Cross School

2 - New City, New Life

The last time Tyler remembered going on a plane was when his family went to Disneyland in September, 2010. He and Alicia had both just turned ten and Bella was already twelve. This was one of the last times he could remember having a really great time with his family all being together. No arguments, no bad experiences, and no hiccups in their vacation. Unless you count the time Tyler nailed Geppetto in the groin with a spitball.

At the time, the Stanford's lived in Toronto where Tyler and his sisters were all born. The plane ride from Toronto to Los Angeles wasn't very long, but the experience was definitely one Tyler wouldn't soon forget. After all, throwing up all over an air hostess that he had a massive crush on mentally scarred Tyler for a while.

He's never been able to talk to a girl he likes since then from an irrational fear of puking on them. Fortunately, this ride went a lot smoother. He had a window seat and had Spotify on his phone so he could chill out with music and not focus on his fear of heights. Despite how chilled out his plane ride was, he was still relieved when it finally landed.

Tyler breathed in the cold Canadian air as he stepped off of the plane. Of course, the air he was breathing was just inside the airport, but he didn't care. It felt different to him. Tyler continued down the boarding aisle and reached the gate where he exited. Waiting for him on the other side was his eldest sister, Bella.

It had only been year since he had seen her, but it felt like an eternity. Her long red hair flowed down almost to her waist. She had always done a good job at making her hair nice, but today Tyler noticed it even more than her normally did. One thing that he always noticed was her knack for wearing fashionable clothing.

Her white sleeveless blouse acted as an opposite to her black mini-skirt and tights. A pair of pointy white heels completed the bottom half of her outfit. She had definitely changed a bit since he last saw her. She looked more mature than usual. Her look made more sense when Tyler remembered that she was a high school senior this year.

She was obviously thinking of life outside high school, so she had probably been trying to reinvent herself to look more professional while still maintaining her teenage spunk. One thing she never forgot on any outfit, regardless if it matched or not was her classic blue headband. She had worn it since she was a kid and rarely ever took it off.

Tyler wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't seen him yet and her serious demeanor made him worried that staying with their mother had a negative effect on her usual bubbly personality. His worries were soon shattered when she finally noticed him and a big, goofy smile overtook her face.

'Hey! Up here! It's me, Bell! Your sister!' Bella waved frantically at him. Tyler waved back and ran up the rail. As soon as he reached the top, Bella immediately jumped forward and hugged him.

'I forgot that you were a hugger,' Tyler said, smiling.

'And you haven't grown at all, you little shit!' Bella calmed herself down and took a look at her brother. 'Man, do you ever comb your hair? I'm almost embarrassed for you.'

'C'mon Bell, you know keeping up appearances has never been by forte.'

'Oh, I can definitely see that.' Bella's eyes panned over Tyler. He didn't look like a slob, but she could tell that this definitely wasn't the first day he had been wearing these clothes. 'You really need a makeover. Badly.'

'No way. Last time you did that I looked like if Han Solo switched careers to a pimp or something. It was horrible.'

'Okay, okay. I'll respect your style choices for now. But, I am pursuing a career in fashion design, so you'd be an idiot to not take advantage of that.'