Chapter 1 (Lexi)

Chapter 1

The first room I stepped into was a beautiful resort. One wall was completely made of glass. The view reached out to a large forest almost completely surrounding the house. There was a large golden bed frame in the center of the room. The connecting bathroom was Bright white with a smooth sharp look to it. Not very homey, I knew it would take a long time to get used to this place.

I wandered through halls and rooms looking for the right pace. I woulds glance in each room, nothing but beautiful expensive designs. Some with two or three beds built into the walls and still enough room to fit a Pickup truck into. Others would have huge beds and fancy bathrooms with bathtubs as big as hot-tubs.

I slowly began to realize how lost I was when I had reached the third and final floor. My figures were trailing across a windowsill when I started to wonder if I even knew my way to the front door. I left the room wondering where the stairs were. After finding the stairs I went down and met my sister Jamie on the second floor on her way down to the front of the house. We didn't say anything to each other.

We walked outside to the large porch, half covered with boxes that the movers had already unpacked. The rest of my family was gathered around a small card table, seated in lawn chairs. Jamie and I sat down beside each other. I felt like every ones eyes were on me to see what my reaction of the house was. I rested my head in my hands and stared at my shoes instead of answering their stares.

We all knew very well what Jamie's reaction of the house was; she hated it. It didn't matter to her that it was huge and beautiful. She didn't even care that she now had enough space to escape to, like she wished she had in our old house. She hated it because it meant leaving her old life; her boyfriend and the rest of her friends, the school she liked, and the theater she worked for. I dreaded her mood that I knew would come in the next month. She would more than likely not want to talk to anyone and when she did she would be angry.

Matt (my brother) loved this new house. I think he thought of it as a fresh start. Also, he was a model train collector, and his small room at our old house did not give him enough space for everything he wanted to do. Unlike the rest of my family, I don't think he had a lot to leave. Other than his show choir. But we all knew that since he was senior starting his second semester in high school, it wouldn't have lasted that long anyway.

My parents left behind jobs that they both loved. But my mom was glad that she would not have to work for a while. It would be a nice break. I knew that my dad was taking it harder though because he loved his job and had had it for about 10 years. I knew they would both have to get new jobs soon, probably jobs that they did not enjoy as much.

“I found a good room that I like. Lexi would you help me carry some stuff upstairs?” Jamie stood up and then moved to the boxes and pulled out a few smaller ones that probably were filled with books and things. Without word I picked up a few and we went back inside. She led me to a room that was small in comparison to the others, but still much larger than I thought it needed to be. I looked out the window and knew why she had picked this room. There was a beautiful view of the huge lake behind our house. It was on the top floor of our new house and you could almost see the whole lake except the parts covered by the woods.

“Do you have a room picked out yet?” she asked me as she opened a few boxes and lined some books on a dusty old shelf.

“No. Every room is so big and different. I would feel so alone if I picked one on the other side of the house. I think the house is going to feel so empty. There are like 50 rooms and only 5 of us. I guess I just have to keep looking.”