I sat under a tree in the park, listening to 'Crimson Rose' by Liannah, my favorite artist. Her music always spoke to me, but this song felt especially close to my heart. The lyrics and melody captured my emotions perfectly, like she understood me in a way no one else did.

     I was going through a lot at the time. My dad rarely came home, which prompted my mom to cheat on him and get a divorce. She even refused to take custody of her only child and I was devastated. After the court hearing, my dad said I was moving to Westfield, which was a really big town and also where he grew up.

     Without much of a choice, I agreed and I took a plane there the following week. As I packed my bags, I couldn't help but think about the horrible memories I had there. In middle school, I was bullied by a group of girls because their leader's father happened to be my mother's lover and she decided to "teach me a lesson" by making my life miserable. She wanted me to know how it felt to be in her mother's position. "Damn that girl is a bitch."I muttered as I zipped my bag closed and walked through the door of my former home.

     After a two and a half hours flight from Ivy Creek,  I took a cab from the local airport to the address of my uncle's house but no one was home. Luckily, I had been there some months ago so I went to the park and sat under a tree to listen to my favourite song.

     As I slowly got lost in the song's deep lyrics, I felt a presence beside me and it turned out to be a dark skinned boy who looked like he was in my age range. He took a glance at my phone screen before looking at me with his soft hazel eyes. "Um, you're sitting on my notebook."he said in a smooth voice. "Oh shit, sorry." I quickly stood up and handed it to him. "Thanks."he muttered before picking up his guitar case and left. Embarrassed, I wore the hood of my jacket and buried my head in my laps.

     From a distance, I heard my name and I lifted my head to see who it was. "Chloe?"I said to myself. "JOCELYN!"she yelled, adding extra emphasis on the last syllable. A wide grin appeared on her face as she saw me and ran towards my direction with her corgi, Milo. She jumped on me as I stood up and we both fell on the grass. "You're here! Finally, someone I can associate with."she said excitedly. "Could you get off me? You're crushing my internal organs." "Oops, sorry. I'm just excited but why aren't you at home? Riley is there."

     "Really?"I asked while dusting off the sand on my clothes. "I knocked on the door but no one answered. So I came here." "Along with your suitcase? You're strong, let's go."

      When we got to her house, it was still locked but luckily, she had a key. As she twisted the door's handle, the sound of crashing pots and pans were heard. "Not this again."Chloe muttered. She slam opened the door and ran to the kitchen. Riley was on the floor, covered in flour and milk. "Mom has told you several times not to do this but you never listen. Wait till she comes home."Chloe said. Her younger sister began to beg her and that took a long time. Once they were done, Chloe took me to my room upstairs. "Hope you like it."she said before going back to Riley and her mess.

     The room was, at the least more spacious than my old one. It had a built-in wardrobe in one of its cream coloured walls and a bed big enough for two people opposite it. A breeze softly blew the curtains which some of the sunrays passed through it, giving an aesthetic vibe. I kept my suitcase and backpack near a small desk with old textbooks and novels on it then fell facing forward on the bed. "So this is my new life."I said softly.

        As I stared at the white ceiling, memories of my life as a little kid began to play in my mind. My cheerful laughter and the tune my dad loved playing on the piano were as if they were right there. Soon, my eyelids grew heavy and I slept off before I knew it.

I was awakened by the sound of my uncle's car pull up in the driveway. I checked the digital alarm clock on a cupboard beside my bed and it showed 8:33pm. I slept for 3 hours, I said to myself and sighed. I knew I would probably not go to bed until midnight. Dragging my tired feet, I went downstairs and met my aunt watching the news on the television. I muttered a greeting before heading to the kitchen sink to get some water to drink.

      My uncle walked in and I heard Riley running down the stairs and she jump on him, giggling. I just watched them, smiling at the nostalgic air they gave off to me. Without them noticing me, I went back to my room and took my phone, which was charging. I opened my phone gallery and clicked on the only photo of my family, trying to let the fact that I'll never experience something like it in my life ever. Just then, my uncle Charles walked in and sat next to me on my bed. "Hey kiddo, how has been your day?"he asked.

     "Alright."I replied. I purposely left out the parts of meeting a locked house and Riley's mess. I felt like those were Chloe's problem. "I see."

     "The room's great too. Really big." "Sorry about that. It's just that, we didn't know exactly what to put in your room. Don't worry, you can get some stuff before this summer break is over." Great, I guess no-one gets me, I thought.

      "Okay. Thank you Uncle Charles." Once he had left, I rummaged through my backpack and brought out a grey covered notebook. "I thought I had forgotten you back home."I said. I flipped through the pages, each holding a song filled with different emotions– mostly frustration. I accidentally turned to the back of the book, which had all sorts of abusive words and drawings. I furrowed my brows as I glared at them and aggressively closed the book. Chloe came into my room and asked me to come for dinner but I bluntly told her I didn't feel like it before covering my head with the bed's large blue blanket.

