Jared examined the clothes arranged inside his closet. He slid out a blue collared shirt and hung it on his left arm, then a red shirt and did the same. He turned around to his bed and laid down the clothes inside a travel bag, pushing them down so that the wrinkles would straighten out.
"Hmmmm…" he grunted while pushing the side of his lips with his finger. He looked around his room. The volumes of encyclopedias were assembled inside a shelf that looked gigantic five or six years ago, now he could reach the books on the top without even lifting his feet. He worried they might get dusty while he was away. There were still the lines and circles drawn on the walls. Poor parents for letting him hold a permanent marker when he was still a toddler, but his dad decided it was his first creative attempts in life so he did not only allow him to scribble on the walls as if they were grade school papers, but he decided not to coat them with new paint so that Jared would know how daring he was even at a tender age. He sniggered looking at that memory, he'd surely forget it once he was at his new place.
He snapped out of his dream state and fixed the things inside his bag again. He put in his toiletries and enough decent clothes of different colors- his elementary schoolmates always teased him for wearing the same clothes when he wore different clothes but the same color which was blue.
Jared paused when his eyes laid on a brown box beside his travel bag. He had been ruminating since last night whether he was going to bring this stuff or leave it behind together with the memories attached to it. He felt his heart racing as his mind went back to the time he least wanted to remember.
"Jared?" His mom called. "The driver will come anytime from now, I hope you're all ready?"
He glanced at the clock on his study table. It was 7:00 AM and it would be around 4 hours drive to his new school. He first marveled at the fact that his high school was situated on a hill, quite far from the convenience of city life below it, but Tesla Academy was known for its innovative educational methods that pushed 90% of their graduates to become successful in their chosen fields. If your curriculum vitae said you were from Tesla Academy, it was almost saying you would be successful sooner or later. But Tesla filtered its applicants, only accepting the best of the best. So people also questioned whether Tesla really had an exceptional quality of education, or the students already had it in them and they would succeed no matter what school they went to.
"Jared?" His mom repeated.
"Yes, mom!" He answered in a loud voice while quickly putting in all the other things he thought he might need in his dorm, then bolted out of the room wearing a backpack and pulling the travel bag.
"Everything good?" Her mom asked in a soft tone, he could see tears stuck in the corner of her eyes.
Jared tilted his head and gave his mom a warm look. "Yes, mom. Everything's ok." He flashed a faint smile.
His mom opened the living room door where the pale morning sunlight immediately entered. She was wearing a white apron which had fresh yellow stains and kitchen smells stuck on her. "Don't you want to have breakfast first, Jared?"
Jared slowly shook his head. "Sorry, I already brushed my teeth, mom." He felt a sting in his chest declining his mom's offer. It would be a while before he could taste his mom's food again. But he hadn't slept well last night while thinking of how this day would go. What does it feel like to leave home and attend school somewhere far? Usually, this was a question asked by 16-year-old's who were about to go to college. But he decided to take his high school in the most competitive school of the country, he needed to grow up four years in advance and do what 16-year-old's do.
Their dog scampered into the house, wagging its tail. Jared bent down and started scratching the brown dog's back. "Hey, boy. Remember to always guard the house, ok? I know you're gonna miss me." He cackled as the dog licked him on the face.
"Jared," his father called while walking from the kitchen, fixing his necktie around his white long-sleeved shirt. "I don't expect you to laugh like that when you're already at your new place. You're twelve years old now, not eight!" The wrinkles on his forehead were visible as he talked.
Jared was looking down to the floor, speechless. The dog was barking playfully at his father, but he threw it a glare and immediately became silent.
His mother, Evelyn, walked close to her husband, Rafael, and helped him wear his necktie. "Honey, we'll not see him for a while," Evelyn muttered but with knitted eyebrows, "don't be so stiff!"
Rafael sighed. "Jared," he paused for a moment, "I just… I just want to make sure you'll be able to take care of yourself when we're not there."
Jared stood up and gave his parents a faint smile. He was trying to take his eyes off the floor but it was like a magnet pulling his eyes to it. "Dad, I'm so sorry about… about the…"
Rafael walked quickly to Jared and bent down so his face was close to his. He laid his hand on his son's shoulder while Evelyn walked into the kitchen. "Jared, it's time to forget that… ok?"
Jared nodded, still looking at the floor. But his eyes became teary and he could feel a weight treading on his chest.
Their silence was broken by a car beep. Scraffy rushed to the door and let out a series of loud barks while looking at a black car beside their gate.
The driver rolled down the window, he was wearing a cap and brown shades and must be around fifty years old. "Jared Piper?" He asked after looking at a paper on his hand.
Jared and Rafael exchanged looks. Rafael called Evelyn while Jared grabbed the handle of his travel bag and tightened his backpack. He ran to the car but Evelyn pulled his hand.
"Son," she handed a sandwich wrapped with plastic cover, "take this." His mom's voice was raspy. When he looked at her face, he realized she was crying. "And take care!" She wrapped her arms around him, and Rafael petted him on the head.
Jared put his arms around his parents while strangling his cry, but tears flowed from his eyes. "I promise, I'll make you proud!"
"I know you will," Evelyn said. "You already have."
Rafael looked at Jared's eyes and nodded. Jared knew he could not spend any more minutes even though he wanted to, as the driver was waiting and it would be a long drive. So he wiped his tears with his arms and fastened his bag before walking straight to the car.
"Hello, boy!" The old driver greeted him with a smile. "My name's Carl."
"My name's Jared." He turned his face up a little and smiled.
Carl roared the engine to life and started driving. Jared's heart became filled with excitement, nervousness and sadness. He glanced back to their home that was becoming smaller and smaller as the car ran away. His mother was still crying as his father had his arm around her shoulders, obviously consoling her. Jared knew the black taint of the car window made them not able to see him, but he remained looking at them as they went back inside the house.
He wondered if Tesla would become a home to him as much as his real home was. Or would it be just like his elementary school?