Chapter 3

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was it was still dark. I stretched and got out of bed, hoping it wasn't too early. I found my watch on my dresser and it read 6:35am. Not too early. I tiptoed to the top of the stairs and the house beneath me was dark and silent. Everyone must still be asleep.

I had gone to bed with wet hair last night which I don't usually do but I was so tired I couldn't be bothered drying it so now it was a mess of auburn ringlets that fell past my shoulders. As I brushed it I looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled as I imagined what it was going to be like starting school with Josh and introducing him as my twin brother. Because we looked nothing alike. He was almost 6 foot, dark brown hair and olive skin. I had light auburn hair, pale skin and barely stood 5 foot 4 with heels. It was obvious we weren't identical twins and which parent we took after, I was the mirror image of my mother and Josh was dad's son without a doubt. But we did share a few traits. We both had mum's eyes, jade green. And dad's dimples.

Although mum told me I should love the curls I was born with, I straightened my hair most of the time. I plugged in my straightener and while I waited for it to heat up I went to hunt down clothes to wear. I realised as I started I had no idea what the weather would be like. I had to stop and think. Ok it was July so winter back home, summer here. So no jeans. I opened my closest and grabbed a skirt and blouse that mum had obviously already ironed and put them on. Then I went back to do my hair.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My first breakfast in our new house was very rushed. Josh didn't even sit down to eat his toast and I don't think mum even ate, unless she had something before I came downstairs. I ate 2 pieces of toast with Vegemite, which mum graciously packed for us. I hadn't even swallowed the last bite before we were being herded out the door into the van.

I took a moment to survey our yard before I got in, cause honestly, I couldn't remember much of our arrival yesterday. And I use the term yard loosely because it was more than a yard. It was more like a freakin football field. I realised that our house was on at least a 5 acre open lot and behind that were woods that didn't seem to stop. As I turned around I couldn't even see another house.
"How big is this place?" I whispered to myself.
"Well Georgie, our property is just over 20 acres. I'll show you around this afternoon if you like, but your mum is getting impatient to go spend money so come on." Dad whispered over my shoulder.
I smiled back at him and got in the van.

Town was alot closer than I expected. Given the size of our land I assumed we lived in the middle of nowhere, but we pulled into the Walmart parking lot within 10 minutes. I had heard of Walmart on tv and in movies but I still was not prepared for the size of it.
"Woah, this place is huge!" Josh took the words right out of my mouth.
I gave him a weak smile. This place was kind of overwhelming. And really crowded. I hate crowded.

"Ok kids, I want to get some stuff for the kitchen and Dad wants to look at the garden stuff, so how about we split up and you can go look at things you might want?"
She must have seen the panic in my eyes cause she reached into her bag and handed Josh a cell phone. "If you get lost call Dad." Then she smiled at me.
"Meet you guys down here by the registers in an hour ok?" Dad asked pointing to the registers behind us.

I hadn't expected everything to be so cheap! I had been torn between getting a laptop or a desktop computer when Josh kindly pointed out to me that I could afford both if I got one of those mini laptops. He even found me a decal sticker for it in my favourite colours, chocolate & turquoise. We then went to find him a Wii which he bought as well as a bunch of games for it.

We spotted mum and dad looking at bedding as we made our way to the clothes section. Mum wanted to buy me all new bedding and so we spent about 20 minutes choosing new sheets, a quilt and pillows. All in chocolate and turquoise of course. Dad and Josh went off to look at other stuff so mum and I wandered around looking at other things, picking out small things for the house.

When they came back Josh had a huge grin on his face but he wouldn't tell me what was going on. I knew they were up to something but neither of them would spill. Mum wanted to go to one of the nicer department stores to get some clothes and she demanded I go with her so Dad said he would drop us off as he and Josh were going to the hardware store.

The store they dropped us off at was called Kohls and it reminded me of Myer back home. It was really nice inside. Mum insisted on getting me a bunch of stuff, especially for school as they didn't wear uniforms here. She bought me so much stuff we needed 2 carts to carry it all. Luckily mum and I had the same taste in clothes so shopping with her was pain free.

We both liked classic styles. I loved pencil skirts and pretty blouses. I went through a tomboy stage when I was little but as I got older I felt the need to be more girly. Especially seeming I hadn't seemed to have "bloomed" I didn't want to be mistaken for a long haired boy. Mum reassured me she was a late bloomer herself and not to give up hope of getting boobs. My mother was not one to hold back.

