“Do we have to move again, Dad?” I asked. “We just got to Phoenix three months ago. I made new friends and did everything you asked. Now we have to move to Seattle? Moving seven times by the time you are sixteen is not normal, Dad. It’s not fair.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it, Brian,” Benjamin replied. “My job contract says that they have the right to move us at any time. A job opened up in Seattle, so I took it. It’s not going to be hard for you to make new friends; people will like you. Maybe you’ll meet a girl who really cares for you this time.”

“Yeah right, Dad. I do perfectly fine on my own,” I responded. “Why would I even look for someone, when I am going to have to leave them in three months?”

“That’s enough!” Molly, my mom added. “I don’t want anyone to fight anymore. We are moving and that is the end of it.”

Is it really fair that I have to move for the seventh time in my life? I’m only sixteen years old, and personally, I can’t wait to be on my own. I know that isn’t a good thing to say, but people don’t know how hard it is to leave the one you care most about. Yeah, I have my five siblings with me, but how much fun could that possibly be?
I know my dad wants me to meet somebody special, but no one will ever compare to Hannah. I met her in my sixth home, in North Carolina. No moment was ever dull with her. The day that I left her, had to have been the hardest day of my life. We cried together, until the moment my dad tore us apart. We would have been together forever. I always knew that; I just never told her it. She was the only girl I ever loved, and as I see it, the only girl I ever will.
As we arrived at our brand new home, I wondered how long we would actually stay in this house. It had to be the biggest house we’ve ever lived in. I just hoped that this time, we might stay here a little longer than three months. I could definitely get used to living here.
We each grabbed a bag or two out of the back of the car and walked to the front door together. I took the honor of opening the door and being the first one inside. The first thing I noticed was the glistening diamond chandelier above me, and the spiral stair case, just feet away. Dropping the bags, I rushed up the stairs and ran in and out of the numerous rooms, until I found the one that I wanted. I picked the last room at the end of the hallway. All of my furniture was there, for the moving truck had brought everything last Thursday. The room was filled with my round bed, wooden dressers, a closet, and a door with stairs in it?
“Brian,” Julia, my eldest sister called. “Mom wants you to come and get your clothes and unpack.”
“Yeah, whatever, I’ll be there when I get there.” I shouted back. I walked towards the door, curious of what could be inside. As I walked forward, I saw another small staircase. I walked down the stairs quickly, eager to see what was at the bottom. “Whoa,” I said as I reached the room. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” In front of me was a small room with a couch, flat screen television and pool table.
“Brian!” my mom shouted. “Get down here right now.” I hurried downstairs, not wanting to cause trouble on the first day in our new home.
“What do you want, mom?” I said as I got to the bottom of the stairs, where she was standing.
“I want you to go upstairs and unpack. Then you can help Brady and Vince put their stuff away,” she said.
“What do I have to help them for? They are seven. Why can’t they do something for themselves?” I questioned.
“Go help them or you’re grounded for two weeks.”
“Whatever, mom.” I walked to the door where all of our bags were laying and picked up Brady, Vince’s, and my bags and walked upstairs. I threw theirs on their bed and went to my room. I dumped all of the clothes out on the bed, then walked over to the dresser and stuffed them in the drawers. What did it matter; my room would be a mess in two days anyway. I walked to Vince and Brady’s room. They were sitting on their beds watching their pet hamster, Stripe roll around on the floor.
I put their bags on their beds. “Mom said to fold your clothes and put them in your dressers. Then go and get all of your toys from the floor downstairs and put them in the toy room. And put that rat back in his cage.”
“He’s not a rat,” Brady complained. Brady was the sensitive twin. Everything you did bothered him. If you weren’t careful, he would just go into tantrum mode, and the only way to calm him down was if my mom babied him. I swear he’s not normal.
“Brady, stop complaining,” Vince snapped back. “Just do what mom says so she doesn’t flip out. You know she does that whenever we move to a new place.”
“Guys, stop fighting. Do as mom says and be down for dinner at seven. If you need help with anything, ask Julia or Sarah.”
“Okay,” they both said together. I walked back to my room. I didn’t want anyone to find out about my secret space. It would just be for me, no one else. I plopped down on my bed and opened up my dirt biker magazine. A few minutes later my mom walked in with sheets and a comforter for my bed. I got up and decided to go for a walk before my mom enlisted me to help her, so I left to check out the new town.
As I walked around, I felt that there was something different about this town. Not something like the way it smelled, but something about the way it felt. I felt like I could find something here: maybe myself. Suddenly someone came flying down the street on a bike, almost running me over. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going,” I screamed back. I looked up at the window of the house in front of me, only to see a girl laughing. “What the hell are you laughing at?” I asked. No answer.
As I began to walk away, the girl said something. “Hey wait up,” she shouted. The next thing I knew; she was in front of me on the sidewalk. “What’s your name?”
“Brian,” I responded. “I just moved in. I’m on 23 Weary Street.”
“Yeah, I saw the moving truck. Where did you come here from?”
“A small town in North Carolina,” I answered. “My dad works for a bank, so we travel a lot.”

“How old are you?” she asked.

“16, you?”

“16.”

“Are you going to be in school tomorrow?” she questioned.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I responded. “Why?”

“I have to go,” she answered urgently. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait, what’s your name?” I asked as she walked back into her house. All I heard was the door slam shut. “Mystery Girl, that’s what I’ll call her.”

As I continued to walk, I couldn’t get Mystery Girl out of my mind. She was so beautiful. She had long straight elegant blond hair, green large eyes, and just looking at her smile made me lost. Literally. Where had I ended up? Ahead of me was a park with a bunch of young children swinging on swings or going down slides. I looked back on my youth. There were no parks or swimming pools, just airplanes and business meetings. I wondered what my life would be like if I had had a normal childhood. Guess I would never find out.

I turned around and followed my tracks back to Mystery Girl’s house. I would know where to go from there. When I got to her house, all I could do was stare blankly. I realized that I didn’t want to keep on walking; I wanted to stand and stare here forever. As long as I had Mystery Girl, I figured everything would be fine. I would have at least one friend at school tomorrow. I glanced down at my watch and realized it was seven. Crap, I was going to be late for dinner. Mom would kill me. I took one last glance at the house, and sprinted back home.

When I reached home, Dad wasn’t home yet and dinner wasn’t done either. Thank God. I walked in the kitchen and saw my mom still working on the stove and Brady in the dining room setting up the table. He placed the forks down in everyone’s place, then went and grabbed eleven plates from the cabinet. I walked up to him and took the plates out of his hand because they looked like they were about to topple over. After I had placed the plates down in place, I screamed up the steps, “Dinner’s ready.”

Julia came down the stairs first with Declan in her hands. Julia was the oldest, 18, and Declan the youngest, 3. Then, piling down the stairs came, Brady and Vince, 7, and Ryder, 13. They each took their places at the table as Mom brought in all of the food; chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, gravy and corn; my favorite. After dinner I went back up to my room to think. I wanted to go downstairs in my private space and relax, but I didn’t want to risk anyone finding out about it; so instead, I just laid on my bed. Thinking was no success, because about five seconds later I was asleep.

I dreamed about Mystery Girl. She flew in and out of my mind like an airplane during turbulence. The dreams were blurry and unclear, and there were lots of screams. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t good. Was it really just a dream or was Mystery Girl in trouble? I wasn’t able to stay and find out. My alarm clock buzzed, and I sat straight up in my bed with sweat dripping down my face. I couldn’t wait to confront her again, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the right reasons.