Moving In - Chapter 03
Moving In
Chapter 3: There's a reason you're everywhere
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Well, I couldn't even describe what happened today. Everything went by so fast. Definitely, it was the fastest Wednesday ever. My Mom woke me up and I saw my room was full of boxes of my things. Are we moving? Oh please tell me not, they could've told me earlier so that the least I could've done was to say goodbye to my year-old friends. Moving sucks especially when you do it a little more than what a child should experience.
"Noah, would you please bring the boxes down so that the guys downstairs could take it and place it on our new home," Wait, what new home? I was really confused. "You better do it quick Noah, their service would last only for half a day," she continued.
Well I better follow her. Why are we moving again? But hey at least, I didn't have to go through all of my stuff and jam it in to some boxes. It was a good thing someone else did it.
- - -
The move turned out to be fine. We didn't really move, I'd say that because we still were in Los Angeles, just in a different street. Now, I know my Dad's income, well not really, nevermind. It's just that when it comes to money, my parents were pretty well reserved and I think they're raising me to be that kind of person too, but I should say to them that a little humble brag every once in a while wouldn't hurt them. Anyways, the reason why I thought about that was because we moved from Macy St. to Nawport St., a street where people in here could afford a little more fancy things when they wanted to. Not saying that, we couldn't afford that before, but in here things just semmed a little more "boujee". I stood in front of our new house. I already walked in a couple of times to see everything. It has a somehow modern design with security being of no problem, three floors, with the third one being a little reception, open-air dining area rooftop, and three bedrooms with all modern showers (and the master bedroom having a jacuzzi and a hot tub built into one).
Well, it will take a little time for me to get used to it, but I could give you a short description of each floor. The first floor has a family room with a Samsung 4K TV, two big stereo speakers by its side and an Apple TV (because cable sucks). The couch is big and comfy, but there is a single La-Z-boy seat that reclines. Also, there is a coffee table and a couch table. If you walk right past it, you'll enter the kitchen and a little dining area or bar, depending on how you see it. Of course, you have all the fancy kitchen stuff. What do you expect? Okay, I'm just joking around. And then outside, at the front, there is a garage which can accommodate at most three cars. I'm hoping they would give me one by the time I'll turn 16 early next year. At the back, there is an average-sized garden, a pool of decent size and a little lounge/shower/utilities area.
Going upstairs, there is a hallway and two of the bedrooms are on the left. The master bedroom occupies the whole right side. The two bedrooms on the left are literally almost the same in everything except in the orientation since both bathrooms are against the dividing wall between the two. And I have already explained what the third floor looked earlier, so nothing more to see there. I was still pretty shocked that my parents could afford this house.
"Mom, we really could afford this, right? I don't want you or Dad to be in a large debt," I said softly.
"Son, I know we shouldn't be saying this, but we bought this house at full price. I know that you don't really know our financial capabilities, but it's because we want you to work hard for your success. Ok," my Dad chimed in.
"Ok," I said with a little more peace of mind. "Now, please be truthful to me, when did this happen and why did you tell it later rather than sooner?"
"Noah, your Dad and I were both raised in financially-capable families and let's just say that your aunts and uncles on both sides have been raised with spoil and everytime your Dad and I dated other people before, they were after us just because of the money we had, not because they loved us. When we met, we understood each other like the back of our own hands and agreed that when we would have a kid, that kid wouldn't be spoiled. Fifteen years forward, here we are telling you that this shouldn't get to your head because money is only temporary and what really matters is your family and real friends," my Mom said. After that, our doorbell rang and Mom got there to see who it was.
"Also, the reason why we did this move is because you are a good kid. You never did any trouble and you were really financially responsible even at a young age, so we decided that we should move here since we think that even though we are really well-off financially, you'd still be good and responsible. Am I right," my Dad said, right as my Mom got to the door to see who was there.
"Yes, Sir," I said, even with a complete salute. They both laughed and by the end of the day most of my things were already settled in my new room. I still wouldn't be asking them for money just to buy really stupid and expensive things, but I'm now more peaceful since I knew that we weren't really struggling. Even though, I still wanted to know how much they earn and how much were kept in the safe. I know what you're thinking, but I'm just curious.
"Also Noah, we need to go see our also new neighbor tomorrow night. She said there will be a little get together. Just in case you had some plans, cancel it. It will also be nice to see who our new neighbors are, since we are also new in this street," my Mom said as she was going back to the conversation earlier.
"Yes Mom," I replied, both hugging them after that.
