REBELS

Episode 3

After hearing the screams of some of my colleagues when they saw me in that state, and also because the water had started to fall from the ceiling when the fire alarm went off, I prepared to escape after coming out of the paralysis of panic that had overwhelmed me. But before that, I examined the facial expressions of those in front of me, they were looking at me with bewilderment, fear and horror crossed their faces, and mine worried and dread, much fear.

I came out of there with my hair on fire, I ran through the great corridors of the school without caring about anything. I just wanted to leave and I had succeeded because just that afternoon, after telling my parents everything, they decided that we would leave again.

We were going to leave Russia, but for the first time in my life I didn't want to because there I had Abby, my only and best friend. But hearing my parents tell me that her family would be willing to come with us, wherever we moved, I jumped for joy. We were not going to part.

As the truck moved down the road, my mind kept replaying events. In that year I met some really nice people, especially Abby, but thanks to her I had opened up a bit more and was able to socialize, strike up a conversation and act like I always dreamed of: normal.

That had been quite strange even for the teachers because she really was alone the first few days. At first most of my classmates would come up to me to try to talk to me, but I was so afraid of ruining everything that I would just tell them I had to do something and walk away. Weeks went by like this and then they started calling me the loner because I was always alone, in the classroom I didn't sit next to anyone, in the cafeteria I sat at the farthest table until Abby arrived, she was the new one.

At first, he joined the group of girls from our room, he was very nice, he even tried to talk to me, only that, as I said before, I always made an excuse to leave. Until that day came, the day I already mentioned.

Suddenly I found myself thinking of someone in particular: a boy, I still didn't believe how that person could interest me, he was beautiful, he was damn precious and his attitude towards people was always admirable to me because it couldn't be real that he was so attractive and nice, his name was Kevin. I think that was exactly why, I liked nice guys.

He settled in Russia the same year as me and we were introduced as new to our peers at the same time. Of course he adapted before me, Kevin had the intention of being my friend, at first, because after the many excuses I made for not talking to him, he gave up and left me alone, as everyone did because of my avoidance.

I didn't realize it when I fell asleep with my elbow propped up on the car window, my face cradled in the palm of my hand. My mother was the one who woke me up when we got to the airport, after that moment everything seemed to go too fast, it was early, very early or at least for me. It was barely going to be six in the morning, since at six o'clock we already had to be boarding the plane.

When I got out of the car I put on some dark glasses so that the sleepiness wouldn't go away, because I had the intention of falling asleep during the whole trip. With laziness reflected on my face, I took the suitcase that my father was passing me and then rolled it on the floor. I grabbed my mother's arm so that she would be my guide at that moment, because the truth is that she was too tired, we had barely slept for about three hours before going to the airport.

I didn't pay attention to it when they searched our bags or ourselves, since my mind did not stop thinking about things, I was about to leave another country, it was the fourth time if my memory served me correctly. Although this trip would be different because after spending years outside my country of origin, we would return. We were coming back.

Once inside the plane I got ready to sleep hoping that when I woke up it would be the next day, because that day Abby and her parents would catch up with us in the United States.

(...)

"Welcome to Pennsylvania!" exclaimed Peter Dufour, my father, with open arms showing us the place.

It was about four or almost five in the afternoon when we landed.

"Our new home?" I asked him, because I didn't know if we would stay there or go to some other place, another state or city. The truth is that I did not even know where we would stay. Everything had happened so suddenly that I was still processing this new fact.

"Probably," was his only response, his black eyes leaving mine as he stepped forward, gesturing for my mother and me to follow.

"You'll see that everything will be fine here," my mother, Eleonor, tried to comfort me before starting to walk behind him.

She knew full well that moving was not one of my favorite pastimes.

Without further ado, I followed them until we came to a dark-haired young man of about twenty years of age. He was standing next to a gray van and, seeing my father, he had immediately gone over to say something to him, give him the car key and then leave with a nod of his head.

The road to the place where we would stay lasted about half an hour. When my father stopped the car I looked up from my phone screen, pausing my reading to take a full look at the large ten-story building in front of us.

-It's here? This is...? I started to tell my mother while she kept looking at the beautiful building.

"That's right, Rouse," she stated. It will be a few days, we are passing through.