We were trying on shoes when her cell phone rang, dad letting us know he was on his way back to pick us up. We grabbed our haul and made our way up to the registers. Of course as soon as mum spoke we got the whole "where are your from" questions. This had already happened at Walmart and I expected it wouldn't go away any time soon. Mum just chatted with the clerk about Australia and travelling. I just let her go for it. One thing I didn't get from mum was her ability to talk to random strangers.

Chapter 2

Mum's smiled wavered a fraction. She took my reaction totally the wrong way. I could tell she was about to say something, so I had to speak quickly.

"The room is beautiful, so nice that I thought it was yours." Her smile returned even bigger.
"Ha, as if your Dad would want to climb all those stairs every day!" she laughed and Dad rolled his eyes.

"Our bedroom is on the second floor. I guess we need to show you where everything is." She beamed at me. She loved this kind of thing.

She started with the kitchen and I noticed the fridge and the pantry were pretty empty. Plus we only had the bare about of kitchen stuff.
"We have to go shopping tomorrow and get food and other stuff. But we have the necessities for now. Plus I bet your dying to go shopping!"

Mum knew how hard it had been getting rid of most of our possessions so she promised we would replace all the things we had to get rid of. Plus I had been working on weekends at mum's cafe for almost a year and I had saved over $2000.

The rest of the house was gorgeous, she explained to me that the house was probably about 70 years old but it had been completely remodelled in the past 5 years so everything was brand new. When they had shown me the rooms on the second floor, their bedroom, dad's study and the bathroom, I realised Josh's room must be the one opposite mine.

I didn't mind so much but I had kind of hoped I had that third floor to myself.
"So do I use this bathroom then?" I pointed to their ensuite?

"No sweetie, your bathroom is upstairs." Dad said. "Here I'll show you."

He climbed the stairs to the third floor and opened the door opposite my room. Inside was an empty smaller bedroom with another door at the end. He walked to that door and opened it.
"This is your bathroom."

I peeked past him into my bathroom. It was perfect. And it looked brand new. The white tiles were sparkling and the huge bath looked so inviting.
"What's this room then" I asked walking back into the smaller bedroom.
"We thought you could use it as a study or something" Mum smiled. Huh?
"Where is Josh's room?"
"Ah well, maybe we should let him show you." Dad chuckled.
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow but he didn't say anything. Okay.

"Come on then." He walked back out onto the landing and I followed him down to the ground floor. He went through the kitchen to a door I didn't notice before. He knocked on it.

It took a few minutes then Josh opened it up, he was about a foot shorter than me. Then I realised he was on a staircase.
"Basement!" I squealed. "We have a basement?"
"Yeah Georgie-Porgie and its mine!" Josh growled at me.
I sighed and poked him in the ribs, "Show me!" I begged impatiently.
"Ok come on then."
Mum & Dad motioned for me to follow him but they stayed put.

The stairs ended at the end of a very large room that was probably as big as the whole ground floor. There was a bed and dressers and the floor was even carpeted.
"This is awesome Josh! You are so lucky!"
"Hey your room is pretty damn nice too kid."
"Yeah I know!" We both kind of jumped around on the spot, no one would think we were almost 17. Dorks.
"Hey mum said we are going shopping tomorrow. I want to get a computer. Would you help me chose one?" I asked him when we had finished jumping.
"Yeah sure. I might get a Wii for down here. That would be cool."
I noticed he also had a TV and a sofa on the other side of the room.
"Do you have to go upstairs everytime you have to pee?" I asked him.
"Nope, check it out." He walked around to the wall underneath the stairs and opened a door. I looked in and there was a toilet.
"Brilliant!"
"Yeah but I have to use the shower upstairs but that is better than nothing I guess. Not as cool as your bathroom though. And you get that other room too!"
"So you had a good old look around while I was asleep huh?"
He just smiled and nodded. He walked over to the sofa and flopped down on it.
"This house is sweet. I just hope the school we go to is ok."
I didn't say anything. I just nodded. He looked over at me, noticing my change of mood.

I had grown up with the same group of people all my life. I had the same friends in did in kindergarden. I never had to go to a school where I didn't know anybody. I was terrified. And Josh knew it. He got up off the sofa and walked over to me.