I went to sleep and nothing really much happened. The bed was warm and comfy. I pretty much stayed all day in my room until a little after 4 P.M. to take a shower, prepare and go downstairs.
"Why are you early," my Mom jokingly asked. I pretty much think humor is what keeps this family together. You know, aside from things. You know the thing, the very dirty thing. Ok, I'll stop.
"Nothing, it's just that I want to see our new neighbors, even though we're also new neighbors in here," I blushed a little but laughed it off.
"Ok, little Noah. Just hang around here and we'll leave after Dad gets home early today," she said.
So I was about to hang around here, I guess. I sat on the sofa, so that my blue jeans and white button-up polo wouldn't get wrinkled. I guess I'm dressing to impress now. I also don't know why, but I feel extra nervous. Maybe it's because I'm also new here. Who knows what would happen?
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"Mom, how many people did you invite," I asked her nervously.
"Well, don't worry about that I only invited the people from the street and some of my new colleagues at school," she said. Well, at least, she didn't invite whole L.A. over. Ok, that was an exagerration.
"What time did you tell them?"
"Well, I told them to be here by before or dinner time. Don't stress out. Okay? Just be yourself, even though you need to work on some of your behavior and manners though," It was true. Sometimes I could be sarcastic, rude and ruthless at times where it wouldn't help, but, I'm already working on it. Hopefully, if mom allows me, I would be going to therapy once a week. It's a whole other story to talk about what happened and why.
Just as right before we ended our conversation, I looked out on our street and seeing all those big houses and cars, ranging from the upper mid-range to luxury, it'll be fun to see how those worlds would collide. But something interesting caught my eye, I saw a rent truck with guys moving in boxes to that house. Who must be those newer neighbor or neighbors? Even though, I could probably assume that by now, it's a happy couple to a small family moving in. I watched the guys and I was hoping that I would see who would be moving but I didn't. I'm guessing that they would be arriving right after my mom would host this little "settling in and getting to know each other" party or celebration. It's still pretty early in the day and I thought why not ask those guys who would be moving in and depending on the age of the people who would be moving maybe we could hang out.
So, I took a shower to mark a good first impression. Of course, a quick rub was also taken, but I took a long time before I could even build up some feeling because I was so used to jerking off in bed, but hey I needed one so it goes. I put on some skinny jeans, which made my butt look good and wore an all-black polo shirt. I didn't button the buttons, so that it would look a little more casual. I asked my mom if I could see the new neighbors settling in and also asked if I could hang out with them. She said yes, but said that if I feel uncomfortable, I should leave and she would just invite them too to the little gathering that we will have.
I walked by and as I was nearing the house, which was three houses away, I saw a black Jeep pull-up and there I saw the cute boy that I saw God-knows-how-many nights ago. I immediately stopped and did my best to hide behind the bushes of our next-door neighbor so that he wouldn't see me. I panicked and just decided to turn around and go somewhere else. Anyways, I took an Uber and decided to see L.A. for a little bit. Well, I enjoyed seeing the city myself and the plain shock of how celebrities just walk around in here being bombarded by paparazzi was enough for me.
So, I went to the nearby mall, window-shopped, grabbed some McDonald's for snacks and Starbucks for drinks and took an another Uber back home. Uber is really a life-saver especially when you're trying to be a little more independent so it sucks for them to sell their operations to Grab in my home country. Yes, I still consider the Philippines my home country.
When I arrived home, my mom asked why I didn't bring the newer neighbors in and thought that I'd be hanging out with them. I said I changed my mind on the way to their house and that I just wanted to see the city myself. By the way, the whole time I said that to her, she was smiling like a maniac, like she knew that something was up and if I didn't tell the truth, I would be executed (joking). But still, I went by at it and changed to some more comfortable clothes so that I could re-wear the clothes I wore to the little party later and that it wouldn't be wrinkly as an old man's skin.
I pretty much fell asleep for half an hour, until my mom woke me up to prepare since guests will come anytime from now. I changed clothes, put on a nice cologne and went downstairs. She was right. The first guest knocked at out door and I answered it. Gee, I couldn't stop staring at his blue eyes.
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"I feel like Noah should knock the door since Maya said she has a son and you could be friends," my Mom said with a little more enthusiam in her voice. So I went forward and knocked on the door. The door opened and it was this guy, shorter than me, but he "looks" way more mature than his height. He just stared at my eyes and I stared right before I introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm Noah, Noah Bell and these are my parents, Mr. Matthew and Mrs. Tina Bell. Actually, we're the newer neighbors here because we just moved like several hours ago so it would be like two little getting to know each other party," I said with a little more enthusiam than what my mother did a while ago, even though nothing of it meant to be sarcastic. His eyes are so brown though. I could almost get lost with it, but I'm straight and never really thought of other guys either. I guess he has just nice eyes.
