Lauren Waqa

Short stories P. 2

Mr. Bye

11/10/08

Still Standing

“But it’s just a thought,” my mom announced as I watched her unload her suitcase.

“I hope it’s just a thought, I’m not trying to move to Washington D.C. during my senior year.” I quickly snapped back

Washington D.C.? The words ran puzzled through my head as I slipped out her bedroom door. There’s no way she would actually just pick up our lives and leave, right? I guess I should have seen it coming after the first two week trip she took. I began to think about the fact that taking a nine hour flight every other two weeks for work would be a pain in the ass. Just the thought of her thinking about moving freaked me out. The last time she told me “It was just a thought” for sending me to Berkeley High, yet she actually pulled it off!

Weeks went by, and there still was no talk of Washington D.C. Maybe she just decided to drop the whole idea and keep commuting back and forth. A rush of guilt ran through my body to think that my mom would have to start living out of her suitcase. She works for a consulting business based in Washington D.C. After February 2008, when the business got bought out in Berkeley, she was offered the opportunity to continue her job. Only it was relocated in Washington D.C. twice a month she would leave for two weeks to go to work and could only go back home for a few days. She was already starting to miss out on all the normal events my family does, like birthdays, swim meets, basketball tournaments, and family get togethers. It really was never the same when my mom wasn’t there. She brought the life of the party. At basketball tournaments all the parents call her their drinking buddy. She was always the first one to be on the dance floor even if no one else was on it. A day never went by that I didn’t think about the conversation of moving. I had the feeling in my gut that somehow my mom would actually pull through on the whole trip.

A knock rattled my door.

“Come in.”

It was my mom. This was rare that she would come up to my room to talk, I knew from that point it wasn’t going to be good. She quickly shut, locked the door behind her and didn’t hesitate to sit down.

“You know what the plan is right?” she said bluntly

My mom was all about tough love. She never liked beating around the bush; everything had to be straight up.

“No, and I’m not sure if I even want to know what the plan is.” I told her as I began folding my wrinkly laundry from three days ago.

Procrastination was my middle name. I knew that was my mom’s biggest pet peeve about me.

“Over the past couple of weeks, you know I've been thinking about moving to Washington D.C.” her voice began to stutter a bit the more she explained.

I stopped folding.

“I figured out a way to make this whole thing work.”

“Yeah not going.” I responded in a rude tone.

I had no idea how to handle this, but crack a joke. But there was no laughing. Making jokes out of something serious was the only way I could keep my composure.

“I wish, but no. At the end of summer, we are all moving.” She responded to my badly put together joke.

“What????” I yelled.

Clothes began to drop as I jumped off the bed to make sure I was hearing this whole thing right. I could actually feel my heart plunged all the way down to my stomach. She began to hesitate a little and finally she laid it all out here.

“Everyone is moving…except you.”

The words hit me like a 4 X 4 monster truck. My legs became weak, making me fall back against my bed. My eyes widened with a deep stare into space as my mom just sat there uncomfortably. I couldn’t care less what I was doing; I just needed to know answers. I asked her again what she was talking about just in case I heard her wrong. The same exact words spilled out her mouth. The only word I could comprehend was “except you.” Except me? What was she thinking? So many ridiculous questions flew through my mind. Where would I stay at? Who would I be living with? What about school? Am I living with my dad? I knew that if she made me move in with him, I would try and find some way to get my own place or live with one of my friends.

Everyone was leaving me? I knew my younger sister Paige was going to have a ball with this. It was her first year of high school and she knew she could start fresh. Paige was a spastic kid but I knew for a fact I would miss all the fights we got into and the yelling that went down in our rooms. Now I would have no one to yell at for using all my hair bands or taking my straighter without asking me. My other sister Laisani was a whole other story. She was leaving her best friend behind, my cousin Samantha. They were both the same age and had grown up together ever since they were born. We saw Samantha on a daily basis as they had dinner at our house every night. Moving was okay for Laisani because whenever my mom went she went. Laisani was that annoying little sister who always snooped around and pretended that she left something in your room when your friends were over so she could listen in on the gossip. Now I had my own privacy. There was no one to go snooping around my room when I’m gone.

Living with my dad in Richmond was not an option for me. There was no way she could make me move all the way to Richmond and somehow find a way to get to school on time. why would I want to stay with someone who couldn’t support me 4 years ago, forget to call me on my birthday 2 years in a row, show up at my birthday party for 10 minutes which is not even long enough to have cake. There were too many grudges I held against him, I figured I would act like a straight up bitch to him if we did have to stay under the same roof.

She told me that they were only going to try it out for a couple years and it would be best I stay back and finish my senior year here. I guess she was right. It would suck moving to a completely new place for my senior year. I accepted the fact that she was just looking out for me. But my whole family was moving. The house would be going from being totally loud with my mom, two sisters and me to just me and my grandma. I began feeling a little scared. My mom was always there, even if I felt like I didn’t need her. She was supposed to help me with my college applications, take me to basketball practice, and keep me on top of my school work. I realized I had been relying on my mom for so long, that when something drastically fast happens, like moving, I panic. Who was going to replace the physical and emotional task of being my mom?

