Little Transitions

As I stare out my smoggy window at 3am in the morning, I think about the one thing that's been on my mind since the beginning. The only reason why I am homesick, the reason why I'm an insomniac, and the reason why I had to leave the people I love so much behind. My age. It sucks being 18, you know? You have to deal with the transition of non-dramatic childhood fun, to melodramatic expectations, and getting into unworthy colleges. Ugh, college. Please don't get me started. While I sit here and daydream about majestical creatures and being swept away by some sexy Greek god, everyone else is thinking about the following: Education. Scholarships. And Grad-School. Forgive me if I sound like your typical high school stoner, but I just think there's more to life than papers and studying. But hey, guess you can't have everything, am I right? I really don't want to start school. I just wanna go back home. "Hey! You ready to leave your childhood behind baby girl?' My dad jokes while practically throwing my memories into fresh, cardboard smelling boxes. "Hm..." "Oh you know I'm kidding. This is adulthood, a brand new life! You get to go on new adventures, meet foreign people, and get to drink all the vodka you want! Hey, maybe you even get to see those dancing bears!" "Sure dad...' I mumble, tears prickling against my eyes, begging to fall down my cold ebony cheeks. The thought of me leaving the place I've grown so attached to over the years is heartbreaking to me. I never thought it was going to be this hard to leave Alaska. I pause. I'm leaving my home. My snow, my lonely walks at midnight with my best friend, my dad's famous hot chocolate, my wolves... At that last thought, I stop taping boxes shut and crumble to the hard oak floor, my tears finally making their way from there prisons. "Saskia? Are you okay?!" My dad yells, throwing whatever he had in his hands into a random box and falls to the floor with me, holding my lithe frame in his broad shoulders while rubbing the back of my head. "M-my dogs." I croak. "Oh sweetheart, they will be ok, don't you worry. I promise I'll walk and feed them, and take them all on hikes, like you do. Okay?" After some silence, he pulls away so I can answer him fully. I wipe my tears away with my hands, then after a couple of minutes I clasp them together, trying to break the silence somehow. "…M-Mika doesn't like running next to Austin, so make sure their a ways apart from each other, okay? And also, Willow loves fish more than animal, so make sure she gets double portions of salmon then the others do with meat…" A hefty chuckle erupts from my dad's throat. "So that she gets as much protein as the rest of them. I gotcha Raven. You can always come back and visit each of them on your holiday breaks, alright?" He swipes my bangs behind my ears. I smile, knowing my dad cares so much, and only wants what is best for me...mom would've done the same. "Thanks dad." He stands clumsily and pulls me up with him. He places a tender kiss on my forehead, then sighs. 'You and Matt will have a fun time together. And who knows, maybe you'll find something new in each other.' He gives me a solemn smile, knowing that me and my best friend have been inseparable since I met him, so there's nothing I don't already know. "Yea. Maybe." HONK HONK! Startled from my thoughts, I look out my window to see what is making that awful noise, only to be blinded by the rising sun. How long was I out of it? "Saskia! Let's go! We're gunna be late!' screeches Matt from his shitty, orange convertible. "Calm down! I still gotta get ready!" I yell back at him. "Well hurry up!" Ignoring his last statement, I check the clock on my wall. 7:15. "Shit." I mumble, already 15 minutes behind schedule. Why didn't he get me up? Shaking my head, I run from my need-to-be-cleaned window, and throw on my black skinny jeans and my plain white hoodie that were thrown carelessly on my floor. I then hunt for my green backpack- which I just realize I stowed away in my also need-to-be-f*****g-cleaned closet. I could just, not go to school. After a bit of protest, I decided to do the right thing and dig deep inside the messy storage place. Exactly 4 minutes later, I find it, all-the-while throwing my back out from being hunched over for so long. I laugh at myself for acting so old, then limply slip into my brand new black converses. I love these things. Mostly because my dad got them for me before I left for college. He said that I deserved them for my hard work, and