One

Sky

I was so not ready for this. As the rows of well-furnished houses rolled by, all I could do was helplessly watch, wondering if this was what my life was to be like for what seemed like the foreseeable future. It was already late August, the summer having whizzed by in what was now, just a handful of blurry memories of pebble beaches and attempts at barbecues. Simon was terrible at them, and they occasionally ended with burned to crisp meat and takeaway pizza when he was in charge. I sighed and settled in my seat, realising I had been perched on the edge of it for most of the journey. Might as well enjoy the view if this was to be my home from now on.

"Biscuits, Sky?" Simon asked offering a pack of cookies. One day I was going to grow up to be fat and it would all be Simon's fault. But until then, who cared?

"Sure, why not?" I picked out the top three cookies and nibbled on them thoughtfully. "Are we nearly there yet? I feel like we've been driving around these houses forever."

"Keep your hair on, sweetie," Sally chuckled, taking a right. "We're nearly there. In fact..." The car began to slow down and I wrenched off my seatbelt, shuffling closer to the window for a closer look, as the car finally rolled to a long-awaited halt. The house that stood before us was exactly how I'd imagined it to be like. Not too modern, yet not ancient, the kind of house that seemed like it would be filled with all sorts of cool vintage furniture. The porch shone welcomingly in the afternoon light, the entire house glowing. I'd always wanted a porch.

"You weren't kidding," Simon remarked, stepping out of the car into the sunlight. I joined him, hands on my hips as I gazed at the house through the beaming sunlight. It wasn't too big, since only three of us would be living there, but it looked comfortable, the kind of house you could come to call home.

"Okay, I'll admit it. This place is much cooler than I'd expected," I said, grinning at Simon. He ruffled my hair, much to my annoyance, and pulled out the keys, jiggling them as he walked onto the porch.

Grabbing my backpack from my seat, I joined him, skipping into the house, that lit up with the sunlight flooding in, filling every little inch and corner. Yep, it was perfect.

"So what is your latest mission then?" I asked, bursting into the living room. Simon followed me, chuckling.

"You better slow down dear, you're going to break the hinges of these doors," he said, running a finger along one of the empty shelves. "We don't know about our next operation yet. But I'll tell you when we get the briefings."

"I still don't understand why I can't come with you," I complained. "It's not like I don't know what you guys do." Simon put his arms around me, still laughing.

"Well you'd definitely scare away the criminals with your martial arts skills," he laughed. I nudged him, rolling my eyes. But I'll admit it, I was the worst combat fighter in the world. I'd barely be able to make a decent move, provided I didn't trip over my own feet first.

"Hey! I'm getting there, okay?"

"What's going on here?" Sally asked, her head appearing at the doorway. "So what does my favourite daughter think of the new place? Live up to your expectations?" My parents looked at me expectantly, and I grinned back at them.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed. Suddenly remembering my new bedroom, I gasped, racing out of the room and up the staircase, Simon and Sally struggling to keep up. The door opened reluctantly with a low creak to reveal the bedroom, cloaked by darkness. Hitting the lights, I stepped inside, overwhelmed by a musty smell, the peeling wallpaper and the obvious lack of furniture.

"Oh," Sally muttered following me inside. "Looks like it needs a lot of work."

"But," I said, "it has so much potential. Like a blank canvas or a brand new instrument."

"That's my girl," Simon exclaimed, grinning. "Now how about we unload all our gear?"

oOo

To say that it took quite a while for us to sort out the house would be a great understatement. For the next few days, we were constantly absorbed in unloading all the furniture, moving it around the house and painting the bare walls with bursts of colour. Sally decided to let her creativity flow, decorating the house with her innovative ideas, filling every inch with something new. We didn't need anyone else to help except for ourselves, especially given Sally and Simon's super strength that came from their job. I tended to race up and down the stairs and through each room, helping out with odd bits and bobs, brushing up on the smaller parts of the house. I wasn't exactly built for weightlifting with my five foot of lean body.

"How are we looking here?" I asked, walking into my room in the early morning, with Simon covering up the last few spots of dull wall with sky blue paint.

"How is it looking?" he asked, stepping back to admire his work. I clapped my hands in appreciation, loving the little tree branch designs snaking up the walls.

"It's beautiful," I said. Simon looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering something.

"You know it's not really good for someone your age to be stuck indoors for so long," he remarked. "Maybe you should step outside for a bit."

"But you guys have been here too," I replied, shrugging. "Besides, I don't know anyone here, or even any of the places."

"More the reason to get to know this place. You're going to be starting school in a while. You should make a few friends before you join," he suggested. "Now unless you're heading outside, mind finishing up the paint?"

