“I’m coming!”
“You do realize this is your first day of college, don’t you?”
“Right,” I say, rolling my eyes. It’s my first day—not at college, but at the New England School of Ballet. But those are just details that Caleb is apparently not interested in. Whatever; there’s still no reason for him to stress me out.
“You’re going to be late!”
“Caleb, stop shouting!” I yell back, pushing a strand of auburnhair off my forehead. Rushing me has never made me ready to leave any faster. Usually, it makes me take longer. “I’ll be right there!”
His loud groan makes me smile. I look around my room one last time, taking in the white furniture, the cream-colored bed linens, and the fluffy carpet. My desk was already moved during the summer, along with all my schoolbooks. Everything else, including my clothes, ballet gear, and all the odds and ends I need for my new room, was packed in four huge suitcases a few days ago.
I started packing a week ago, accompanied by the constant feeling that I would surely forget something if I didn’t start soon enough. Now I know I shouldn’t have worried about it. I’ve packed almost everything I own.
An entire life in four suitcases.
I pick up my backpack and leave my room. I stop again in the doorway and run my hand over the numbers that Mom scratched into the wood to mark my height whenever I had a growth spurt. A wave of homesickness hits me, even though I haven’t left yet. It feels like a goodbye, even though it’s only a short one. I can always come home. After all, I’m not even leaving the city. I’m just moving to the next neighborhood over. It’s only about a twenty-minute drive. But I still have a lump in my throat, and my eyes start to burn.
Before I can get too sentimental, Caleb calls me again.
“I’m coming!” I shout for the third time. I walk into the hall and down the stairs.
My parents and brother are waiting by the front door for me. Caleb is sitting on one of my suitcases, holding his phone as usual. His dark hair, which is like Dad’s, falls in messy curls over his forehead. He looks up when he hears me coming and sighs dramatically.
“Finally!”
“Caleb, leave her alone,” Mom scolds. But her smile reveals that she’s not very serious about it.
“Yeah, Caleb, leave me alone,” I say with a provoking grin. “You don’t have to come if it’s taking too long for you.”
Caleb stands up, and the suitcase he was just sitting on tips over and lands with a thud on the floor. I wince and bite my lip. I hope it isn’t the suitcase the fairy lights are in.
“But then I would miss the chance to yell at you, and I can’t pass that up.” He grabs me and messes up my hair. I try to get away, but he’s faster.
“God, Caleb, how old are you?” I pull out the hairband and make a new braid.
“Older than you, anyway,” he says, laughing. “Let’s go.” He grabs the first suitcase. Dad, who’s been watching the scene with a look of amusement, takes suitcases numbers two and three and follows my brother to the door.
Mom pushes me gently toward the door as she picks up the last suitcase.
A few minutes later, everything is in the back of Dad’s oversized SUV, and Caleb and I slide into the back seat while Mom and Dad get into the front.
“You really don’t all have to come,” I assure them in a futile attempt to talk them out of it. I’m probably going to be the only student there with her entire family.
“Yes, we do,” Mom and Dad say in unison.
Mom turns in her seat to look at me, and her green eyes have the telltale gleam of tears in them.
“We’re just so proud of you.”
I feel the heat of embarrassment rising in my cheeks and open my mouth to say something, but Caleb grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Leave it,” he whispers. “Her baby is moving out today.”
I want to tell him that it’s nonsense, but I know what he means. I see the proud look in Mom’s eyes, and I close my mouth.
“Who would have thought that you’d come so far?” She smiles broadly, and the corners of her eyes crinkle.
“Me!” Dad interjects without taking his eyes off the road.
“Thanks, Dad.”
