Moving

Chapter 1: Getting Outta' Here

"Molly? Have you gotten all of your instrument stuff in the van yet? Last time I saw, your amp and sawtooth were still in your room! Get 'em, please, before you forget!", shouted her mom from the front porch. "Oh shit, no! Sorry, mom!" Molly replied. She quickly walked to the porch and to the door. Making her way up the stairs to her room, she thought about how she would be leaving her family, moving across the state. Reality set in. "I'm gonna miss them so much..." she thought. She snapped out of it before she drowned in her own thoughts and forgot about what she was supposed to be doing. She kept going up the stairs.

She softly stepped toward her room, leaning forward as she got closer. Resting her hand above her on the trim of her door, she stood and stared at her practically empty room. All that was left was her bass amp and her first bass; a satin black Sawtooth Road Warrior series. She walked over to the stand it was displayed on, with the light from the plain, curtainless window shining onto it. There were so many memories in those strings. The fretboard was noticeably faded from all the years worth of vigorous playing. Its body was covered in dents and scratches. You could tell that it was loved dearly from the beginning.

She picked it up by the neck and turned it around, wrapping her right arm around the front of its body. She sat down on the floor with it and felt its beautiful dents and scratches, reminiscing about all the times she's spent playing it for hours on end. The vibrating hum that came from it when she ran her fingers over the strings brought back the memory of the first time she plucked its strings. She looked down at the thumb on her right hand, pondering the callus on it from slapping its rough strings over the years.

Before she left the house, she decided to play one last song on it in the place she learned it; Swallow. It was the first song she'd ever learned to play on her beloved sawtooth. And what was even more special about it was that it was a Korn song. Korn is her favorite band, and has been for years. The fact that she's getting a house in Bakersfield excites her because it's the birthplace of her favorite band, and because there's a slim chance that she might meet a member. She has already stated that she won't be expecting that, but she's just happy to live in the place where it all started.

Molly carried her cumbersome amp to the van while her two sisters carried her sawtooth and its stand. "Please be extra careful with that, Tori! It's very special to me." Molly told little Tori. "I will be! I promise!" Tori replied cheerily. Molly set the amp in the back of the van, pushing it aside to make comfortable room for her sawtooth. Little 5 year old Kira carried the stand to Molly with a sad, almost pouty expression on her normally adorable little face. "Aww, Kira... I don't wanna leave you guys here. Don't be sad though," said Molly. "Why?" "Because I'm only gonna be a few hours away. We can visit once in a while or something!" Molly mentioned, looking down at Kira. "So you're not gonna be gone forever?!" Kira asked noisily. "Noo! Of course not! I could never leave my family forever. I love you guys too much." Molly said with a happy little chuckle. "Yay!!" Kira hollered excitedly.

"Shh, Kira! The neighbors' windows are open, you're being too loud. Stop yelling before they come out and start their shit with us." her mom whispered intensely. Kira instantaneously slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide with a hint of embarrassment. "I'm gonna miss you, hun. It's gonna be... weird without you here. No loud guitar playing... no loud bass playing... I'm so used to it." her mom said, seeming to be on the verge of tears. She walked up to Molly and wrapped her arms around her, her face rested on her shoulder. She stood there for a moment. That moment felt as if it lasted forever. They both let go of each other slowly.

"Well, I gotta get going, mom. I love you." Molly said with a sweet smile. "Love you too, hun." her mom replied in an almost sappy tone. Molly looked over and noticed Tori standing by the van waiting patiently for her to arrange her sawtooth how she wanted, her face bright red from straining herself to hold it in her small arms. "Oh, Tori, you didn't have to hold that for so long!" Molly exclaimed apologetically. She sped over and swiftly took it from Tori, who was then clearly relieved because she let her arms dangle tiredly for a few moments.

Molly gently laid her sawtooth down on a cushion between two boxes to keep it from moving around. Pausing for a moment, she analyzed its dings and scuffs with a subtle smile. She then backed up and closed the double doors of the van followed by a sigh of relief after the big process of moving all of her things into the van.

She kissed and hugged the three goodbye and hopped into the van. She started its engine while looking in the driver's side mirror, seeing them standing together watching her leave. She pulled out of the driveway, and as she started getting further down the street, she noticed them waving in the mirror. She smiled.

Once she made her way onto the freeway, she dug the aux cord out from her backpack and plugged it into the input. "Hmm... What would be the most fitting music to put on for this occasion?" Molly thought sarcastically. She expectedly played Korn, and she gladly jammed to them for the whole ride there.