                           *************

      The following evening which happened to be a Sunday, Chloe decided to take me to, where she called "the best shop ever" which was just a café. When we got to the place, I could proudly say that the cafés I've been to were way better than that judging from the exterior. As we stepped in, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled out noses and I could have sworn Chloe's mouth was watering as she looked at the different cakes there. "Control yourself Cuz. You've been here several times."I told her. "Fine." We sat at a table near the storefront glass and a waitress came take our orders.

      "Welcome to Osman's House. What would you like?"she asked with a beaming smile. Her tanned skin glistened and her brown eyes seemed golden as the sun's rays hit it. I couldn't help but gaze at her beauty. Is she a goddess,I thought. "Hey Yasmin. You look awesome today."Chloe said. "Thanks."she replied in a soft charming voice. "We'll have too of my usual. Make hers more special."she said, pointing to me but I was too carried away by her looks. She brushed her black lustrous wavy hair aside and wrote it down in a small notebook before going into the kitchen.

      "She's pretty."I blurted. "I hope you're straight." "Of course I am! I just said she looked good." "Alright." Soon, she placed two separate cups of latte and a piece of cake on the table. "Um we didn't order cake."I said. "It's for Chloe."Yasmin replied before leaving. Gazing at the drink, delicately topped with a lovely swirl of whipped cream, I put my straw in it and took a sip out of it. My eyes widened as the taste of the latte settled in my mouth.

          "This is..." The scent and flavor was simply amazing yet, it gave an oddly familiar feeling– like it wasn't something new, even though it was. I felt a slight smile crawl on my face as I drank it. Once my cousin paid, we left the café but the drink's attributes still lingered in my mind. "So this is what Chloe meant when she said this shop was the best."I whispered to myself.

"Let's use the park to get home quicker."Chloe suggested. Apparently, she wanted to watch the swimming category of the Olympics that evening and she didn't want to miss any moment of it. "Sure I guess." Walking through the park, I wondered how Westfield had changed so much since my last visit. Before, it wasn't as nice as this– or maybe I had not been paying attention to the place. When we got to a grey coloured water fountain, I saw the guy I met yesterday sitting on its concrete slab while playing his guitar. He looked very serious; as if his talent would disappear if he was disturbed.

      I only watched him from a distance and my cousin seemed to had noticed as well. "He's cute, don't you think?"she asked bluntly. "Yeah I guess." There was a comfortable silence between us before she ran saying, "Let's go, I want to see Simone Biles." "Simone is a gymnast, not a swimmer."I sighed. As we went further, my curiosity was piqued by his playing and I had this strange urge to go back to where he was. In the end, I ended up lying to Chloe about loosing my phone and pretended to go back to the shop.

     Luckily, he was still at the same spot I met him so I quietly sat in a place where he won't notice me and I'd still hear him. Once I heard the melody, I instantly knew he was playing 'Crimson Rose'– which I could have never guessed it was possible to do on a string instruments. The longer I listened to him, the more I felt his fingers strum the strings of my heart. Almost too soon, I heard him pack his stuff and leave towards the cafe's direction. I wished he had stayed longer so that at least, I could have talked to him. With no other thing to do, I headed back to my cousin and apologized for taking so long.

     While some teenagers spent their summer at a beach and a couple of peculiar ones who went to some camp or simply didn't bother himself or herself  by staying indoors, I spent mine at Osman's House. Apart from soothing my addiction of coffee, I actually built a close relationship with Yasmin who was of Turkish origin.

   She had recently graduated from high school and had two older siblings back in her home country who were married. She planned on being a world-class chef so that she can fulfill her dad's dream. She was also the first and only person in that town that knew about my songwriting and would occasionally listen and make remarks about them. I had to say, Yasmin– or Yazy, as called by her peers– was a very interesting person. Even without her looks, she had a fun personality.

    As expected, the summer holiday ended and soon began to prepare for school. A week before resumption, I redecorated my room. I painted my room's walls sky blue with the help of my cousins, added a shelf to put up my books and novels I might probably never read and moved my desk closer to the window. My dad sent in some paintings that I loved so I hung them just above my bed. As I observed the changes in my room, I smiled softly because of the sense of pride I felt.

                 ***********************

     The alarm clock sounded louder than usual. It was probably because it was the first day of school. I sluggishly got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Once I finished taking a bath, I took out a grey sweater and black leggings and placed them on the bed. It felt so weird going to school in regular clothes, since I went to a private school in middle school. My dad was rich so he could afford it.

     Anyway, as I brushed my mahogany brown hair– with clothes on– I heard my aunt yelling my younger cousin's name. Riley refused to go to school because she didn't feel like. I took my school bag which I had packed the day before and went to the kitchen for breakfast,  only to realize that I was the first person to be ready for school. Because of that fact, I comfortably had breakfast while my cousins scrambled for their things. By 7:22am, we were ready and hit the road. Some metres after dropping off Riley, a huge brick red building slowly appeared in the horizon. Soon, its full structure was seen. My aunt parked the car by the school gate and we said our goodbyes before she zoomed off.

    "High school huh?"I sighed. "Hopefully, my experience here should not be like my middle school years."