Dancing in the Rain: 2. "Out on the open Road!"

A loud blast of my favorite song, "Live Free" by Lecrae, shot through my ears. "She's up, mom!" Whitney exclaimed. I realized that Whitney had put a pair of earbuds in my ears, turned on the iPod touch, and blasted it all the way. "Sheesh, what was that for?" I shouted. "You fell asleep in the van," Mom...Excuse me, my stepmom said. "We were afraid you were dead. Now get some breakfast, sweetie." I sighed and grabbed a granola bar out of my carry-on. I was about to get a glass of water, but there was a glass, water and ice, untouched, on the table. I sat down, and as I was unwrapping my granola bar, Drew set his Trix cereal down next to me. The both of us ate our breakfast in an awkward silence. "So, how's life with m-m-mom?" He said. I knew he was trying to break the ice. And I also noticed that it was hard for him to call our stepmom, "Mom." I slid a bit closer to him. "Why ask?" I said quietly. "You know that I don't like her." "How come?" He asked. I leaned in and whispered, "Would you want your mom reading your diary and looking over your shoulder when you're on the computer EVERY DAY?" I slid back into my seat and finished my granola bar. I threw my granola bar wrapper in the trash, and changed into a t-shirt with all of my friends names on it, and a pair of destroyed jeans with paint splattered on them. When I walked out of the bathroom, there was a you're-not-really-wearing-that look on my stepmom's face. I rolled my eyes and sat myself on the couch, arms crossed. "Honey, take those clothes off," My stepmom lectured. "You look like you just built our house." I kept myself silent. If I responded to her, she'd kill me. I picked up my diary and a pencil and wrote:

Dear Diary,
It's been only an hour on the road, and I already hate it. My stepmom hates my outfit, and it's so boring out here! And I think the dude next to us is going faster than we are! I just hate it out here. Dad isn't on the bus. Instead, he's on Whitney's car. So it's just me, Whitney, Drew, Josh, and my stepmom. And to think, I just woke up. :P Amazing, huh?

I closed my diary and looked out the window. Well, maybe Maine won't be too bad, I thought. Maybe Maine might have a few surprises to it. We stopped at a parking lot in Connecticut to eat our lunch. "So, what's for lunch, pops?" Drew asked dad. Dad shushed him because he was on a phone call. Our lunch turned out to me Potato salad in a sandwich. Eww. But luckily, Drew secretly packed his special trail mix. His trail mix has m&m's, cashews, chocolate chunks, almonds and pretzel pieces in it. Yum. After a few minutes, me and Drew hopped back into the RV, waiting for the rest of the family to get back on the road. While waiting, I took out my digital camera and looked at the pictures from the good-bye party. But Josh took it away from me. "Hey!" I shouted. "Give it back!" "Make me!" Josh responded. Drew popped up and pinched his pressure point. "Ouch!" Josh howled as Drew took the camera from Josh's grasp. "Go along!" Drew shouted as he threw the camera to me. I caught the camera and put it in my pocket. I ran back inside the RV and hopped in the front seat. I grabbed my Diary and wrote,

Dear Diary,

This day just got worse. I had a potato salad-stuffed sandwich. Eww. My stepbrother, Josh, tried to take my digital camera. My dad is stuck on the phone...Again.I just hope that Maine is worth my trouble. I hope...

Mom...Excuse me, stepmom, went back into the RV and started it. Whitney and Leah were right behind her. The RV was back on the road in no time. After a few more hours, we finally arrived in Maine. It was about Seven Thirty when we arrived at our house. Dad, Drew and Josh carried the big stuff, like mattresses, furniture, and other stuff, while me, Whitney and Leah carried our bedding and clothes. We had to sleep in the RV because it would take a while before moving everything in. But I didn't care--At least I was in Maine.

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It took the family most of August to rearrange and set up everything in our house. I collapsed onto my bed with my red PJ pants and black tank top on me. Whitney walked into my room with her car keys. "You wanna take a ride around town?" She asked me. It was three in the afternoon, and I didn't have anything better to do. "Sure," I said. "Let me just change into my jeans." "Okay," She responded. "I'll wait outside your door." I changed into my almost-destroyed jeans, and slipped my pink flip-flops on. Whitney was downstairs, waiting for me to come. "You ready to go?" She asked me. "Yep," I replied. "All prepared." "Okay," she said. "Dad! Is it okay if I take the van out for a spin?" "Sure," He responded. "But be careful...And don't get lost." I hopped into shotgun as Whitney started the car. As we drove out of our driveway, She asked me, "What do you wanna do when we get home?" "I don't know," I said. "Maybe we could...Choose our outfits," She inquired. "That could occupy our time." "Maybe we can fix our lunches for tomorrow," I added. "Or just do both." "Yeah," Whitney agreed. "That's cool." "So," I said, trying to start a conversation. "Are you afraid of the new school you're going to tomorrow?" "Yeah," She replied. "I'm a Junior in high school now, so even at this age, I still get nervous." "Maybe you'll find a great guy while you're here." I said. While our real mom's quote was, "Take your Time," Our stepmom forced Whitney to get a guy at Sixteen. And that's how old she is now. "You nervous?" She asked me. "Why wouldn't I be? Junior high is pretty rough, and I'm afraid of what might happen." "Don't worry about it," Whitney said. "You have God. And as long as you have him, You'll be fine." After another fifteen minutes, we were back home, and we forgot something. "So what about our clothes and lunch?" I asked Whitney. "Oh," She said. "I completely forgot!" After a few giggles and thirty minutes, we put completed our dream first-day-of-school lunch and put together our first-day-of-school outfits. I chose a black short-sleeved shirt with headphone graphics on it, a pair of dark denim straight-leg jeans, a pair of hot-pink volleys, and a gray fedora. Whitney chose a maroon scoop neck tunic with a dark-brown belt, a pair of below-the-knee jean capris, and light-brown colored boots. "Girls!" my stepmom shouted. "Time for bed!" After I kissed my parents goodnight, I slipped my red PJ pants on and hopped into bed. I know tomorrow won't be easy, I thought. But you've got God, right?You'll be fine, Jack. I let the thoughts run through my head, and I, once again, fell asleep.