"George, I know you don't give a shit what I say, but it will be ok. Okay?"
I just nodded again. He put his arms around me and gave me a tight almost suffocating bear hug.
"Ugh, can't breath." Was all I could manage.
He laughed and let me go.
"I'm beat, I am going to sleep. Now get out of my room." I loved it when he pretended to be a mean brother.
"Night J." I started up the stairs.
"Georgia."
Shit.
"I've got your back. Just remember that ok."

I had to wipe the tears that had welled up out of my eyes before I opened the door and when I thought I was ok, I stepped out and closed the door behind me. I would hear the TV coming from the front of the house and followed the noise. My parents were on the sofa watching something on tv. I realised everyone was speaking in an American accent which was really no different to tv back home but for some reason it was more noticable.

"So what did you think of the basement?" Dad looked at me smiling.
"It's perfect for Josh. He seems pretty happy down there."

I sat down in one of the armchairs and we watched tv till I could feel my eyes getting heavy again.
"I think I am going to go to bed guys. Oh hey I want to take a shower before I do where are.."
Mum interrupted me, knowing exactly what I was going to ask.
"All your stuff is already in the bathroom, towels, toothbrush. Your clothes are in our dressers too."
Wow she works fast.
"Thanks mum. Night dad."

The shower felt great. I realised I hadn't had one since Perth more than 2 days ago. Yuck. I brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas. I was way too tired to dry my hair so I just combed it and left it wet.

I grabbed my book out of my bag that was hanging over the door handle. As I walked past the window I noticed I could see the moon outside. I got up and turned off the lamp and sat down on the bench and pressed my face up against the glass. I could see millions of stars and the moon was almost full. I don't think I had ever seen the sky so clearly.

I finally got up and walked to the bed. I got in and realised I had turned the lamp off so I couldn't see to read. I considered getting back up but the bed was so comfortable I just laid down and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 1

The steady hum of the planes engines should have lulled me to sleep, yet I was wide awake. I can't sleep on planes, even when I have been awake for almost 30 hours. Our flight from Perth to Sydney had been delayed and the flight across the Pacific to LA was the longest flight I have ever been on.

My brother didn't seem to have any trouble sleeping, his head was against my shoulder and I was pretty sure he was drooling on me. Gross. The 2 people in front of me with their heads resting against each other were my parents. Asleep too. I sighed and fished my mp3 player out of my pocket and pressed the power button. Nothing. Great, the battery was dead.

I knew we still had another 3 hours before we landed in LA and I was so bored. The movie they were playing was some awful comedy with Ice Cube or was it Ice T? I had no idea. I lifted up the shade on the window next to me and had to squint my eyes against the light. There was nothing but clouds out there, but it was beautiful.

"Excuse me, would you mind closing that shade? The other passengers are trying to sleep?"
I gave the air hostess and apologetic smile and closed the shade. Great. I was so bored! I had a book in my carry on but it meant I had to get up, which risked waking up Josh, my brother and that would not be pretty.

I turned and looked at him wondering how nervous he was about this whole thing. We were pretty close, being twins and all, but he hadn't really talked to me about the big move. I do know he was looking forward to meeting American girls and using his accent to his best advantage. But that was about it.

I was nervous as hell. I had always lived in Perth and had only seen a few other places in Australia on holiday. The only thing I knew about America was what I saw on TV and in movies and I knew that most of that was not real life.

It was because of my father that we were moving there. He was a University Professor and Doctor of Biology and he had been offered a really great job with the University of North Carolina. He spoke to us all about it and he listened to all of our worries and concerns. Plus we had alot of time to get used to it as they gave him 6 months to prepare for the move.

I started remembering the day I told my friends we were leaving and jealous most of my friends were. Movement on my left woke me out of my daydream and I realised Josh was awake. Thank God I could get my book.

"Hey Georgie, have they been around with breakfast yet?" he mumbled to me, still half asleep.
"No but can you smell the coffee? I bet it won't be long." I answered him.
"Awesome I am starving. And I gotta pee." He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up and stretched. He looked down at me and frowned.
"Have you slept at all? You look terrible."
"Thanks bro and no I havn't." I stood up and pushed him out of the way so I would get my carry on.
He walked down the aisle to wait in line for the bathroom. The smell of breakfast started wafting from the galley and my stomach growled. I got my bag down and took out my book.
"George, that you?" my mum asked me from underneath her eye mask.
"Yeah it's me. I think they are starting to bring breakfast around."
She groaned and dad laughed. I didn't realise he was awake. Mum hated airplane food and airplane coffee even worse. She ran a cafe back in Perth so she knew what real coffee was.
"Shut up Alan" and they both laughed.

