Acumen: Riddling Life

Home (5)

Day one

Around seven in the morning, my phone starts buzzing loudly, waking me up as I turn around in bed and groan. My head pounds, eyes hurt and my face feels puffy. With another groan, I push myself up.

I walk to my bag, my phone is still in it from last night. Fishing it out, I hit the snooze button and head to my bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. That's when I realize I look like hell.

My hair could not be in any worse condition than now; there are dark circles around my eyes and my whole face is puffy and I look extremely pale. I start splashing cold water to my face, my cab will be here anytime now.

Walking back to my room, I look around, making sure I haven't missed anything. With my mind occupied, I almost miss the incessant buzzing of my phone. Answering it, I realize it's the cab driver and I tell him my room number so he can come up and help me carry my stuff out.

Two minutes later, he's at my door and greeting me with a warm smile. We carry the four suitcases down the stairs motioning me towards his huge SUV, he begins placing everything in the trunk.

Once I get into the car, he follows after before starting it. We're out of the campus in no time. I focus on my surroundings; it's probably the last time I'll ever see it. I try my best to stop my mind from wandering off to things I'm not ready to think about yet.

An hour or so later, I arrive at the airport. The driver helps me unload my belongings from his car. I remain a few seconds there, rooted in front of the entry, taking in the warm California weather. I don't know if I'll ever come back here, so I just stand and savor the moment.

With a sigh, I make way into the airport. The rest is a blur as I do everything mindlessly and can't seem to focus on anything.

It feels like life is moving too fast for me to catch up to it. Everything is happening in the distance. It's as if I'm not there, just my body, and I'm looking at everything from the far corner. It takes around an hour for me to finally get into the plane.

Most of the ride, my mind keeps replaying last night along with all the conclusions. I don't realize how the five and a half hour flight goes by. It feels like a half an hour flight when we land in New York, my hometown.

As I walk out of the airport, I spot my dad's driver smiling brightly. A cardboard sign is held in his hands, my name printed on it in block letters.

"Hey Frank," I greet him as he walks up to me.

"Eleanor, finally back!" he enthusiastically says, making me smile at him. He loads the SUV's trunk all by himself, not letting me touch anything. "You must be tired; you had a long flight," he kindly says as he opens the door for me to get into the SUV. Shutting it, he climbs in on the driver's seat and starts the car.

The rest of the drive is spent with small talks, him asking about my college and how it was and how long I will be staying in town. I really had forgotten the density of traffic in New York. It's only three-thirty and we are already stuck in a traffic jam on our way to North Hills; home.

Past five thirty, we reach home and he stops the car in front of the house's entry. He starts taking my suitcases inside, again, not allowing me to touch anything. I stand on the green grass in front of my home.

It's been more than a year since the last time I visited here. It doesn't give me the feeling of home anymore.

I take in the neighborhood. My entire childhood has been spent here, yet it feels so foreign. Memories flood in; every day, Frank driving me to school and back, sometimes Jaceon visiting. That's the sum of the memories I have from here.