a Home Away from Home

I stare listlessly through the glass window pane, watching as the trees woosh past in a blur; every now and then i see a stag or doe proudly standing, munching on grass and barely looking at us when we drive past; cars are so common here that the wildlife doesn't have the sense to be afriad. We take a sudden turn onto a dirt path, the car's suspension groans and soon the sound of gravel being crunched under the wheels fills the air as we turn the corner and the house comes into view.

It's an old building, wood and glass mostly. Cream carpets inside, oak furniture, magnolia walls and so forth; just a blank house really. Every year we gather here, the "clan", two dozen relatives or so crowded into that little house. Usually i don't mind it, i just hide in my room watching porn and reading books, sometimes reading porn books; but this year is different. We have a new addition this year and they get their own little room, leaving us one room short; so this year i get to share a room, how fun.

The car putters to a halt in the driveway. There are no other cars here yet, not that they will be far behind; "we" make it a point of pride to be here earlier than everyone else.

Silently i get out of the car, i can hear my parents starting to talk but i ignore them. I close the door and walk to the boot of the car, clicking it open and taking out my suitcase. I walk to the door and tap my feet impatiently while i wait for my parents to open it, Dad fumbles for a few seconds before he gets it in; the lock clicks and the door swings open. I almost push my way inside. Then i drag my suitcase upstairs, walking to the room which has always been mine, and mine alone.

In my room are two beds now, my bed and a fold away one standing a few inches away. There really isn't enough room in here for two, i made that argument but was overruled. Apparently my male cousins are too old to have to be to have a room mate (or have girlfriends) and it would be "inappropriate" for the unlucky cousin who has been displaced this year to sleep in the girls room. Although i can see their point on the second issue.

I tuck my suitcase under my bed, but before i do that i take out my speakers. I plug them into the wall socket and then attach my ipod, putting on some music to assert some control over my enviroment.

"Marillion, or Nirvana?" i muse, but decide on Nirvana.

Outside i hear the roar of an engine from a much bigger car then our own. The front door opens and i can hear vague murmurs of a conversation. A few seconds later another car approaches, and then another; my relatives have arrived. After a couple of minutes the frontdoor closes for the final time, and i hear a shout:

"Take your trunk upstairs, second floor fourth door on the left."

My room.

"Thump, Thump" i hear as he drags his suitcase up stairs, whether it's just too heavy for him or he enjoys bashing the stairs i don't know.

Then i hear the dragging of tiny plastic wheels on the thick carpet, and then the noise stops just outside my room.

The door opens.