that I will be needing something to keep my feet warmer in Russia then my worn out moccasins. Oh yes, you heard that right. Me and Matt got accepted into this little, yet expensive college/school thing here. What is it, Moscow's tech school of physics or something? It's a pretty prestigous school. Who knows how Matt got a hold of them (and I don't want to ask), but I only signed up because I wanted to make my dad happy. And maybe because Matt practically forced me to join him in this 'epic' journey of his. He said he couldn't do this without me. I love Physics, and maybe that was a reason why I also signed up too, but come on! Moscow? Matt better be lucky, because if it wasn't for the fact that he already paid for it; then there was no way in hell I was going to go. But really, I'm TOTALLY glad that he persuaded me here. I quite like this gloomy, racist, piss-to-the-f*****g drunk place on earth. Really. I'm f*****g ecstatic. Geez, Russia is way more intense than we thought. My dumbass friend and I almost get into a huge fight with these rude passengers before we can even step off the f*****g plane. I guess a 6'4 shaggy headed emo and a 5'7 Alaskan black chick don't blend in too well with the crowd…huh. So long story short, after 6 moves, 3 arrests (all by an overly protective Matt), and 4 evictions later, we finally found a place that was close enough to school, but a long ways away from scary people...or cops. But you know. That's all behind us. After I have my shoes tied to mere perfection, I race out my room into our long, rather gothic looking hallway, and fly down our spiral black and white staircases. The apartment that we're staying in is pretty nice. Whoever designed the place had a thing for Dark Victorian, but it's beautiful nonetheless. I rush and grab our pre-made lunches, which were a peanut butter sandwich (me), and of course Matts favorite; blood sausages and carrots. After you've known Matt for 12 years; you get use to his odd eating habits. I mean, when you live in below-freezing weather, you need tons of protein and iron to get through some days. I for one still don't understand why Matt insists on eating food that my dogs would usually devour. Meh, whatever. I still love him though. Quite a lot, actually. Wait, did I just-? My thoughts were interrupted by more of Matt's honking, which probably means that I need to hurry up. I run out the house and heave closed the heavy front doors. Though I'm already winded, I start holling ass to his beat-up car. I practically rip the handle bar off its hinges by trying to open the door. I sigh, then throw my bag in the back seat. I sit down with a hard 'thump' and reach over to try and get my seatbelt to cooperate with me. "I hate getting in your piece of s**t vehicle." I remind once again, like I do every time I have to get into this damn thing and TRY to get my seatbelt to fit into its lock. "Well-" He starts, reaching over swiftly and locking the two parts together with ease, then settling back at the steering wheel. "-it's better, and safer than your deathtrap." "You mean the motorcycle I got when I was 16? The same one YOU got me for my birthday?! It took a lot for us to get Stallion here safely, so shut up!" I yell, making him laugh at my rather unnecessary output. "I forgot you named it that." He says, still snickering. I huff at him. "It's not an "it"." I mumble, all the while glaring daggers at his face. "Alright, alright princess. Sorry for hurting your "feelings".' Matt says while running his fingers through his soft, dark brown hair, then he looks out the rearview mirror to fix his black snake bites. "That's alright, bastard." I smiled. He is annoying, but I couldn't live without him. After a couple of seconds, staring out the window, I realize that we're not moving yet. A bit annoyed, I look over and see Matt staring right at me with this big, anticipated grin that I couldn't help but find...adorable. He was waiting for my permission to tell him to go. 'You can start the car now." His grin turns even wider. Rather excitedly, he turns the key, and backs out of the weed-infested driveway. He then gets out of reverse, and zooms down the long, empty road to Moscow, where school is waiting for us.. "I love you Saskia.' Matt says while rolling down the windows, welcoming the cold, crisp morning air to join the ride. I love you too, Matt. I love you so much. "Heh, whatever. Just take us to school…safely." I state while gripping the broken handle bar above me for dear life. He smiles.