Page 3 of Amore
“How do they know if you’re a freshman?”
“Your classes, I guess.” She stuck another spoonful into her mouth.
“So, you need to go with someone not to get pranked?”
“I just need to go with someone until I find my friends.”
“Morning,” Mom greeted as she walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffeemaker. “What are you two talking about?”
“Starting school,” Lucy answered.
“She’s scared,” I clarified.
“Why are you scared?” Mom asked.
“She’s scared of getting her head put in the nasty toilets.” I laughed, getting up from the table to rinse my bowl and put it in the dishwasher.
“What are you talking about?” Mom sat at the table, taking a sip of her coffee.
“The pranks seniors play on freshmen,” Lucy replied.
Mom snorted. “Honey, I don’t think they do that anymore.”
“Yeah-huh,” Lucy said.
“Who told you that?” Mom questioned.
“April.”
“And why does she think that?”
I left the kitchen, going up the stairs to my room, but stopped when I saw a moving truck outside. “Lucy! They’re here.”
I heard the spoon hit the side of Lucy’s bowl, the chair scrape across the kitchen floor, and then footsteps run up behind me, stopping where I looked out the front window. We leaned on the back of the couch, watching. Two cars pulled up in front of the house as the moving truck reversed into the driveway.
“What are you two doing?” Dad asked, coming down the stairs.
“Seeing who’s moving in next door,” Lucy answered.
Before I knew it, Mom and Dad were watching too. A man got out of one car, and a lady got out of the other. Someone else got out of the woman’s car.
“I can’t see,” I whined.
“Can’t see what?” Dad asked.
“If it’s someone our age,” Lucy clarified.
A few moments later, a girl stepped into view, and my heart stopped. She had long brown hair and was wearing a tank top and jean shorts. I’d never had a reaction like that to a girl before.
“Yes!” Lucy exclaimed. “It’s a girl.”
I looked back at the car, hoping a boy would come out. No such luck.
“All right, you two. We’ll let them move in, and then we can meet them tomorrow,” Mom stated.
I sighed, not wanting to wait an entire day. “Want to shoot hoops?” I asked Dad.
“Yeah, bud. Let me get some breakfast, and then we can.”
