One;

The hypnotizing glare of numerous flashing neon lights kept my hazy brown eyes open and alert during the bus ride straight to hell. The vicious pounding in my head seemed to correspond with the pulsating illuminations speeding past the smudged glass of the window pane. My messy black hair was sticking out in so many different directions--it looked as if I has been electrocuted by something. I wrinkled my nose for what must have been the hundredth time that night against the acrid smell of stale piss and body odor emanating from the worn down fabric of the cheap bench seat I was slouched in. My body was screaming at me to move; I had been sitting down for almost thirteen f*****g hours straight. I swear that my ears has almost swelled shut against the hard plastic of my head phones, as they had been jammed tightly in them for hours, blaring music as loudly as possible to drown out the wailing of some baby sitting three seats down. A growl sounded at the back of my parched throat subconsciously with that thought.

Seriously, learn to control your f*****g children already.

Being forced to sit on that cramped, disgusting vehicle for so long was putting me in an even more pissy mood than usual, and it was almost unbearable. A rush of molten hostility coursed through my veins as I recalled the reason for my current circumstance, and the not so exciting evening of my last birthday.

The last thing I had expected to get from my parents for my eighteenth birthday was a single, tiny white envelope with my name scrawled messily--carelessly--across it's smooth center. I remember glancing quickly at my mother and father before ripping the paper apart and revealing what was inside. A scowl crossed my dark features as a single rectangular piece of paper fell into the palm of my outstretched hand, bringing with it a wave of white hot anger that burned down my spine like liquid fire. My fist clenched tightly around the piece of paper held within my shaking hand; it was a f*****g bus ticket--and not just any bus ticket. It was a one way route.

"What exactly is this?" I barked out at my mother's huddled form; She was leaning into the solid figure of my father for support. My words came out slowly and measured against my clenched jaw and gritted teeth.

"You've really left us no choice, Alex. We've given you so many opportunities to straighten up, and you just don't listen to us. We've asked your Aunt Rosa to take you in for the rest of your senior year, so that you can get away from all of these street boys and make some decent grades in time for college." My father's words fell flat in the confined space of our messy living room.

I glared at the two of them intensely; fury coiling within the pit of my stomach like a jungle cat ready to pounce.

I listened to them lecture me in hushed, angry Spanish for what felt like the millionth time during my brief existence. I was apparently scaring them--getting into too many fights at school and on the streets, stumbling through the front door drunk in the middle of the night too often for their comfort, flunking almost every class so far, and a million other things I can't even recall. Granted, I was one hell of a son. I definitely didn't make my parent's lives easy at all, and I figured it was a miracle that they even bothered to notice my rash actions. They just didn't understand the fact that I really didn't give a damn. To be entirely honest, I truly didn't give a f**k about their concerns for me. I know that I was lucky to have parents that actually cared--but it didn't matter.

Growing up in Chino had taught me everything I thought I needed to know about life, and about surviving. It had taught me that people just couldn't be trusted, period. One had to always walk around with one eye behind their back, ready for anything to happen. In my eighteen years of hard-assed experience, people had never given me a reason to trust them, and so I didn't. I chose to walk around the world with my head held high and my middle finger waving in the faces of everyone who dared to stand in my way. In my mind, the planet was going to see Alex Ramirez for the badass that he was--and nothing else.

I was one angry kid as I sat and brooded on the bus during that first night away.

The prospect of leaving my home--of leaving everything I had ever known--behind me was absolutely terrifying. I had no idea of what to expect of my new "home", or of my aunt Rosa. I had never been outside of California a day in my life. Hell, I'd hardly ever left the gritty confines of Chino, let alone met this strange woman that was supposedly a member of my family. Part of me was still in a state of complete shock and denial over my parent's decision, as I couldn't imagine sending any of my children (if I had them) to live with someone they had never even met before. Not that I would let anyone see how scared I was, that is. I was too busy trying to craft myself into an even bigger a*****e that I had been in Chino. It was my personal mission to ensure that no one or anything got even remotely close to me once I arrived at my destination--I was going to get back to Cali as fast as I f*****g could.

My body was slammed forward into the smelly nylon fiber of the bus seat in front of me as the driver hit a particularly nasty bump in the road, and I cursed loudly to myself in disgust. Where the hell did they teach that idiot to drive, anyway? I snorted to myself with that thought, and then shot a glare towards some f****r who was staring at me.

After a few moments of silence, I felt my eyes begin to droop underneath the weight of sleep. It had been awhile since I has last rested my tired brain--maybe it was time to relax.

My head was filled with vivid dreams illustrated with pictures of my childhood memories--The concrete jungle that was Chino, the blistering summer heat, home made tattoos, and the laughter of my friends and I at different stupid pranks we'd pull on one another.

Some time later, I awoke to the sound of the brakes screeching to a stop. I blinked my eyes furiously to clear the sleep away, and stared blearily out of the foggy bus window to see that we had reached the final stop. I sighed dramatically to myself as I gathered up my few belongings and exited the claustrophobic confines of that goddamned bus. Thank god I was finally getting out of there.

The night air meeting the exposed flesh of my tan arms came as an icy shock. Tiny translucent clouds were puffing out from around the corners of my mouth with each breath I exhaled, and I pulled my arms around myself in an attempt to gain some warmth. I looked around my faintly for a road sign of some sort to make sure I was where I needed to be, and my search was granted a few seconds later.

A wooden sign near the exit ramp we was just gotten off of read:

Welcome to Rhode Island.

I sighed once more and I made my way inside the bus station to call my aunt and inform her of my arrival.

Welcome home.

Reviews

[Chris]

Very good chapter. It started off well and the words flowed nicely. There were a few typos here and there; you accidentally wrote has instead of had a couple times, and I think I remember seeing a couple other mistakes, but other than that, nothing. The idea of a troubled kid being sent to live with their aunt might be a little cliched, but no biggie. I'm sure you've got your own unique spin to put on it.

[chaffy]

i like the story so far, i hope you keep going! :)