, had been covered with drawings and art just a few days ago.
I took a walk to the park and around my neighborhood. I sat down on a bench for a while and then slowly walked home. I looked at the time—30 minutes till we left for the airport. For the remaining time I read an e-book. I took my last look at my home as the uber drove to the airport. We went through the airport, and I missed my friends already.
Walking out of the airport felt heavy—the kind of way you feel when your pet has gone missing.The car ride to the new house was about 45 minutes. When I walked around the new house everything felt very unnatural. All I wanted to do was go back home, but that was not an option.
For the rest of the summer, I went to camps nearby to learn a bit about this new town. The end of the summer was sudden.
Waking up groggy and annoyed I said, “Why are you waking me up so early mom?”
“Because school starts at 8:00 and it is 7:30,” Mom said, walking out the door.
“It’s already 7:30!” I exclaimed, rushing out of bed.
I quickly ate and brushed my teeth. “Come let’s go,” I said, rushing mom out the door and into the car.
My first day at school was very nerve-racking. Everyone seemed to be in their own little groups. I felt alone and I missed my friends.
I held up my schedule and my homeroom was room #208. I was lost so I decided to ask someone where to find my class. I saw two girls standing in a corner talking, and I walked up to them.
“Excuse me, do you know where room 208 is?” I said. “I did the orientation, but I still don’t get it.”
“Hi, my name is Lucy and her name is Izzy. I have Mrs. Katy for homeroom too. I can walk you if you want.”
“Thanks, yeah that would be great,” I said with a smile. “Do you think it would be okay if I could hang out with you guys for lunch?”
“Sure, why not!” Izzy said excitedly.
Ring
“There’s the bell, see you at lunch,” Izzy said running to her class.
For the rest of the day, I went to classes and got to know both Izzy and Lucy. The three of us became close friends. I was so happy to have made new friends.
Time passed quickly after that. The midterms flew by, and the summer months were on the brow.
“Hi!” I said waving and sat down.
At the end of the day, I walked into my homeroom with Mrs. Katy.
“Everyone sit down please,” Mrs. Katy said loudly but gently. “Okay I have an announcement to make before everyone goes home. The 7th graders will be going to a science camp by the beach at the end of this month, leading up to the end of the school year. This trip will mainly be focused on the ecosystem around us. Going home with you today will be the form to go on the trip. If you don’t bring the slip back, you won’t get to go.”
When the bell rang, I grabbed my books and walked out with Lucy. Izzy waved and hopped into her car.
“Bye, Lucy,” I called as she continued her walk home. I reached for the doorknob.
The weeks after passed in a blur and before I knew it, I was on the bus to science camp. The trip would be a little over two hours to get to the site. For most of the ride I sat listening to music or napping.
“Amelia, wake up,” Izzy said pointing out the window. “We are almost there.”
I looked out the window and I felt the excitement rise inside me as the bus pulled into the cabins. The waves were just a little way down the slope.
“Alright everyone, settle down. I have already given you your cabin assignments, but knowing your grade most of you already lost it, so I am going to read it out loud. When I say your name, you can go grab your bags and go to your cabin. We will be meeting up at the flagpole at 11:30 for orientation and after lunch. Cabin #1: Camilla, Jane, and Sloane.”
The list went on till “Cabin #8: Amelia, Lucy, and Izzy.”
We got up and picked up our bags.
“What the heck, Lucy? What did you pack? Did you bring your whole house with you?” I asked with a laugh when I saw Lucy’s Mountain of bags.
“Well, I packed…some stuff,” she said back.
“Can we get going?” Izzy said quickly.
We walked to our cabin and walked around for a bit. A mirror sat alone in a small corner of the cabin. To the right sat a dresser, bed, and desk. Two more beds were on the other side of the room. The windows let in a nice warm light. We each chose a bed, dresser, and desk. After unpacking we all met back up on the porch of the cabin.
“We still have some time before we have to go to the flagpole,” Izzy said, looking at her watch. “We could go take a look at the beach.”
“Sure, why not,” I said, putting on some flip flops.
We walked down the slope towards the beach and stood to watch the waves.
“Isn’t it so beautiful?” Lucy murmured with a sigh.“Yeah. I just can’t wait till sunset. It will be so beautiful seeing the gradation of color.”
We sat on a bench for a little while, having a moment until a loud screech from a megaphone. “All students gather at the flagpole!”
We sighed and began to walk back up the hill. After climbing back up we went to the flagpole at the end of the paths by the houses.
