The drive took six hours to get to our destination in Alabama, though it felt like forever. It was silent the whole time since we went the same route as usual. There was nothing new to see, nowhere new to go. I played on my Kindle Fire most of the way. The other portion of the time I slept, trying to make the time go faster. We arrived in Alabama at 3 o'clock Central Time. There, they dropped me off at my mom's mother's house, where my mother's family resided for the meantime.
"Hey, Trent," Mom said to me.
"Hey, Mom," I replied to her, in a dull way.
I was still grieving the heartbreaking news. I think that my mom understood the shape that I was in. She comforted me into the house. I said my greetings to everyone. After my greetings, I opened my gifts from everyone. They were decent. I liked most of my presents, but some I wanted to throw away right in front of their faces. I knew better than that. I decided against such a rude act. It was dinnertime after we socialized and played some games. My uncle, aunt and cousins left after dinner. After they left, I hopped in the shower and changed into my Grinch and Max pajamas. I walked into the spare bedroom and watched television until I fell asleep.
I woke up as the clock struck nine in the morning. After I uncovered myself from the sheets, I walked into the living room to my mom and step-dad packing to go back home. I was quite depressed. I didn't want to go back to Florida. I wanted to go back to South Carolina, with my dad and stepmother.
"Good morning, Trent. Pack everything you have," my mother told me.
I walked to the guest room, changed clothes, and packed up my suitcase. I threw everything in the trunk of the SUV and walked to my grandparents. I said my goodbyes and we left to Florida. The trip took four hours. I walked into the one story house, and took my suitcase into my bedroom, saving to unpack it later. I helped unload the car of suitcases and gifts. I took my final share and lowered it onto the floor in the living room. Only then, did I notice some wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree. The greens, reds, and whites under the tree gave me a smile on my face.
"We saved them for when you came back," Mom said to me.
I unwrapped everything pretty quickly because I wanted to go to bed. I got a book that I really wanted, a watch, some cologne, some video games, and a bow and some arrow that I really wanted. My Christmas was good that year, besides the horrific news I had received from my father, which was a major factor in my attitude. After I unpacked my bags, I dressed in pajamas and fell to sleep after a long day of driving.
I woke up to my mother chirping at me to get up. It was a Tuesday and she had to go to work, but the second youngest child, Ethan, couldn't go to his day care because it was closed. His day care was a program at his school, which was cheaper than the one my youngest brother went to. The youngest child's, Nolin's, daycare was open. So that meant that I had to babysit Ethan. Mom, my stepfather, and Nolin left for the day, giving me no chores. I hadn't had any chores in a while. My parents always had something for me to do. That left my brother and me. The day consisted mostly of playing with our gifts. While Ethan was playing with his new Wii game, I went outside with my bow and arrow to shoot at some targets. I got the hay-filled target and set it next to the fence. I practiced for hours, listening to music. It got too dark to shoot, so I walked inside. My brother and I watched television until the rest of the family got here. Then we ate and got ready for bed. After the long day, I went to bed. As I slowly drifted into slumber, I still heard the words, "Trent, I'm going to Afghanistan," ring through my head.
I woke up the next day and do a repeat of the previous day. Nothing was different, other than me playing with my brother on the Wii some. The whole week consisted of archery and video games. On the night of December 31, however, we went to a mall plaza to watch a local ball drop for the count down of the brand new year, 2012. I spotted a few friends there, and we exchanged greetings. Then 11:50pm came and I had to go back to my family. Suddenly, the concerts stopped. A big screen projected a countdown from 30 seconds. I looked around at everyone's excited faces. I was interrupted by a shout of, "10," that filled the chilly air.
"9!" he shouted.
"8!" everyone began to chime.
"7!" roared the crowd.
"6!" my brothers screamed.
"5!" my mother giggled.
"4!" my step-father hollered.
"3!" my friends sang.
"2!" the strangers around me called out.
"1!" I watched as the ball dropped into a new year.
