If you would have asked me to tell you where I would spend the rest of my life...

"Parker, we're here," my mom snapped at me. "Let's get our stuff out of the trunk so we can hurry and move in."

I would not have answered some futuristic continent.

I sighed and stopped twiddling my thumbs. Pulling myself out of the hovering taxi, I looked around. All the buildings looked a lot more futuristic than in my last town. There were even flying cars. Yeah, this was definitely a change of environment. Seemed like we had indeed made it to our new home: Gamindustri.

I walked over to the trunk of the taxi. My parents were grabbing their luggage bags and heaving them out. I pulled my canvas bag from the trunk and took my dad's other bag as he went to pay and tip the taxi driver.

He flashed the driver one of his hopeless grins. "Thanks, man. Pleasure meeting you."

The taxi driver nodded and stuffed the coin currency away. "Anytime pal. Take it easy and hope you enjoy your new life here!"

My dad laughed and turned his back to the taxi. He muttered under his breath. "What a sad sap..."

The three of us came face-to-face with a large apartment complex. It was huge and really reminded me of how insignificant we all were in the grand scheme of things.

We entered the complex and got the keys to our suite. Since the elevator apparently didn't work (according to the paper slapped to the elevator doors), we had to drag all of our luggage up nine flights of stairs. Even though we took several breaks along the climb, we were still exhausted by the time we reached the ninth floor. You would think the staff would at least help carry your luggage, but guess that was asking for too much.

"Haa... Haa..." I collapsed onto the hallway's carpet. "Why... were there... so many stairs?"

*Ding*

Turning to the "broken" elevator, we saw several janitors coming out of it with their mop buckets. Just our luck, huh?

I heard my dad curse. "If I was the owner of this complex, I would've fired whoever put that sign on the elevator..."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, keep talking. You barely have a job...

We caught our breath and found our suite. Opening the door, we were met by a small living area connecting to a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a pair of bedrooms. Well, at least they had a TV.

My mom took in her surroundings and shrugged. "Well, it's pretty quaint. What do you two think?"

I let out a sigh. "Better than our last dump. Then again, it wasn't setting a high bar."

My dad chuckled. "Not much of an upgrade, sure, but at least it came with a decent TV. The last place didn't even have a radio."

Mom groaned and put her hands on her hips. "Look, at least it's something! Aren't either of you looking forward to seeing the city?"

I waved her off and began heading to claim my bedroom. "As long as it's better than the last place, I'll take it. Pine Nut was so homogenous."

My mom continued to try to reason with my dad about the suite's offerings. I just wanted to see how my room looked.

Opening the rusted door, I observed the small room: closet, bed, and a window. It was honestly enough for me. Sure, it was small, but at least I had a bed.

"Haa..." I tossed my bag to the side, closed the door, and flopped onto the bed. It smelled like soap.

I turned to stare at the beige ceiling. "Guess this is my new home now, huh?"

My dad was bad at keeping a job. For various reasons, he was fired and had to get a new job. But nobody in Pine Nut was willing to offer him a job, so he decided to find a new job in some foreign country. Somehow, he landed a job in Gamindustri. Honestly, it sounded super shady considering I had never even heard of that place. It wasn't even on any world map.

My dad insisted it was legit. While my mom and I were skeptical, we still decided to follow him. Somehow, the place turned out to be real and the suite we were offered wasn't a scam or anything.

I was happy this place actually existed and my dad didn't get swindled again, but I didn't like the idea of starting life at some new school. Because I moved away with my dad, I was forced to leave my friends over at my old school. Luckily, I was qualified and would start as a transfer student at Gamicademi. Gotta say: it's a weird school name. Then again, what kind of a name was Gamindustri?

I assumed it was some national school, considering how much resemblance the school's name held to the nation. I just hoped I would be able to make some friends since school started there only a few days ago.

While I was in the taxi, the school faculty had called to tell me how school was going to work. Basically, they had given me a bunch of general education classes and whatever electives they could fit onto the schedule. My first day of school would be tomorrow, and I was expected to wear the school uniform they had shipped.

The idea of wearing a uniform disgusted me, but it at least meant I wouldn't have to blow a bunch of money to get new clothes. Part of me was excited to go make some new friends, while the other part of me was absolutely terrified of making a fool out of myself. I was already made fun of at my old school, so I was hoping to avoid that here.

I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the bed. I was tired and ached from sitting in a taxi for three days. Sleep was the best choice until my parents made dinner.

I had no idea where I was, but I was kinda excited about a new life. I just hoped that I could finally find people who really accepted me...

I stirred in my thoughts for a bit longer before I fell asleep.

A/N:

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this new fanfic! It's been a while since I've been on this platform, and I haven't written in a while. I've been so busy with school and my personal life that I almost forgot about writing completely! Luckily, I didn't. For a while, I've actually been trying to get back into writing, but I either experienced lots of Writer's Block or was too busy.

Thanks to being stuck at my house, I've had a lot of time to self-reflect and rediscovered my passion for writing stories. I honestly missed it and interacting with the community on this platform. I want to properly get back into writing on here again!

Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm still able to write stories like I used to, but I want to at least try. As of right now, I don't have a schedule or anything for uploading. I also don't want to start uploading consistently just yet until I get my feel for the series and writing sense back. This chapter served as more of a pilot, so I'd appreciate any feedback about it. This story was a project that I had been planning on doing for a while, but never got around to. Honestly, I think I should be able to start uploading again in a week or so. No promises, but we'll see...

I guess I'm done rambling. I have a poll on my Account page that I'd appreciate if you'd answer, as it'll help me shape how I handle writing. I'll keep it up for about a week. Anyways, thanks for reading the first chapter of this fanfiction! This will be a long story, so any criticism and reviews would be greatly appreciated!