The housing deal was a whole other story. She wasn’t sure if she was going to make me live with my dad in Richmond, Grandma in El Cerrito or have my older sister move back in with me from San Diego. But she knew that would be a disaster waiting to happen. Just the thought of having a college and high school student living together with a house gave her the chills. She knew it would never work out with Briana and me. As days went on she taught me more about the whole situation. Every chance she got with me. She would update me on the latest housing she found for them. She would lead me on little by little, almost as if she were teasing me. Making it sound like they might not even move if they couldn’t find the right place to live. But eventually they stumbled on a small apartment for my mom, and two little sisters, Paige and Laisani in Maryland.

“Now that your housing situation is all done. What are we going to do about mine?” I said in a harsh tone over the phone.

I talked to my mom very frequently over the phone when she took her work trips to D.C. Even if my family was moving, my mom still had to fly back and forth to work, while figuring out the moving situation.

A long sigh filled the phone.

“I’m guessing it would just be best for your grandma to move into the house with you,” she said hesitantly.

My mouth slowly but surely began to turn into a smirk and finally found its way to a complete smile. So many thoughts ran through my mind as to parties, open house, bbqs, no curfew and me getting the whole upstairs to myself. Almost as if I had two bedrooms.

“Don’t you dare think you’re going to be off the hook when I’m gone. I’m still going to get your tardy and absence calls. And don’t even think about using the words party and this house in the same sentence! I have many people watching over you,” she ordered me, while laying down the laws.

I began to realize how right she was. My mom some how knew basically everyone on this street. They were all watching after me. My neighbors began talking to me more, as if they had already left and thought I was lonely. The more I talked to them about it the more irritated I got.

I couldn’t actually believe that today was the day. We arrived at the Oakland airport at 10:45 am on Monday August 18^th. The weather was gray and cold as I looked up at the congested sky. My mom, two sisters, aunt, uncle, older sister Briana, little cousin and I all met up in front of the luggage check in. I remained quiet most of the time there. I didn’t know what to say to them or how to act. I figured it would be best if I just kept my mouth shut before I said something in the wrong tone and left on a bad note. I didn’t want me being scared to hold me back from these final goodbyes with my family. My older sister Briana was the one who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, just like my mom. I guess that gene skipped a generation with me, since I’m always the quiet one. I threw my slightly torn hood over my head, put my headphones in and began listening to my ipod. I couldn’t deal with the reality of what was going on.

After we finished checking in their luggage we all proceeded to the food court to sit for a little before they headed to their gate. The flight was at 12:30 pm and it was only 11:00. We all sat together at the nearest café and grabbed a couple magazines to help pass the time. I chose a seat and began to catch up on the latest Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy gossip. The more I read, the more I started to feel faint and tired as I yawned every two minutes.

“Are you crying?” my little sister Laisani asked.

“No! I’m just hella exhausted from my 8am meeting at work this morning,” I snapped back at her.

I folded my arms and rested my head on the wobbly table in from of me. Slowly my eyes began to shut as I heard my aunt’s voice yell how the flight got delayed to one o’

Clock. I woke up every ten minutes, forgetting where I was, but quickly finding myself back into comfort even though I was sleeping on a public coffee table. It began to feel like school again. A tap on my shoulder startled me as I looked up to find my mom telling me it was time to go. Once again my heart dropped to my stomach. My warm sweaty hands unplugged my headphones as we began walking to the security check.

This was it. It wasn’t the final goodbye, but it would be a long time before I saw them again. They were debating on coming back for Thanksgiving but then figured it would be too much money to fly all three of them back home. The next time I would see them would be during Christmas. There was an awkward silence as my mom set her bags down before giving everyone their goodbye hug and kiss. We all looked at each other to see who would make the first move. We all began to mix and scramble up between the three of them to say our goodbyes. I gave my two sisters the biggest hugs I’ve ever given them and knew it was from the bottom of my heart. I then moved onto my mom. I knew this was going to be hard. I was speechless, not because I wanted to be, but because I knew there was nothing I could do to change this whole thing from happening. Goosebumps rolled down my body as I began to realize that I was more scared then sad. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to handle living with no sisters or mom. I didn’t think I would be able to pull it off. My mom and I both caught each others attention as we saved our final hugs for each other. My little cousin Samantha started to break down as she hugged Laisani, knowing that her best friend was moving all the way across the country. And she had all the right to cry. They grew up with each other and went to the same school ever since they were born.

It was almost like a chain reaction that everyone began wiping their eyes from the waterfall of tears. I grabbed my mom’s slightly worn out blue windbreaker and pulled her in close for a hug. She whispered in my ear

“You know I’m going to miss you Lauren. I hate having to leave you here by yourself but I know it would be best for you to stay. Just remember to keep doing what your doing and you’ll be fine.”

“I’ll see you at Thanksgiving. I’m going to fly you down there since we can’t visit back home. I’m still going to try and call you every night to catch up on what’s going on.”

We exchanged our “I love you” and helped them get their bags situated as they looked towards the security gate. That was what we all dreaded the most. It was like coming to the finish line of a long marathon. But what was it that we won? I was yet again speechless but this time it was because of the big knot forming in my throat that kept me from crying. I knew if I even tried to speak, the water works would start. We gave our final rounds of goodbyes, gathered their bags and they were off. Every five steps my mom would turn around to make sure we were still standing there. We waved at them the whole time they stood in line even when they weren’t looking. Each time the looked back at us, the more I began to remember all the birthdays, first days of school, holidays, arguments, and just their faces. As much as I couldn’t admit it, I knew I would be the one to miss them all the most. They finally reached the end of security and they all looked back one final time to check again if we hadn’t budged. And I didn’t, I was ready to stand there until they were ready to come home. And I’m still standing there today.