"Fine, I'm leaving," I called, heading out with a skip in my step. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

The wind hit me hard at first, signalling the anticipated return of autumn, consuming the last few hints of summer. I blinked back as I struggled out of the front door, my scarf billowing in the wind. I'd forgotten how beautiful the view was from here. The house was cool, but what amazed me even more was the view from here, huge mountains looming over us with staggering majesty. The woods appeared close behind, the tops of the trees shimmering a soft pink in the sun's early appearance. I had been to quite a lot of places in my life, but never before had I been to the mountains. The High Rockies. Hopefully we wouldn't be moving for quite some time. I could already imagine afternoons-to-come spent hanging around on the porch with a comfortable chair and a good book, the view stretched out beyond me, and a warm mug of hot chocolate in my hand, satisfaction seeping into my heart at the image. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. I took out my phone and hit shuffle on my favourite playlist, stuffing the earphones in my ears as I stepped out onto the pavement, breathing in the cool air, not too hot and not too cold either. Humming the tune of an Ed Sheeran song in my mind, I skipped along the road, matching my footsteps to the upbeat rhythm of Galway Girl. My feet just kept treading, my mind absorbed in the music. I'd walked quite some distance of the way, when I finally realised that I had absolutely no idea where I was going or which way I had come from. Sighing, I pulled out my earphones, and stared blankly down the road, hoping for some guardian angel to float down from heaven and enlighten my way. As if God had heard my pleas, a faint figure appeared down the road quite some distance away. I wondered if I should ask him where I was, but since he was a complete stranger, I opted to call Simon and Sally instead.

"Hey there!" he called from down the road, waving. I blinked. Was he calling me? I turned, but the roads were just as deserted as they were a few seconds ago. Either he was talking to me, or he was crazy. Either way, I didn't want to be involved. Ignoring his call, I turned on the balls of my feet and hurried down the opposite direction. He seemed friendly enough, but I'd been taught that you should never underestimate any member of the public. After all, here my parents were, posing as harmless artists.

"Sky?" he called again. "Sky Bright?" I halted in my tracks, and turned. He'd managed to gain distance, and was closer now. I frowned at him. Closer up he looked much friendlier- rich coffee complexion and a shaved head with gentle eyes shining warmly. He'd be the perfect Charlie LeBron in the story I was writing, the protagonist's best friend. "You're Sky, right?"

"No," I said, pretty unconvincingly. Since lying about my identity had failed, if it came to anything, I would have to turn to my failing martial arts skills, and that was something nobody wanted.

"You are, aren't you?" he said, amused. "I'm Nelson Hoffman. I think my grandma visited your place a few days ago." I blinked, my mind rewinding back to Thursday, when Mrs Hoffman had come to visit. Wow, he was her grandson? Although I could see some physical resemblance, Nelson seemed to be quite a cool guy. And here I was, acting like a completely paranoid idiot.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I said, awkwardly. Luckily Nelson simply laughed it off.

"Don't worry, crime's practically unknown in Wrickenridge," he said grinning. I decided I liked him. Much better than his grandma for starters. "So what are you doing down here?"

"Uh, I kind of got lost," I said. "You don't happen to know the way back to my house, do you?"

"I live close, don't worry. I'll walk you back home," he said, chuckling. "So I take it you'll be enrolling at Wrickenridge High then?" I nodded. "I go there too. I could show you around." Boy, was I glad I knew someone going there before school started.

"That would be great thanks. I was so worried, I'd just become a loner or something," I remarked. Nelson laughed as we turned onto a other streets. How had I even managed to get this far anyway?

"Thank you," I said gratefully, as we reached my house, the sun finally having emerged fully from its bed under the glowing horizon. "How come you were out so early?"

"I like to jog in the mornings," he replied. "And lucky I do too. I wouldn't have met you otherwise. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow, right?" Oh crap. School was tomorrow. Tomorrow, as in tomorrow.

"Uh, yeah sure," I called out as I walked into the house. "Bye!" I closed the door and immediately began freaking out. High School was something I was definitely not looking forward to.

I took forever trying to decide what to wear for my first day of school. First impressions were important and since I knew absolutely no one here, I needed to make this one count. My eyes skimmed through the clothes in my wardrobe restlessly. I decided to disregard all my clothing with Harry Potter quotes, even though I was really tempted to wear my Hogwarts jumper, and decided to settle for a tie dye T-shirt and some jeans, pulling on a denim jacket too for good measure. I glanced at the mirror again, wondering not for the first time if my outfit was too cheerful. Oh well, not my problem if they didn't like my tie-dye.

With one look back at the house I trudged to the car, where Sally was waiting beaming back as if things couldn't be better. I begged to differ.