My parents were so sweet yet sickening at the same time. Married for 23 years and still so happy. I loved them to death. I sat back down and opened my book. I had read probably 2 paragraphs before Josh returned to his seat.
"Breakfast!" he almost shouted and clapped his hands together. He loved food. I laughed at him and he mocked punched me on the shoulder.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our last flight was only 2 hours long but by the time we had landed in Charlotte and were loaded in van my dad had rented for us I was exhausted. The van had 2 long bench seats and of course Josh took the longest one. Lucky I was short. I stretched out across the seat and watched the scenery as we drive to our new home.

"Hey Georgie! Wake up! We are here!" Josh yelled at me from the seat behind me.

I had fallen asleep probably 5 minutes into the drive. I had no problem sleeping in cars! I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window.
It was all so.... green. Trees, grass and flowers. Everywhere. It seemed like we were on a gravel driveway but it was the longest driveway I had ever seen. I looked out the front window between my parents heads and saw what will be our home for the foreseeable future.

It was HUGE! I think I may have gasped because my mum turned around with concern. She then realised what I was gasping about and smiled.

"Beautiful isn't it?"
I couldn't aswer her at first because I was prepared to hate it. I wanted to hate it. I took a breath and managed a whisper.
"It's really nice."

Dad laughed from the drivers seat "Wait till you see your room!"
My parents had flown over here 2 months ago to find a house for us and luckily with the house market in Perth had gone crazy they had quite a nice size budget after we sold the house I grew up in.

Josh piped up from the backseat "What about my room?"
Mum didn't turn around but simply said "You will both find out."
Dad stopped the van in front of the house and helped me out of the back while Josh got the bags out of the back. As I stood on the ground I still felt like I was on the plane. I kind of swayed a bit before mum grabbed my arm.
"You ok Georgia?" she only used my real name when she was either angry or concerned.
"Yeah just really tired." She let me go and grabbed 2 of the smaller bags.
"Boys I am going to get George inside and and get her to bed. Are you alright to get the rest of the luggage?"
"Sure mum!" Josh answered as he unloaded the suitcases onto the ground. He winked at me and whispered "Night night."

I stuck out my tongue and he laughed. Then mum started dragging me towards the house. We climbed up a wide set of stairs and I finally realised just how tired I was when I could barely lift my legs. I swayed again then all of a sudden I was swept up by 2 very strong arms.
"Georgie, your such a lightweight." Josh laughed as he carried me up the rest of the stairs.
"Put me down you smelly ogre!" I tried to yell but it came out as a whisper.
"Josh bring her in here and put her on the sofa, I don't have her bed made up yet."
I felt myself being lowered then I was on the sofa. It was so comfortable it took me all of 10 seconds to fall asleep.

When I woke up I was covered in a blanket and the sofa felt different. I moved my arm behind me but I couldn't feel the backrest. Weird. I opened my eyes and realised I was in a bed. I sat up quickly and looked around me. The room I was in was softly lit from a lamp on the dresser near the door. The ceiling was slanted and had exposed beams across it all the way to the end. The room was about 3 times the size of mine back in Perth. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Hardwood floors. I looked around the room and my eyes settled on the large window in the middle of the room and the window seat below it.

This must be my parents room I realised. It was too nice to be mine. Mum must have put me in here while she got my room ready. That made sense. I looked out the window but it was pitch black outside and I couldn't see a clock anywhere. I tiptoed to the door and opened it slowly. I heard movement below me. Ok so I was upstairs. I stepped out onto a landing that had another door adjacent to mine. It was closed so I had no way of knowing what was in there.

I made my way down the stairs only realising halfway down them that there was another landing. 3 floors! That was crazy! The sounds and now voices were coming from what I guessed was the ground floor. As I got the bottom I heard my mum and dad and I followed their voices. I walked into what turned out to be a massive kitchen and dining room combined. They were sitting at the table talking and when they heard me they both smiled.
"Hey Georgie! How you feel?"My dad asked me getting out of his chair. "Are you hungry?"
Mum was already walking into kitchen.
"No I am ok for now. What's the time?"
"It's just after 9, you slept about 5 hours." Dad answered.
"So what did you think of your room?" Mum asked beaming at me.
"That was my room?" I couldn't help the squeal that was on the edge of my voice.