"Yeah," I said. I looked around the room, which was supposed to be mine. The bed and desk were furnished for me. Really, the only things that claimed the room to be mine were my backpack, a clock radio, the 'My Little Pony' bedspread that had been hidden away in the hall closet for at least 8 years, and my winter clothes hanging in the closet. Mom said that if the trip became too prolonged that she would get my spring clothes during spring break.

There was a knock on the open door. Zac peeked in at us. "Hey, Nick, Mom says we're heading out in just a minute."

He nodded. "Okay." Zac looked from Nicky to me, nervously. His eyes blazed into mine. I felt a pang; he'd never quite forgiven me. He certainly never spoken to me. He then disappeared.

"You'll be spending Christmas with us, right?"

"If we're still here," I said, optimistically.

"Oh," he said.

"Don't be so glum," I told him. "We'll see each other every day at school."

He nodded, and gave me a hug. "Later, Alex."

"Bye, Nick," I replied. He lumbered out of the room, and shut the door behind him. I sat on my bed and looked around. Already the silence was unnerving, so I reached over and flipped on the clock radio. The sound of KYOZ warbled out of the speaker. I adjusted the knob until I could finally hear the reports of a possibility of snow.

I laid back on my bed, and stared at the white ceiling. What else was there to do?

My parents had gotten the few boxes of essential items unpacked in the leaving room. A mound of empty boxes was by the door. My mom and I sat at the small, glass kitchen table which had also been provided by the apartment building. We were eating Subway sandwiches which she had picked up on her way back from the airport. She'd had to take Dad back. Though Mom's work could be done from anywhere (considering it was mostly travel), Dad's had to be done back home. He promised to bring lots of presents at Christmas, which I supposed would have to suffice.

"How was school last week, Alex?" she asked. "I'm sorry I was too busy to ask before..."

"It was pretty good," I told her. "You know, I'm still trying to get used to the new kids and teachers." I left off an incident that occurred on Thursday, in which a guy accused me of losing other peoples' kids for them. I had never felt so rotten in my entire life.

"Wendie tells me that you and Nicky don't have many of the same classes," she said.

"We don't," I agreed. We didn't have any of the same classes, actually.

"Have you made any new friends?"

"There's this one girl, Ilia," I told her. Again, I managed to 'forget' the fact that she was a German girl who spoke English to the extent of "Hi", "Yes", and "No".

"That's good," Mom said.

"Do you have to go anywhere next week?" I asked.

"Oh! That's right!" She cleared her throat. "You'll be staying at the Hanson's on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week."

I nodded. Something tells me that although we have an apartment of our own now, I would still technically be living at the Hanson house anyhow.

"Anna will come pick you up from school," she said. "Did you know her kids were all homeschooled? I had to give her directions to the school!"

I nodded again. I'd heard Jessica make the reference that she didn't have to worry about missing school ever, because school was always at home. "Truancy isn't really an option for us," she had said happily.

Sometimes I thought it must be nice to be homeschooled. Then again, I think of my parents and having either of them teach me would be disastrous. I'd never live up to their expectations. They are both total workaholics. I don't think they ever slow down.

"Are you going to eat the rest of that or piddle?" Mom asked.

I shrugged, and pushed it away from me. "I'm full."

She sighed and took it from me. "Go take a shower. It's late and you've got school in the morning."

I groaned at the reminder, but did as I was told. I trudged to the bathroom that was between my bedroom and my mother's. I was just about to jump into the shower when I realized there wasn't any washrags - anywhere. I hopped out and looked in the cabinets. No towels, either. I pulled on my clothes and walked back out to the main room. "Mom," I said. She was looking at me, confused.

"Do you have any rags in the bathroom?" she asked. I shook my head no. She threw her hands up. "I knew I forgot something! C'mon! Wal-Mart, ho!"

I gave her an exasperated look and went to the door. She turned things off as she went by and grabbed her keys. We then exited into the narrow hall of the apartment building, and headed for the elevator.