I’ve been in the car for over three hours and couldn’t tell if I’m bored from sitting down for so long or if I have nothing else to do besides looking out the windows and seeing nothing but grass fields. My phone died almost an hour ago after we entered the mountains and I don’t have anything to charge my phone until we arrive at our destination. I closed my eyes, trying to rest at least until we needed to get off the highway; it was the only thing I could do now. Luckily the ride wasn’t horrible with the weather and the sun was close to setting, making the air a little cooler. My aunt informed me that we had to have the windows down because the AC didn’t work and the stereo would only play music if we inserted a CD; I’m surprised every time we wrap a disc. I wonder if she knows she can buy Bluetooth to connect to her car's cigarette lighter or if she just loves the retro feeling of using a CD player.

After the accident almost a month ago, I haven’t had the chance to relax and there was so much packing that I had to get done. I knew things would be different after completing the paper works and I would be leaving my home from the big city to the country. A small town that I hadn’t visited since my summer vacations during elementary. How are high schools in small towns? Is it like in the television and movies where everyone knows each other in markets and they already know everything about you? I let out a heavy sigh knowing that I was too stressed from the move to take a nap and wished to get out of the car already. I also found out that I get car sick after forty minutes into the drive and it’s making my stomach uncomfortable. It's that feeling where I want to throw up, but it's stuck in my throat. It's gross.

“How long until we’re there?” I asked my aunt.

Aunt Jocelyn, my mother’s sister, lowered the music that she had blasting. “I would say another thirty minutes,” She answered and glanced over at me. “Tired? I know it was a long ride. Maybe we should have stopped and eaten at those tiny towns halfway through the mountains.”

During the drive, we hadn’t spoken a single word. “I’m just getting anxious sitting here for so long,” I said while rubbing my face with the palm of my hand.

“Yeah, car rides are a drag.” She mumbled and looked at the highway sign coming up. “Are you hungry?”

“Just a bit,” I replied and took a deep breath. “But can we get delivery? I really can’t stand sitting here.”

Aunt Jocelyn looked over at me before frowning and nodded. “I see… Right. Of course. Sorry, we’ll be there soon.”

I sticked my head out of the window a little so that the wind can hit my face and I felt slightly guilty that my tone might have sounded harsher than I meant to. “How far is the high school from your house?” I asked.

“Oh,” She hummed like she hadn't thought of this question herself and I don’t think she’s thought too much about my high school transfer. “I think fifteen minutes.”

“Walking or driving?” I asked, wondering if she was being honest.

She sat there quietly before shrugging her shoulders, “Sorry, I was so distracted with the paperwork from the lawyers and cleaning the place that I haven’t thought too much about things like that. I have a small Jeep if you want to drive that to school, you do have a permit right?” She asked sheepishly.

“I do, but isn’t that the Jeep that broke down on you four times in one month?” I asked her. I remember Mom talking about Aunt Jocelyn’s car and always complaining that she is never aware of the danger she places herself in.

“That was when I was traveling to San Francisco for a convention and I took the risk of driving during the summer,” She said proudly.

I looked at her like I wasn’t impressed, but the good thing with Aunt Jocelyn is that she’s the youngest sibling on my mother's side and far more free-spirited. Because of how young she is, I feel like she’s more of an older cousin instead of an aunt and maybe that’s why she’s more outspoken compared to my mother.  “That sounds too extreme. What kind of convention did you go to?”

She waved a hand at me like it didn’t matter and said, “That was years back. I’m surprised that you remember.”

“When was the last time you drove the Jeep? Does it not work since you have this car?” I asked her, curiously.

She paused as she thought about this question then glanced over at me and seemed to be calculating the days. “It’s September, right?”

“Yes,” I answered like it was an obvious answer; which it was.

“May,” She whispered.

I thought about this before taking a small breath again now that we’re finally out of the freeway and closer to getting out of this car. “I’ll have to take it to a shop. Gotta see if there’s anything wrong with it. Gotta check the engine and the battery and all the other stuff… It might cost a bit.” I informed her.

