Impressions On "Home"
Part 1
I stepped off the bus to see my father, it's been a few months, and even longer for my mom. They share a long hug. The air is hazy from a huge fire that had happened earlier. He tells us his opinions on the new town, how great it is, how nice the people are compared to Reno. We're getting ready to take a city bus to our room. My dad tells us it's not big and it's not great, but it's all there is. Though before we left, my mom told me he had a surefire house to live in. I guess I wasn't upset because I've come to expect things like this in a family built on lies. At the bus station were two young girls, presumably my age,if not younger, dressed in skimpy outfits, smoking cigarettes, blaring some sh*tty rap music on a phone, and yelling obnoxiously. An old man stumbled by and fell down on the grass. Didn't seem much different to me.
After the bus ride, my dad led us a few feet to our motel room. Number eight at the Sky Lake Lodge. He unlocked the door and we went in and set down our bags. The first thing I noticed was a makeshift bed on the ground. A stack of couch cusions wrapped in a bed sheet with a pillow and blanket. A short, wood cabinet was beside it. It took some getting used to, but now I accept it for what it is. Less than one hundred square feet, terrible water pressure (It takes me twenty minutes to rinse my hair), dirty clothes strewn everywhere, and what have you.
I had a meeting with a counselor regarding my enrollment in South Tahoe High School on September eleventh. We talked about the classes I'd need to take in order to graduate, and what would otherwise be best for me. I started right after that meeting, second period business and finance, a class I have now come to abhor.
School was going fine, I suppose. Every day I think about my friends back home, my cat, my belongings, which really only consists of a guitar and some vinyls. I don't know how long I'd been staying here, a week, maybe? My parents were arguing, and my mom was threatening to leave (again). She seemed so sure of herself, she was making phonecalls and everything. My dad said he was going to stop paying rent on the room if she left, and she wasn't going to take me. So if that's how it was going to be, what was I to do? I packed up what I had, which filled my backpack, and stuffed what little clothes I had into a dufflebag. I wrote "RENO" in sharpie on a notepad and started walking East along the highway. No one stopped me.
This endeavor proved entirely unsuccessful, especially considering it was getting late. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had expected not to be picked up. After about an hour, I stopped at a gas station and held my sign up. An old man walking past noticed it and talked to me. He told no one could see it here, and that I'd have better luck at the liquor store a block away. I thanked him and walked to it. When I got there, I noticed much less traffic and it was significantlly less bright. I don't know what he was talking about. I was only there for about ten minutes, then continued. After another hour I stopped and sat outside a weekly motel. It was completely dark now, and I was just resting. A woman who worked at the motel came out and asked if I was hungry, I said yes, and she handed me a salad kit. I hadn't eaten that day, and I devoured it quickly. Now just walking, until I felt it necessary to give up for the night. I occasionally stopped at a fast food restaurant for a glass of water. I walked for about five hours total, I passed Stateline and made my way into Nevada. After a bit further, I came to what appeared to be the end of the urban area. Ahead was complete darkness, no sidewalk or lights. And it was late, so no traffic. I tried my hand at the sidewalk's end, holding out my sign under a streetlight whenever I saw a car coming. No hope. So I sat down, and checked to see if there was any wifi I could exploit (I had my laptop). No use. I was sitting in a grassy area, pretty much unseen to passers by. I was going to sleep here. But I saw the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, and got up once more with my sign. The car was slowing down, and as it passed I saw the word POLICE printed across the side. Great. He got out, did his little "interrogation" thing. This was actually a nice cop. I explained what had been going on, and initially he was trying to figure out a way to get me to Reno. I had no money, so the shuttle was out of the question, and it was too late to call any friends to pick me up. He called another cop, and they tried to figure this out. The other cop was very nice as well, both were quite considerate of me and my situation. We couldn't figure out a way to get me home, so the final decision was to take me back to my motel. They asked if they could search my bags, I said "Go for it", but they never did.
It was about a thirty minute drive back. He dropped me off and wanted to talk to my parents, but they were asleep. He left, and my parents and I discussed the situation the next day. I just wanted to sleep.