“Today we are going to go on a tour and then we will eat lunch. When you finish lunch, you have some free time before the 9:30 curfew. By 9:30 you should be in your cabins.”
The tour began and we saw the cafeteria, the communal bathrooms, shop, and the spots for fun. I didn’t pay much attention and just put my headphones in, listening to music, while I followed the crowd of students.
“So that’s all, and you guys can go head over to lunch.” Mrs. Katy said loudly.
I walked to the cafeteria.
“Man, I am hungry.” I hadn’t had anything to eat since the morning. Seeing Lucy had already found a table I came over and sat down next to her. “Where’s Izzy?”
“I think she went to the cabin for a bit of sunscreen,” Lucy said back. “Can you watch the seats while I go get some food?” she asked.
“Yeah sure, no problem.” Lucy went to grab food, and I sat waiting.
I saw Izzy looking for our table. “Over here, Izzy,” I said, waving back.
“Oh, there you are,” she said, sitting down.
“Hey, do you mind watching the table for a sec? Lucy should be coming back soon,” I asked. She nodded, and I got up. Slowly getting to the front of the line, I began to see more clearly what the food for today was: chicken nuggets, cup of fruit, bread, salad, and some cookies and brownies. When I was at the front, I grabbed a plate and served myself some of everything, except the salad, (of course). Finally, I grabbed a cup of strawberry lemonade.
I walked back to the table, and Izzy got up to get her food. Together, Lucy and I started eating. When Izzy sat down, I asked what we wanted to do after we finished eating.
“We could hang out at the beach,” Lucy offered.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Izzy agreed.
We finished up, filled up our water bottles with some pink lemonade, and went to the cabin to get changed. Putting on flip flops, we walked to the shore. The sun was glistening on the gentle waves. The bright sunlight reflected off the bubbles of foam. It was warm, and there were many people enjoying the beautiful day. We spent a lot of time splashing each other in the waves, lying in the sun, and sitting in the shade. Before we knew it was evening, and we decided to go back to the cabin when we started to get hungry.
“Let’s go get something to eat,” Lucy said, grabbing her stuff.
“Okay, sure,” I said back. I packed up. On the way to the cafeteria, we stopped by the cabin to drop stuff off. It was only then that I realized how tired I was. All I wanted to do was go to bed, but I was hungry. I ate fast and walked to the cabin.
“I think I am going to go to bed early tonight. I’m tired.”
“Ok, we’re going for a walk. K?” Lucy responded.
“Alright, no problem,” I said yawning.
After returning to the cabin, I got ready for bed. We had some school to attend tomorrow. I only slept for about 30 minutes before I was woken up by the lights turning on.
“Ahh!” I said loudly.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot,” Izzy said quickly.
I waited till they were in their beds.
“Good night!” I said turning the lights off.
I woke up well rested and feeling good. I looked at my watch and woke up Lucy and Izzy.
“Get up guys, we need to go get breakfast soon,” I said, getting ready to go to the cafeteria. Izzy and Lucy quickly got up and were ready to go.
“I’m really hungry,” Izzy said, rubbing her stomach.
“Me too,” Lucy replied.
“Well, hurry up then,” I said chuckling. “It’s waffles today, guys.”
“Yes!” Izzy exclaimed. “I was craving waffles.”
“We’ve got 45 minutes before we go off and learn.”
I went back to the cabin to grab our backpack. A lot of students started to gather at the flagpole waiting for the chaperones to tell them where to go. We waited for ten minutes before Mrs. Katy split us up into three groups. She gave everyone a one, two, or a three. Sadly, I wasn’t in the same group as Lucy or Izzy, but I was still going to make the best of it.
Each group would spend one day at a spot where they would learn about specific things. Then, you could choose something to focus on for the rest of the week. The first day we focused mainly on the different animals in the ecosystem. We got to touch some of the animals, too. On the second day we learned about how plants and coral interact with the ecosystem. Lastly, on the third day, we talked to a marine biologist and a climate scientist.
I had never really been interested in the ocean, but this trip changed that. I spent the rest of my time during the field trip hanging out with my friends and learning more about marine biology. I didn’t even realize it was time to go home until the teachers were telling us to start packing up.
Right before we left, I went down to the beach and sat in the sun for a bit. Then I got up and grabbed my bags.
“Man, I am going to miss this place,” I said to Izzy.
I was happy, but, sitting on the bus on the way home, I reflected on the last year. I thought about how hard it was for me to leave my old life behind, but how I also found a new home, new friends, and, most importantly, a new beginning.