“It should work fine. She’s an old car, but she runs great and she can take you everywhere,” She replied.

I looked out the window wanting a look at the area, but there wasn’t much to see as I expected, and wondered for a second what my friends were doing. “No. I would feel safe if I took it to the shop,” I said with a more serious tone than I meant to sound.

“Okay,” She mumbled, pulling up to a white house with a larger front yard. “We’re finally here.”

Once the car was parked, I stepped out and stretched my arms out finally feeling like I could breathe again. “I don’t get how you can handle these long drives. You had to drive out to pick me up and drive back. I bit your back hurts more than mine.”

“It’s not a big deal if you don’t think about it too much,” She said as she opened the trunk and began to pull out my suitcase. “Grab a box while I open the door.”

I opened the back seat door and grabbed a large box then followed behind her. “Where is my room?” I asked.

“Well, there's a room next to the bathroom down the hallway which is the last door that you’ll see,” She said, pointing at the hallway that’s between the living room and kitchen. To my right, there is the kitchen and she pointed to the small door that’s behind the dining table. “Or in the sitting area, you can make it your place. It is bigger than the living room and there is already a television there, but you have to walk over here to use the bathroom. You can move the bed from the second bedroom, and there’s enough room that you don’t have to remove the couch from the sitting area. You can make it into a mini studio if you want. I don’t use that room and it’ll convince me not to use it as a storage room.”

I looked at her feeling a bit surprised that she was offering me a bigger space, but I walked over to look at the bedroom first and then the sitting room. “Are you sure?”

“I only used that space when the family would come to visit, but it’s been a long time since any of them visited. Take it and I’m sure it's much better than that small room,” She said as she began to move my luggage to the room. “Do you want a mini fridge? I don’t mind it if you want one… What else do teenagers like? A pool table? I’m sure you own a game console.”

I stood by the door watching her, then looked at the blank white walls and the tile floor, the whole house has tile floors. “Are you really okay with me living here?” I asked her in a quiet voice. “I know it was sudden and you were on the forms… But anyone in the family could have taken me in.”

Aunt Jocelyn frowned as she listened and moved to sit on the couch. “Jacob… I know it's been difficult for you and it will still be difficult later on in life, but when they told me that I will have custody of you… I jumped the gun and had to bring you home.” She said and ran her hands through her long hair. “I could only hope that you don’t hate me or hate living here. This isn’t Los Angeles. This isn’t the big city where you can hop on a bus to go downtown and take trips to the beach or other cool places they have out there. I’m sorry that I live in a boring small town, and it’s a big adjustment for both of us, but I’m happy that you're here. I honestly need some company in this quiet house…”

I almost chuckled and shook my head as I listened to her. “Aunt Jocelyn, do you know how dangerous it is to explore downtown? The worst place to be.” I added in and moved to sit beside her.

“Well, my point is, this is a big change and sadly, there isn’t anything we can do to send you back home,” She continued with the seriousness of the topic. “There is no home to go back to, Jacob.”

“Jake. Everyone calls me Jake,” I interrupted and leaned against the cushion. “And I know. It’s not a big deal to move here, but this must also be hard on you.”

“Not as hard as you were having to be on your own and I’m sure you must be hurting,” Aunt Jocelyn said, reaching out to pat my arm.

I looked at the wall before standing up and tried not to show that I wasn’t bothered. “I’m gonna get the rest of the boxes.”

“Jake,” She called me back and I stood at the foot of the door. “If you need more professional help, I can look into that for you. It's difficult dealing with this sudden change and counseling isn’t weird these days. My parents put me in counseling, but that was a different reason and it helped me learn about acceptance.”

I looked down at the black Vans that I was wearing and shook my head before continuing to walk. “I don’t need help.”

“Okay,” She watched me until she noticed the conversation was over then stood up as well and stepped out of the room.