"Hi, you can just call us Tina and Matt," my Dad said.
"Hi, I'm Chris, Christopher Harper! Nice to meet you," Oh ok, so his name is Chris. He shook his hands with my parents. Suprisingly, he didn't with me. Was there something wrong with me? Maybe yes, maybe no or maybe he's just trying to be formal with them.
"Come in! You were the first one to arrive so no one really except for my mother is here. Please make yourself at home. What drinks do you want? We have Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, water, apple or lemon juice and more alcoholic ones but my mother will probably scold me so yeah," he said with a nervous laugh right after that.
Mom and Dad laughed. They said that they will just get the drinks from his mom. We all laughed. We conversed a little bit. We talked about why they moved here and why they chose here. We also talked about a little bit of our family and our history and why we also moved here. Fifteen minutes passed by and suddenly the room was now crowded. However, the thermostat still kept the room pretty cool. Then Chris's mom, Maya, invited all of us outside to eat with a large dinner table set up by the pool.
"Everone, I would like to get your attention. I would like to propose a toast. I know we're new here and I just wanted to thank everyone who came here tonight. Here's to friendship and being there as friends and neighbors. Cheers," Maya said.
"Cheers," almost everybody said in unison.
So who are our also new neighbors, you ask? Well, I just remembered a few names like Timothy and Samantha, the couple who I presumably heard fighting the last time I hang out with my friends even though they don't have anyone named Chris, Jerry and Luke, the first gay couple I've seen here in L.A. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it I just noticed, and lastly Tom and Gabbie, who is probably only in the whole neighborhood except for Chris' parents and I to have a kid. And his name is Fin, Fin Vega. He is 16 years old and will be a sophomore by the time school starts next week, which sucks because Chris and I are the only ones who know each other who will go to highschool as freshmen and most of my new friends from last year are in a different part of California. So, yay!
The adults, well, got a little tipsy. Good thing they don't live that far and still made responsible choices even though Maya was joking around them to drink more. So I hang out with the only two people in my age group. I looked around for them, but I couldn't find them, until I went upstairs and saw Chris unboxing his PS4, to play with Fin.
"Hey, can I play too," I asked. Chris said something to Noah and didn't look at me but I immediately didn't know what was wrong. Chris stood up and ran to his bedroom.
"What's wrong with him," I asked.
"Nothing, he'll be fine," Fin said to me with a reassuring smile.
"Ok, let's play then," I said with a grin forming across my mouth.
We played some video games and well I'm just average. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. Fin was like a geek when it comes to these ones though. Definitely, a change from the type of friends I am hanging out though. I consider myself a jock just because I hang out with them and I feel cool, but that doesn't mean I am friends with them. This time, I felt that feeling of friendship with Fin. Since Chris didn't bother to go out, maybe he fell asleep, we talked about our childhood, what we like in girls, why we hate school and all the normal boy talk.
But, it felt like something wasn't right. Well maybe I could describe to you what it is now, because it's like the host invited people over and the host definitely stayed inside of their comfort zone. I did not mean it to Maya, she had been a great host for this little thing, but it's meant for Chris. I felt something was wrong and that I should go inside, but Fin insisted that I was just overthinking and said to me that he was probably tired helping his mom making this day as perfect as possible, since even though people here got along, there were definitely topics and issues where most of the people in this street, didn't see eye to eye and things got a little hot.
"Fin! Noah! Get down here both of your parents are now leaving," Maya said from downstairs.
"Yes, ma'am," We said, almost both at the same time.
"Just call me Maya, boys," she said and we heard both of our parents laughing.
We turned off the PS4, fixed the little mess we made on the upstairs lounge and went downstairs. We said that Chris already went to bed and was probably tired. My family and Fin's were the last one to leave. We exchanged our goodbyes and walked home. We arrived home and I immediately went to bed without even taking a quick shower or toothbrush. But the problem was I couldn't sleep, I worried about Chris. I worried why he went to his room so early and that Fin and I should've checked on him. I felt something was wrong and that's what made me not to fall sleep. I don't know why but his energy was just so warm and welcoming when we were at the front door of his house but when I went upstairs, suddenly, the energy was gone.
He had this pull that I couldn't decribe.
I need to help Chris, whatever he's in.